Nigeria's fourth republic security threat: the quest for power by Niger-Delta and Boko-Haram insurgents 1999-2015

Since her independence in 1960, Nigeria’s national security has never come under such threats as it is currently facing in the Fourth Republic. Nigeria went into a civil war seven years after her independence which lasted for three years but it was not as unprecedented and complex as her current wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Apamshan, Zachariah
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
eng
eng
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://etd.uum.edu.my/9194/1/s900219_01.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/9194/2/s900219_02.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/9194/3/s900219_references.docx
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Summary:Since her independence in 1960, Nigeria’s national security has never come under such threats as it is currently facing in the Fourth Republic. Nigeria went into a civil war seven years after her independence which lasted for three years but it was not as unprecedented and complex as her current war on terror. The main objective of this research is to investigate the quest for power by the Niger-Delta militants and Boko-Haram insurgents as national security threats in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic from 1999 to 2015. Other objectives of the study include examining those factors that motivate the Niger Delta militants and Boko Haram insurgents against Nigeria. It also evaluates the security threats posed by these militant insurgents. This research made use of the qualitative research design, where data were generated via interview as the main primary data collection tool and content analysis. Findings of this study reveal that national security threats by the violent insurgents are complex and multidimensional in nature, ranging from socio-economic motivations such as abysmal unemployment and institutional corruption to ethno-religious and political factors such as ethnicity and political marginalisation perceived or real. It is found that governments in the past were not sincere and committed to addressing the agitations of the citizens. The militants took up arms against the government on the notion of marginalization, neglect, and social injustice. The research further reveal that the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria emerges as a result of political mal-administration and the mismanagement of state resources and not otherwise as claimed by the group. The theoretical contribution of the study shows that Nigeria is currently in a troubled state due to the current waves of insurgency across the country as demonstrated by the Frustration-Aggression and the Failed-State theories in the study.