Nigeria Without Nigerians?: Boko Haram and the Crisis in Nigeria's Nation-building

Boko Haram has been one of the most important sources of security challenges facing the Nigerian government since the group became radicalised in 2009 following a government clampdown and eventual death of their founder Mohamed Yusuf. The monograph critically interrogates the various explanatory theses for the emergence and radicalisation of the group and concludes that the sect is merely a symptom of the severe crisis that has engulfed the country's nation-building. This crisis, it argues, has triggered a massive de-Nigerianisation process, often with the state as the enemy: those entrusted with the nation's common patrimony steal it blind, law enforcement officers turn the other way if you offer them a little inducement, organised labour, including university lecturers go on prolonged strikes on a whim, students resort to cultism and exam malpractices and workers drag their feet, refuse to put in their best and engage in moonlighting. Most people and groups seem to have one form of grouse or the other against the Nigerian state and its institutions, meaning that unless the trend is urgently reversed, there is a risk of having Nigeria without Nigerians. Jideofor Adibe studied political science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and holds a doctorate degree in International Development Studies from Roskilde University, Denmark. He also holds an LLM degree in Media Law from City University, London and equally studied the New Economic Powers at Oxford University, UK. He has been a Guest Research Fellow at several research institutes across the world including the Centre for Development Research, Copenhagen, Denmark, the Nordic Institute for African Studies, Uppsala, Sweden, the Centre for Developing Area Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada and the Institute for Commonwealth Studies, University of London, UK. Dr Adibe teaches political science at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria and is also the founding editor of the quarterly, peer-reviewed journal, African Renaissance, which has been published continuously since June 2004. He is equally a columnist for the Daily Trust - one of the leading national newspapers in Nigeria and also a member of the paper's Editorial Board. Dr Adibe has published several books and articles and can be reached at: pcjadibe@yahoo.com