Analyzing Nigerian Army - Boko Haram’s Conflict through the Prisms of Marx’s Theory of Economic Determinism

Abstract

This work analyzes the protracted conflict between the Nigerian authority and Boko Haram from the perspectives of Karl Marx’s theory of economic determinism. It explores the financial interests of corrupt officials as a plausible explanation for unsuccessful counter-terrorism. It also argues that the major factor responsible for the intractable nature of the conflict is the material benefit that the political elites derive from its prolongation. The authors use the theory of economic determinism to vividly show how the ruling oligarchs in Nigeria have thwarted every attempt to end the conflict. Using the qualitative research methodology, the work tends to illustrate how the desire for massive and unbridled wealth accumulation drove the political and military elites in Nigeria to hinder every effort made to resolve the conflict between Nigeria and Boko Haram. In other words, the work reveals the crucial links between wealth accumulation and the prolongation of the Boko Haram conflict in Nigeria.