Transnationalization of Terrorism in The
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PAN AFRICAN INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT – WEST AFRICA P.O. BOX 133, BUEA, CAMEROON DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES TRANSNATIONALIZATION OF TERRORISM IN THE LAKE CHAD BASIN: THE CASE OF BOKO HARAM A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Development Studies, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of a Master of Science (M.Sc) degree in Peace, Conflicts and International Relations By FORMBUI ZINA ANTIMBOM PAIDWA00039 Supervisor Uwem Essia (PhD) Christian Fonye BUEA, JUNE 2016 The author reserves total responsibility for meeting the requirements set by Copyright Laws for the inclusion of any materials that are not the author’s creation or in the public domain. i DEDICATION To my parents Mr Formbui Emmanuel and Mrs Dolores Bih and my uncle Mr Formbui Paul. i ii iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my supervisors, Dr. Uwem Essia and Mr. Christain Fonye for their meticulous and critical insight and inspiration and continuous support to enable me complete this thesis. I also wish to thank the staff of the Postgraduate programme including Dr Dan Ekongwe, Dr Nkongho, Mr. Ekema Richard Agbor, Dr. Ngomba, Mme Christy Monjowa and especially Dr. Valentine Ndefru (of blessed memory) for their contribution towards my training. Furthermore, I appreciate the effort of my respondents who worked with me providing the necessary information needed for the realization of this thesis. In addition, I thank the University of Buea and PAID-WA Library authorities for permitting me to use their libraries to carry out the research for this work. I immensely thank my parents, Mr. Formbui Emmanuel and Mrs. Dolores Bih for their continued support, motivation and criticisms to enable me improve on this thesis. I am thankful to my brothers, Formbui Nelson, Ngoh Prudence, Ngoh Barry, Formbui Haddison and Kema Felan and my sisters, Formbui Edna, Formbui Emmanuella and Kema Christie for their enormous contribution. I am also grateful to my uncles, Mr. Formbui Paul Mr. Kema John and my aunt Mrs. Kema Jenny and others whose names are not mentioned for their continued support in times of need. I sincerely appreciate Mr. Forzi Francis and Mrs. Clementine Dayo for their encouragement, advice and support during my stay in Buea as well as my friends Hyginus Ngam, Martin Tasah, Zillah Nges and course mates Annette Epeti, Beryl Ndula, Mr. Lawrence Iyok, Lydia Tamungang, Macmillan Fondu, Patience Fondason and Mr. Thomas Tambe with whom I discussed this work iv ABSTRACT The emergence of Boko Haram, as an Islamic extremist terrorist group that has been agitating for the introduction of strict Islamic laws and the Islamisation of Nigeria through violent activities such as killing, bombing, and suicide bombing has taken a transnational dimension Ayeotan (2012). It has more recently transformed into one of the fiercest terrorist organizations, whose violent activities have seriously affected the lives of people across Nigeria and its neighbouring countries. Also, the group has been described as a domestic terrorist group because of the initial scope of its atrocities mainly in Nigeria. This work sought to investigate the factors that led to the transnationalization of terrorism in the Lake Chad basin with case study of the Boko Haram insurgency. Structured interviews were used to collect primary data for the study. The respondents were principally military and security personnel, civilians, and elites. Due to the broad nature of the scope and the high level of insecurity in the study area, the study made more use of secondary than primary data. The study employed material collected from news channels, websites, published and unpublished thesis, books and articles. The results indicated that ignorance and deprivation and socio – cultural relations were the leading factors that have sustained and deepened the Boko Haram crisis. Accordingly, it is recommended that the governments of Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, and Niger should set up social centres in the affected areas that would promote socio-cultural interaction of the local people with people from other areas of the country. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................................... i CERTIFICATION ...................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. DECLARATION ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... x APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................................. xi ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study .................................................................................................................. 1 1.2.1 ISIS .................................................................................................................................................. 3 1.1.2 Al-Shabaab ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1.3 Al-Qaeda .......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1.4 Boko Haram ..................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2. Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Objectives of the study ........................................................................................................................ 7 1.4 Research questions .............................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Scope of the study ............................................................................................................................... 8 1.7 Organization of the study .................................................................................................................. 10 1.8 Definition of Key Concepts .............................................................................................................. 11 1.8.1 Transnationalism ............................................................................................................................ 11 vi 1.8.2 Terrorism ........................................................................................................................................ 11 1.8.3 Fundamentalism ............................................................................................................................. 11 1.8.4 Enigma ........................................................................................................................................... 12 1.8.5 Conflict .......................................................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Literature Review .............................................................................................................................. 13 2.1.1 Transnational Terrorist Groups ...................................................................................................... 13 2.1.2 The Emergence and Evolution of Boko Haram ............................................................................. 14 2.1.3 Philosophical Trajectories (Timeline) of Boko Haram .................................................................. 16 2.1.4 The Socio-Cultural Drivers of Boko Haram’s Transnationalization ............................................. 19 2.1.5 The Cross-Border Cooperation and Lake Chad Area Countries and Counter Terrorism .............. 23 2.1.5.1 The Shortcomings of the Cross-Border Cooperation and Lake Chad Area Countries and Counter Terrorism ................................................................................................................................... 28 2.1.6 The Geographical Enablers of Boko Haram’s Transnationalization ............................................. 31 2.1.7 Human Capital Deficits and Transnationalization of Boko Haram ............................................... 33 2.2 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................................