While the economic situation is Borno State plays a role in the continued presence of the insurgency, it is not the only or even one of the most important reasons for Boko Haram’s existence. The insurgency exists because of a perfect storm of political, economic, geographic, social and environmental factors. I will be so bold as to say that the spark that caused the insurgency to start in Borno State was the political one. I will discuss the political reasons in this post- if you think I have something to contribute to this conversation, I will put forward my opinions on the other factors.

This will be a long post, so please bear with me. I will take each of the causes one by one, but I must state that I am just a moderately politically aware Nigerian from the southwestern part of the country. This is just my opinion- take it for what it is.

Political

Right now, the current president of Nigeria- President Goodluck Jonathan is from Bayelsa State in the far-south and oil rich Niger Delta. H is the first person from that area to hold that position as power has traditionally stayed with the Northeastern, Northwestern and Southwestern regions. These regions are populated by the Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri and Yoruba ethnic groups. The oil (which is the mainstay of the Nigerian Economy and the major source of wealth for Nigeria’s corrupt elite) is all in the Niger Delta region.

Over the years (since the 70’s) successive Nigerian regimes have allocated oil blocs and oil wells to their cronies and supporters in the Northern and Western parts of the country while systematically shutting out Nigerians from the oil producing areas. As a result of this decades-long policy, the vast majority of the oil wealth is in the hands of a few people who are from areas of the country that do not produce oil. This has lead to resentment from The southeast and the Niger Delta region.

The current president (remember he is from the Niger Delta region) has taken steps to change this state of affairs, much to the anger of the old boy’s club who hold the oil wells. He seeks to create and extend a class of cronies who owe their fortunes to him and to reduce the marginalization of his people. One of the ways he has chosen to do this is by refusing to re-allocate oil wells with expired leases to the old Northern and Western elite who held them.

This has understandably enraged the elite and has caused them to resort to a large number of political methods to remove the president (or force his resignation) and replace him with someone more amenable to their interests. All of these attempts have failed. After the coming elections (slated for 2015), a huge number of oil well leases will be up for re-allocation. Whichever group of elites (northeast, northwest and western vs. southeast and Niger Delta) control the President will determine the makeup of the Nigerian Elite for the next generation.

As you can see, the stakes are extremely high, and it is because of this that the Northeastern and Northwestern elite (who failed to leverage their hold on the oil wells and diversify their holdings), in desperation, decided to fund an insurgency. The idea is to sap the will of the President to remain in office or, if that fails, reduce his credibility and the faith of the common Nigerians in the ability of the Southeastern and Niger Delta elite to govern the country.

In short- they want to put a Pro-Northern politician or figure in power to protect their economic interests. The damage to the people of the northeast is irrelevant so long as the end goal is achieved.