A 'nation' in wilderness: Youth and insurgency in Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACTPrior to and immediately after independence, young Nigerians, under different political and intellectual platforms, had individually and collectively instituted and succeeded in fostering progressive change in the Nigerian polity, most times without being violent and destructive. Through these platforms, they were able to checkmate and monitor the excessiveness of the ruling elites. However, it appears that such spirit of nation-building and patriotism is fast disappearing in contemporary Nigeria. Young Nigerians are increasingly becoming violent and destructive, probably because they are angry and frustrated. The brutal killings of innocent Nigerians in schools and other places by the Boko Haram have thrown the country into a state of pandemonium and mourning. This article examines the emergence of insurgency across the geopolitical zones in Nigeria within the context of social movement theories. It argues that the inherent social structural maladies and/or prevailing sociopolitical environment have provided impetus for the emergence and maintenance of insurgency among the youth in Nigeria. It calls for the need to subject and interrogate the current waves of insurgency across ethnic cleavages in Nigeria to a more nuanced and pragmatic analysis in order to dissect and unravel their sociostructural and political undertones.