Boko Haram Insurgency and its Deradicalization Process in Nigeria

Abstract This paper examines the lingering Boko Haram insurgency in north-east Nigeria which has metamorphosized into banditry and kidnapping amongst other organized crimes confronting the sustainable development agenda of the Nigeria state and citizens and the sub-Saharan Africa region. It questions the Nigeria political leaders decision to downsize military confrontation against insurgents and their adoption of ‘soft power’ approach of deradicalization. It adopts a desk research method by relying on secondary documents, through a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis frame within the sustainable development goals 16 - peace, justice, and strong institutions. This is the basis to examine the deradicalization program of former insurgents in north-east Nigeria. It presents a core argument within the theoretical frames of Niccolo Machiavelli’s political doctrine and philosophy that ‘it’s better to be feared than to be loved’ within global experiences of deradicalization. Amongst the findings therein, this paper observed that the deradicalization policy and program by the Nigeria Federal government was rather hasty with inadequate coherence amongst state and non-state actors. This suggests that rather than decline in the Boko Haram insurgency, an escalation is seen in the wider network of banditry and organized crimes. Thus, this paper posits that the only ‘repentant insurgents’ are the ‘dead ones’. Keywords: Deradicalization, conflict transformation, insurgency, and sustainable development