IMPACT OF THE BOKO HARAM TERRORISM ON NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN NIGERIA, 2009-2018

Chapter One: Introduction

Boko Haram operates as the world most deadly terrorist group, killing over 30,000 civilians and displaced 2,152,000 people in Nigeria, Chad and neighbouring Cameroon (IDMC, 2015). The group was born out of Nigeria’s failed integration process. The year 2014 marks one hundred years of the British amalgamation of Northern and Southern protectorates to form one political entity which is officially known and addressed as Nigeria. Nigeria and Nigerians have been caught in the frenzy of centenary celebration. This celebration may be easily confused with the political independence anniversary (October 1^st, 1960) the centenary celebration has to do with the birth of a political entity following the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates on January 1, 1914 under the watchful eyes of colonial Britain (Chidume, Chukwu, Ukaegbu, & Agudiegwu, 2014).

Two personalities were important in Nigeria’s integration process– Lord Frederick Lugard the then Governor General, who can be described as the surgeon who performed the merger, and Flora Shaw (later wife of Lugard), former correspondent of the London Times, who became the taxonomist that suggested the name- Nigeria. It is the centenary anniversary celebration, therefore, of the birth of a country variously described as an ‘ethnic mosaic’, ‘geographical expression’, ‘artificial creation’, among others. As a reminder, Nigeria antedated this birthday as the various nationalities therein existed independently but not in isolation of one another in the pre-colonial era.

The amalgamation of the two protectorates had its origin in the Berlin West African Conference from November 1884 to February 1885 (Grace, 2013). The process of acquisition, creation/administration started from trade, to the bombardment and annexation of Lagos in 1851 and 1861 respectively, the Berlin Conference which set the acquisition guidelines, the creation of the Northern Protectorate in 1900, the merger of the colony of Lagos and the Southern Protectorate in 1906, and in 1914 the amalgamation to a single (but inherently disparate groups) administrative unit- Nigeria. Nigeria thus fell to Britain more as a result of the “diplomacy of imperialism than a matter of choice for any of the peoples that were to be enclosed within this grid that came to be organized and administered as one territorial unit called Nigeria” (Eleagu: 1988:9). A process completed by Britain in 1914, imposed on and accepted by Nigerians.

Ever since this merger, the polity has been characterized by ethno-religious politics which has being the bane to national unity. In the Nigerian case study, the reconfiguration, formation of political parties, distribution of human and material resources and even crises (coups, civil war, and religious impasse) are hinged on ethno-religious politics. Thus providing Nigeria with a cheqeured history – with political transitions from civilian to military, military to military, military to civilian and civilian to civilian; through a democratic, authoritarian, a combination of both or an innovation of a process too unique to be described only in action by its proponents – the political elites. While the world celebrates the centenary anniversary (1914-2014) of Africa’s most populous country, this country’s political history is yet to e fully explored within the spheres of national integration.

National integration in this sense, was defined by these political scholars as “the unification or bringing together of diversified components either at international, regional, sub-regional, national or state/local community level.” (Philip  and  Henry, 1964). In Nigeria, the various integrative mechanisms put up by different administrations includes the amalgamation of 1914, the Nigerianisation policy of 1960-1966, the National Youth Service Corps, the Unity Schools, the National Language policy, the principle of Federal Character and the creation of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. All of these were meant to promote national unity in Nigeria. Unfortunately, they have further divided the country along the lines of ethnicity and religion.

