Boko Haram Insurgency and Socio-Economic Crisis in Borno State Nigeria

Abstract

So much has been written about the formation and activities of the Boko Haram insurgency since its advent in 2002 as religious fundamentalism. The Islamic sect is a group of "People Committed to the propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad" opposing western education. Their operations have degenerated into armed conflict, insurgency and terrorism, causing untold devastation and economic loss to some states of the federation. However, their significance in the socio-economic crisis of Borno State has not been adequately reported. This is the lacuna filled by this paper. The study adopted both primary and secondary sources of research instruments. The study discovered that Boko Haram insurgency has crippled markets, business activities and blocked the trade routes in Borno State. About 10,000 Eastern and South western business people fled the state; international business entrepreneurs from Chad, Cameroon and Niger returned to their countries; these affected the State's economic revenue in an unimaginable way, with negative implications on the sustainable development agenda of the United Nations. The Study recommends, among other things, adequate security measures, provision of social support system and care, provision of jobs and social amenities, development of infrastructures, reconciliation among local communities, reduction of poverty, a proactive step by the Federal government on supply of adequate funding, weapons and well-equipped military personnel to put an end to the insurgency in North Eastern Nigeria.