Insurgency and Nigeria’s Relations with Her Immediate Neighbors in the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

Terrorist acts metamorphosed into an insurgency in Nigeria when the Boko Haram terrorist group ferociously challenged the territorial integrity of Nigeria and proclaimed authority over 14 local governments. Consequently, Nigeria orchestrates counterinsurgency strategy that incorporates her contiguous neighbors. It is against this background that this article interrogates the rise of insurgency in Nigeria and its influence on Nigeria’s relations with her immediate neighbors. The article argues that the insurgent uprising reinvigorates rapprochement between Nigeria and the nearby states. It concludes that cooperation in this context for national security is inexorable for mutual survival.