The failures of these integrative mechanisms translate to the failure of national integration in Nigeria.   For instance, as Nigeria approached independence, there was general consensus that the nation should come to independence as a single nation. Independent Nigeria was born on 1^st October 1960. But the independent foundation was parlous characterized with ethnic divisiveness and incohesion convulsed and precipitated impasse and imbroglio. Nigeria’s independence at the federal and state level experienced a very short honeymoon (Hariman, 2006). Within the period of six years, the western coalition crisis, the census controversy, ethnicity, and the 1964/65 General Election violence orchestrated the military intervention in 1960, which terminated the First Republic. Nigeria emerging from excruciating colonialism and imperialism fell under the deluge and sledge hammer of military rule between 1966-1999 with intermittent civilian rules. Within this period in the political annals of Nigeria, political structures and institutions have been atrophied and debilitated leading to too many problems rocking the polity (Mangvwat, 2008). The cumulative and net effects of these problems continue to reecho and dis-equlibrate the polity.

Between 2009 and 2015, Nigeria witnessed the height of Boko Haram terrorism. The President Goodluck Jonathan administration did not faired and weathered these political problems and challenges. Some of these teething and nagging problems include: sectarian political behavior, security challenges, micro nationalism, federalism and functional constitution and political democracy. The study shall proceed to examine the rise of Boko Haram, within the framework of failed national integration process.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Boko Haram attacks, the military’s persecution of suspects and its strategy of emptying contested areas have forced over a million women and girls to flee homes. Scholarly attention is yet to be given to how Boko Haram insurgency within framework of national integration. This has created a gap in knowledge about the impact of insurgency on national integration processes. To tackle this problem, this study examines the failures of various integrative mechanisms and how Boko Haram exploited the precarious situation to launch attack on the Nigerian government and its people.

1.3       Objectives of the Study

The general aim of this study is to examine the Impact of Boko Haram Terrorism on National Integration in Nigeria from 2009 to 2018. Specifically, the study seeks to achieve the following objectives:

• Provide a historical background to the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria;
• Examine the concept of national integration;
• Analyse the challenges of national integration in Nigerian history;
• Identify and discuss the problems with integrative mechanism in Nigeria .

1.4       Research Questions

• What is the historical background to the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria?
• What does national integration mean?
• What are integrative mechanisms in Nigeria?
• What are the challenges of national integration in Nigerian history?

1.5       Scope of the Study

This study covers Boko Haram terrorism and national integration in Nigeria. It is not about the history of Nigeria since 1914 but rather, about the problems of nation building and national integration. The research is delimited to the following integrative mechanisms: amalgamation of 1914; the Nigerianisation policy of 1960-1966, the National Youth Service Corps, the Unity Schools, the national language policy, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Inferences are made to the various administrations in Nigeria to explain the problem inherent in these identified mechanism and how they impacted on the rise of Boko Haram terrorist group.

Chapter Two   Literature Review

This chapter reviews literature on national integration and Boko Haram Insurgency. The literature is presented under sub-headings derived from the study’s research questions. Gaps to be filled by the present study are highlighted.  

Chapter Three: Research Methodology

This chapter deals with the methodology and the research instrument to be used in getting data for the study. This study uses descriptive survey type. The target population consist of 2,241,484 individuals (334,608 households) that were displaced as a result of Boko Haram insurgency in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara, states and Abuja. Questionnaire will be used as instrument for data collection. Relevant statistical tool in the SPSS will be used for data analysis.   The sampling procedure adopted in this study was simple random sampling technique. This method means that individuals in the population have an equal opportunity to be selected for the sample.

Chapter Four: Data Analysis

In this chapter, the researcher will analyse the data collected for the research work and interpret it according to the research questions in chapter one.  In analyzing the data collected from the respondents, simple percentage method of data analysis will be adopted for demographic data. To test the only hypothesis in the study, Chi Square statistical tool will be adopted. Chi-square (also referred to as χ²) analysis will be used to analyze the data collected.

 X² =∑ (oi-ei)²

              ei

where oi = observed frequency

ei= expected frequency

∑=sum of frequency

x²= critical value from the chi-square table percent

Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary and conclusions are to be drawn from the research literature, research findings and data analysis. Recommendations will be made in the final chapter.

BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND THE POLITICAL-ECONOMY OF NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA 2009 -2017

Chapter One

Boko Haram operates as the world most deadly terrorist group, killing over 30,000 civilians and displaced 2,152,000 people in Nigeria, Chad and neighbouring Cameroon (IDMC, 2015). In its bid to counter the group’s insurgency, the Nigerian government launched series of counterinsurgency operations between 2010 and 2015, with varying degree of human rights abuses on both sides (Vanguard, 2016). For instance, since the insurgency escalated in 2009, the Nigerian military arrested over 20,000 suspected terrorists and arbitrarily tortured 8000 people to death (Amnesty Inernational, 2015). Similarly, Boko Haram has killed civilians and security personnel in cruel and horrofic ways (Samer, 2015).

Nigeria is politically divided into six geo-political zones. The northeast geo-political zone belongs to the Muslim north. This economically backward zone comprises of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states. The zone is home to Boko Haram terrorist group officially called Jamāʻat Ahl as-Sunnah lid-daʻwa wal-Jihād meaning, “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” (Ekereke 2013, p.5). Founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf, Boko Haram (which imply “western education is a sin”) first clashed with the Nigerian police in a 5-day battle in July, 2009 (Andrew 2012, p.1). This led to the death of the founder and emergence of Abubakar Shekau, as the leader of the group. Under Shekau’s leadership, Boko Haram has attacked churches, mosques, markets, schools, banks, barracks, homes and motor parks killing over 4000 thousand people and displacing close to half a million in the northeast (Crisis Group 2014, p. 2). This has had serious political and economic implications for the poverty stricken northeast zone.

Terrorist activities have strategic implications for national economic development. It is believed that terrorist operations can disintegrate the country as well as halt economic growth (ICG 2010, p.4). Continuous terrorist attacks are capable to undermining scientific and technological security of Nigeria. Many analysts have  described President  Goodluck  Jonathan’s  economic  reform  as  an  effort  that  may  yield  no  results due  to  the  insecurity  in the northeast (UNCTAD 2014; Utomi 2014; and Ajao, 2014). In other words, the problems with  the  nation’s economy  are directly linked to insecurity in the northeast. For instance, President Gooduck Jonathan went to Australia for a summit with about 500 delegates and could not attract foreign investors due to insecurity in the northeastern part of the country. He also went to France with about 300 delegates and could not woo foreign investors to the country. This line of argument is supported by Pat Utomi who opined that the issue of investment is also about the issue of security. No investor will come to invest in Nigeria with the current security challenge (Pat Utomi 2014, web).

In certain parts of Nigeria, there is currently an immense humanitarian crisis caused by several factors that have forced victims to flee, thereby turning them into refugees, while others have succumbed to the conditions and are considered internally displaced persons, making the economy of the region to become underdeveloped. Writing about Boko Haram is a difficult task, as researchers have very limited access to first-hand information. Indeed, foreign and national researchers find it almost impossible to conduct fieldwork in north-eastern Nigeria, where their security cannot be guaranteed. Recently, as the core of the conflict has seemed to be moving away from Maiduguri, capital of Borno, to the confines of Nigeria, the shores of Lake Chad and along the Cameroonian border, available information on the conflict has become even scarcer. Such difficulties contrast with the pressing demand of the Nigerian public and the international community alike for intelligible analyses of the situation, particularly from an economic development perspectives.

This study covers the effect of Boko Haram Insurgency on Socio-Economic Development in northeastern states, Nigeria. The study therefore discusses the concept of terrorism, economy and politics. The analysis explores  why  internal  terrorism occurs in northeastern states of Nigeria, and the factors which facilitate this. The target population are those directly affected by the insurgency. The period covered is from 2009 to 2017.

Chapter Two   Literature Review

This chapter reviews literature on the Boko Haram Insurgency. The literature is presented under sub-headings derived from the study’s research questions. Gaps to be filled by the present study are highlighted. The theoretical framework will explain the tactics of Boko Haram which involve political assassinations, intimidation, assassinations of Muslim clerics, drive by shootings, kidnappings, suicide bombing, guerrilla warfare, bank robberies, attacks on churches, attacks on Muslims, attacks on universities, attacks on newspapers headquarters, and finally on international targets, most notably the UN.

