Understanding Boko Haram

The primary objective of this book is to understand the nature of the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria. One of the world's most lethal terrorist groups, Boko Haram is formally known as Jama'at ahlis Sunnah lid Da'wat wal Jihad (people committed to the propagation of the Prophet's teachings and jihad), with Boko Haram being its common Hausa name, which loosely translates as 'western education is forbidden'. The movement's ostensible goal is to create an Islamic Caliphate starting in Borno State in the North East that will eventually cover the areas of the former Kanem-Borno Empire, including parts of western Chad, northwestern Cameroon, and southeastern Niger. The central theme threading its way through this volume's chapters is the relationship between the failure of the state- building project in Nigeria and the outbreak and nature of insurgency. State failure, if not collapse, in Nigeria has different dimensions. The chapters here, therefore, aim to unpack different parts of the puzzle. From fifteen thousand feet up, Boko Haram's goal of an Islamic Caliphate is a rejection of the modern state system forced on it by the West, and in particular by a conquering Great Britain. Thus, for instance, the borders inherited from colonial rule are considered illegitimate and a caliphate would eventually cover the areas of the former Kanem-Borno Empire, including parts of western Chad, northwestern Cameroon, and southeastern Niger.