BOKO HARAM CRISIS AND THE SOCIO-POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF NIGER STATE).

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INTRODUCTION Over the years, Nigeria has experienced series of attacks and blast in most region of the country. The violent agitation by Militants in the Niger Delta region (MEND) has often led to loss of lives and properties otherwise known as “Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta. So many spirited groups hide under this body to carry out their nefarious acts of rebellion govern the Nigerian state to express their governances over the degradations of the operation of the multinational organization. Similarly, there are groups that exist in other parts of the country and they include; the “Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) which is located in the South-West. They are often called the Afeinifere group. There exists also the “Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), in the South-East while the „Boko Haram‟ uses the Northern part of the country as their operational base. This research study will critically scrutinize and evaluate the activities of the latter amongst the above mentioned political and or religious sects, because that is the thrust of this research. It can be deduced that socio-political development are instrumental to the incessant crisis that has bedeviled our beloved country „Nigeria‟ today. People are said to be poor when they experience lack of sufficient income to purchase material needs which often excludes individuals from partaking in generally accepted activities of daily life in the society at large. According to ALI MAZRUI in his „Paradox of Retardation‟, Africa is not the poorest of the regions of the world but it is the most retarded. He argued that Africans are richly endowed; as such they have no reason to be poor. In spite the fact that June 10, 2006 marked 50 years of oil exploration and production, and over & 400 billion accrued to the Nigerian state in terms of revenue, Nigeria is still referred to as one of the poorest and developing countries in the world. Boko Haram as the name denotes, does not have one particular meaning. The name more or less connotes different meanings to different people. The group is a Nigerian Islamic group that seeks the imposition of Sharia Law throughout the whole of Nigeria. Figuratively members of this group believe that “Western education is a sin”. Presently, the group has an undefined structure and chain of command. It is of a paramount importance to note that the official name of the group is „Jama‟ atu Ahlis Sunna, Lidda‟ await Wal-Jihad‟, which means or rather is tantamount to “People committed to the propagation of the prophet‟s teaching and Jihad”. Since its formation in 2002 in Maiduguri by the leader of the group Mohammed Yusuf, the Boko Haram has been a thorn in the flesh of Nigeria‟s security agencies, precisely the police force, over its opposition to western education that it believes is a sin. In the year 2004, the Islamic fundamentalist group relocated its base to Kanamma, Yobe State. The new location was named “Afghanistan”, and from there, the group set about attacking and leaving members of the Nigerian Police Lifeless. Almost the various crises due to bombings carried out by the Boko Haram are:  The Nigeria sectarian violence in the year 2009.  The Bauchi Prison Break on the 7th of September 2010  Abuja attack on the 31st of December, 2010  Northern Nigeria bombings on the 29th of May, 2011  Abuja Police headquarters bombing on the 16th of June, 2011.  Bombing at the All Christian Fellowship Church in Suleja, Niger State on the 10th of July, 2011.  Bombing of the Abuja United nations Building on the 26th of August, 2011.  Damaturu attacks on Friday, November 4th 2011.  St. Theresa Catholic Church attack in Madalla at Suleja, Niger State on the 25th of December 2011.  Kano attacks on 20th of January, 2012  Suicide bombing at the Army Headquarters in Kaduna on the 8th of February, 2012. Just to mention but a few. In conclusive, having said all these at this juncture, this research work will critically analyze the two concepts i.e. Socio-political development and Boko Haram in order to create a better understanding in the minds of the readers and more so, to contribute to existing knowledge of literature.