Chapter Three: Research Methodology

This chapter deals with the methodology and the research instrument to be used in getting data for the study. This study uses descriptive survey type. The target population consist of all IDPs who evolved as a result of Boko Haram in northeastern states. Questionnaire will be used as instrument for data collection. Relevant statistical tool in the SPSS will be used for data analysis. The sample size of this project consist of one hundred and sixty (150) respondents randomly selected camps. The sampling procedure adopted in this study was simple random sampling technique. This method means that individuals in the population have an equal opportunity to be selected for the sample.

Chapter Four: Data Analysis

In this chapter, the researcher will analyse the data collected for the research work and interpret it according to the research questions and one  hypothesis formulated in chapter one.  In analyzing the data collected from the respondents, simple percentage method of data analysis will be adopted for demographic data. To test the only hypothesis in the study, Chi Square statistical tool will be adopted. Chi-square (also referred to as χ²) analysis will be used to analyze the data collected.

 X² =∑ (oi-ei)²

              ei

where oi = observed frequency

ei= expected frequency

∑=sum of frequency

x²= critical value from the chi-square table percent

Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary and conclusions are to be drawn from the research literature, research findings and data analysis. Recommendations will be made in the final chapter.

THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Chapter One: Introduction

Youth development can be more than acquiring a set of facts, learning about rights and obligations, and becoming an informed young adult. Youth development is a process that prepares a young person to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood and achieve his or her full potential. Hence, youths are expected to acquire skills before they become adults. When youths lack skills, it is inevitable that they will experience difficulties in their adulthood as well as their chosen occupation. Unfortunately, many students are characterised by a lack of good skills. This is manifested by, inter alia, their incapability to effectively use the library, network, build on vocational skills, source for quality academic works online or take meaningful notes during field work. More recently, studies have shown that youth have turn to the use of social media as their primary means of communication, so much that when they want to use the internet for quality information or school work, they soon forget their purpose of going online and start updating their status on social networking sites (SNSs)

With the ever increasing use of social media by Nigerian youth, there has been a growing concern among educators, parents, researchers and general public that this practice has serious implications on the holistic development of the Nigerian youth. Various studies on the effects of social media on youth have concentrated mainly on academic performance (Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Oluwatoyin 2011; and Ogedebe, Emmanuel, & Musa, 2012).  This research shifts its attention away from this and rather focuses on how social media affects youth development. Thus, posers arise as to what are the social media use patterns of Nigerian youths? What influence do the use patterns have on the social development of Nigerian youths? It is in the quest to resolve these posers that this study is examining the perceived effects of social media use patterns on the social development of Nigerian youths. This study therefore examines the effects of social media on Nigerian youths.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of social media on youth’s development in Nigeria. Specifically, this study seeks to:

1. Examine the relationship between the use of social media and entrepreneurship among youth;
2. Examine the relationship between the use of social media and political participation
3. Examine the relationship between the use of social media and language disruption;
4. Examine the relationship between the use of social media and cyber-crime among youth;

Chapter Two: Literature Review

This chapter reviews literature on the effects of social media on youth development in Nigeria. The literature is presented under sub-headings derived from the study’s research questions. Gaps to be filled by the present study are highlighted.

Chapter Three: Research Methodology

This chapter deals with the methodology and the research instrument to be used in getting data for the study. This study uses a descriptive survey type. The target population consisted of some selected secondary schools students. Relevant statistical tool in the SPSS will be used for data analysis.

Chapter Four: Data Analysis

In this chapter, the researcher will analyse the data collected for the research work and interpret it according to the research hypotheses formulated in chapter one.

