10 years after: What does Boko Haram want?

The over 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) need to be returned back to their communities after taking back those communities/territories from Boko Haram and reconstructing them. The Northern elites and state governors in the North who have been responsible for poor development of this region must be held accountable for any drawback in development efforts. Nigeria will not improve its health and economic indicators without developing the Northern region. The Nigerian government should work with Northern elites and state governors from the North and ensure that they transform the North from its present state of underdevelopment into a safe, secure and economically viable region. All hands must be on deck in rebuilding Northern Nigeria and every other part of Nigeria plagued by unrest. Although there is mutual suspicion between the North and the South but we have to work together to bridge the North-South divide. The development of Northern Nigeria and other volatile regions will be critical to ensuring peace and stability. Governments must intensify development efforts across the country.

The problem of Boko Haram insurgency, extreme poverty, youth unemployment, lack of access to health services, economic inequality and lack of education in Northern Nigeria is surmountable. The root causes of Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, herdsmen-farmer conflict and kidnapping are within the control of governments. Nigeria is a strategic country on the African continent and needs to seek the help of the West to win the war against terrorism and develop the Northern region. Almost everyone regardless of their religious affiliation agree that governments have failed in their responsibilities by not addressing the problem of widening income inequality, pervasive corruption, poor governance and abuse of office. These problems persist whether in the North or the South of the country. Nigeria has spent trillions of naira in ten years fighting Boko Haram insurgency. It’s time to redirect these monies towards development efforts. There will be no reason for Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and herdsmen-farmer conflict if governments had focused on developing Northern Nigeria and listened carefully to the agitations by different groups. Nigeria would have enjoyed peace and security.

Bolaji Samson Aregbeshola is a freelance writer.