Chapter Five: Summary and Conclusion

Summary and conclusions are to be drawn from the research literature, research findings and data analysis. Recommendations will be made in the final chapter.

IMPACT OF SCHOOL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ON LEARNING OUTCOME OF STUDENTS IN LAGOS STATE

Chapter One: Introduction

The sustainability of schools relies in part on the availability and utilization of funds available to support recurrent costs for systems upkeep at the school level. Studies (Bada and Oguguo, 2011) shows that heads of schools report shortages of funds which impact on the daily running of school programmes. Almost all institutions and organizations in Nigeria have been affected by recessions (Bada and Oguguo, 2011). During economic downturns, the world seems to focus on managing budgets. Since 2008 the federal government has taken dramatic measures to help the financial state of many institutions struggling with the current recession. Of those measures, massive bailout packages worth billions of dollars have been proposed and passed to help institutions across the nation.

Educational leaders have long sought to understand how to allocate finance to improve school and students’ learning outcome. Schools receive funding for the sole purpose of improving educational opportunities and achievement for students. Yet the benefits of increasing that finance are widely disputed. Research conducted outside Nigeria indicates that the level of finance in a school does make a difference in student achievement (Odden, Goertz, & Goertz, 2008).  However, limited research exists in Nigeria on whether increases in funding, utilized effectively and efficiently, does increase student achievement. Financing is often challenging to study because of the lack of disaggregation of district and school level expenditures. Educational boards have not historically kept track of categories of expenditures and are unable to aide researchers in their quest for financial data separated by theme.

Many issues amplify the importance of effective financing and management because of the implications on school funding for primary schools. Funding  for  basic  education  has  come  primarily  from  federal  and  local governments finance over the years; state governments have tended to prioritize tertiary education relying on local governments’ finance for primary education. A general lack of accountability inherent in current  practices  leads  to  inefficiency  in  use  of  finance.  Officials  estimate  that  these  challenges account  for  40%  –  45  %  of  allocated  funds.  Recurrent  capital  expenditure  imbalances  in  budgetary allocations  aggravate  the  challenges  and  stifle  the  provision  of  education  infrastructure. The  non-inclusion of performance conditions in the criteria for federal matching grants to state governments on basic education may lead to lack of incentives for performance and inefficiency. 

Schools are under even greater pressure to do more with less and maintain a clear process to decide how to allocate finance in areas that are needed the most and are the most effective. An important concern then, is understanding the connection between resource utilization, data-directed decision-making, and monitoring the use of resource utilization in schools to improve student learning outcome.

The prime purpose of this study was to investigate how financing and school management impacts on learning outcome in primary public schools in Benue State. Specifically, the study seeks to achieve the following research objectives:

1. Conceptualize the three-model variables of resource allocation, government funding, and school financial management as they impact on students learning outcome;
2. Determine the extent to which resource allocation produce effects, feelings, thoughts, and motivations for learners in relation to their learning outcome;
3. Establish the link between government funding and level of learning outcome among students
4. Find out if school financial management, with special focus on budgeting have direct consequences on learning outcome of students

Chapter Two: Literature Review

This chapter reviews literature on impact of school financial management on learning outcome of students in Lagos State. The literature is presented under sub-headings derived from the study’s research questions. Gaps to be filled by the present study are highlighted.

Chapter Three: Research Methodology

This chapter deals with the methodology and the research instrument to be used in getting data for the study. This study uses descriptive survey type. The target population consist of some selected secondary schools in Lagos East Senatorial District covering Ikorodu, Somolu, Kosofe, Epe and Ibeju-Lekki. The total population of this study is 2,728. The table below further describes the population. Relevant statistical tool in the SPSS will be used for data analysis.

Chapter Four: Data Analysis

In this chapter, the researcher will analyse the data collected for the research work and interpret it according to the research hypotheses formulated in chapter one.

Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary and conclusions are to be drawn from the research literature, research findings and data analysis. Recommendations will be made in the final chapter.