Boko Haram and Nigeria thesis help

[Mitt]

So, I have been lurking on this site/thread for a while now and thought I would actively seek some assistance. I'm starting a thesis as part of a Master's in Geopolitics on the question of Boko Haram and Nigeria for the exact reason you guys have been discussing, mainly because no one else is discussing it. Unfortunately, as a result, I am running into a lack of unclassified information on the subject and my ideas of doing an internship in the region this spring have been thwarted by higher powers. If anyone has any advice on where I can look or people I can talk to I’d gladly take a message or a comment. If not, I will try and throw anything interesting I find into this thread as I move forward with my research. Thanks in advance.

[davidbfpo]

Created for Mitt, a new member, to explain his RFI.

[davidbfpo]

Miit,

Welcome aboard. Personally I doubt that classified information would help that much, in part as external observers have very limited awareness of the situation, rely mainly on open sources anyway and until yesterday the agenda gave a low priority to Boko Haram over staying friendly with the Nigerian state.

I discovered this ex-Nigerian soldier's blogsite this week, not had time to reach a conclusion on its value:https://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/

If you scroll through the main Nigeria thread you will find a number of resources, including SME and of course some members - even if not posting often today. Such as Kingjaja and Stan R.

I recommend you follow Virginia Comolli from IISS (London-based).

Have a peek at the Ghana-based peacekeeping centre, whose name I cannot recall (named after Kofi Annan?), as I expect they are watching Nigeria's internal problems more closely now.

Look out for the NGOs that are in country or national / international aid agencies. At least one of them advised the UK High Commission that "trouble was brewing up north" long before BH gained momentum and their advice was rejected.

[Bill Moore]

So, I have been lurking on this site/thread for a while now and thought I would actively seek some assistance. I'm starting a thesis as part of a Master's in Geopolitics on the question of Boko Haram and Nigeria for the exact reason you guys have been discussing, mainly because no one else is discussing it. Unfortunately, as a result, I am running into a lack of unclassified information on the subject and my ideas of doing an internship in the region this spring have been thwarted by higher powers. If anyone has any advice on where I can look or people I can talk to I’d gladly take a message or a comment. If not, I will try and throw anything interesting I find into this thread as I move forward with my research. Thanks in advance.

Mitt,

I differ a little from David's view, the best information on this problem currently is classified, only because there hasn't been a lot of open source research on this problem. There are a few valuable open source researchers working this. Send me a PM and let me know where you're going to school. This would certainly be a worthwhile contribution.

Ensure you look at the West Point's CTC website, and I'll send you some others later.

It is also worth finding any open source information you can on the impact of the collapse of Libya and the mass proliferation of fire arms throughout the region, to include all the way down to Nigeria.

[Mitt]

Thanks for the support I was expecting a reply or two, but as always SWJ went the extra mile.

The original idea for the thesis was on Boko Haram, but after a literary review turned up next to nothing useful. I was advised to shift towards the problem of Boko Haram in the context of Nigeria. This has developed into a working problmatique on What are the conditions in Nigeria that have allowed Boko Haram to establish itself and prosper?

I have initially divided the conditions into corruption issues, religious issues, ethnic and tribal issues, influence from outside state and non-state actors, BH itself and a host of other smaller things jotted into my notebook that need to be explored.

I have some time as the thesis is due at the end of July 2015. As part of my program I will finish with classes next month and begin an internship in March. The initial plan was to find an internship in the region with an NGO or government agency, but advice from others and initial responses were that this would be impossible to support. As of right now my hopes are to land a position as an intern with a think-tank and work from there.

I appreciate all and any help although as finals and other papers are in the coming weeks, I will be slower in response.

[Mitt]

Miit,

Welcome aboard. Personally I doubt that classified information would help that much, in part as external observers have very limited awareness of the situation, rely mainly on open sources anyway and until yesterday the agenda gave a low priority to Boko Haram over staying friendly with the Nigerian state.

I discovered this ex-Nigerian soldier's blogsite this week, not had time to reach a conclusion on its value:https://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/

If you scroll through the main Nigeria thread you will find a number of resources, including SME and of course some members - even if not posting often today. Such as Kingjaja and Stan R.

I recommend you follow Virginia Comolli from IISS (London-based).

Have a peek at the Ghana-based peacekeeping centre, whose name I cannot recall (named after Kofi Annan?), as I expect they are watching Nigeria's internal problems more closely now.

Look out for the NGOs that are in country or national / international aid agencies. At least one of them advised the UK High Commission that "trouble was brewing up north" long before BH gained momentum and their advice was rejected.

David,

Most of the issues I am/was running into regarding classification are on BH itself. It makes for great stories, but terrible academic writing. This issue has been somewhat resolved by adjusting the problmatique to focus less on the group and more on the conditions in Nigeria.

I stumbled on the KAIPTC site during the literary review, but have not yet sent any emails to the Centre or any of the authors. I had also not seen the blog or Mrs. Comolli's name come up so there are definitely holes in my searching and more work to be done. I'll also work my way back through the Nigeria thread and send out a few PM to see where they can point me.

Thanks again for your assistance, it's been an interesting experience to see what information and thoughts different people from different backgrounds and countries bring to the question.

[Mitt]

Mitt,

I differ a little from David's view, the best information on this problem currently is classified, only because there hasn't been a lot of open source research on this problem. There are a few valuable open source researchers working this. Send me a PM and let me know where you're going to school. This would certainly be a worthwhile contribution.

Ensure you look at the West Point's CTC website, and I'll send you some others later.

It is also worth finding any open source information you can on the impact of the collapse of Libya and the mass proliferation of fire arms throughout the region, to include all the way down to Nigeria.

Bill,

Thanks for the reply. One of my first steps was the CTC website and an email to the director. He's a busy man, but was generous enough to point me in the direction of a few individuals working the issue.

Interesting you should mention the collapse of Libya. I had the opportunity to listen to Bernard Lugan, French historian of Africa, explain the effects of the collapse of Libya on the greater Sahel and Sub-Saharan region and the mass proliferation of arms by groups that has occurred was a major point. If by chance you read French his blog (http://bernardlugan.blogspot.fr/) has a range of incites on everything African although his answer that there is no viable solution to most of the problems isn't very encouraging.

[davidbfpo]

Mitt,

A timely BBC analysis, it names two sources:
UK-based finance and security analyst Tom Keatinge ....Nigerian researcher Kyari Mohammed.....The International Crisis Group (ICG).Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30933860

In April 2015 Hurst (London) are publishing a book by Virginia Comolli, 'Boko Haram: Nigeria's Islamist Insurgency'. If you register with them you can get a discount and worldwide free P&P:http://www.hurstpublishers.com/

Not sure why Tom Keatinge is cited as a source, his known expertise is elsewhere:https://www.rusi.org/analysis/authors/ref:B54006656A7546/

Kyari Mohammed is based in Nigeria, here is a starting point:http://mautech.academia.edu/KyariMohammed

[Jedburgh]

This has developed into a working problmatique on What are the conditions in Nigeria that have allowed Boko Haram to establish itself and prosper?
To do that effectively, you'll need to research the background and delineate the evolution of the problem in northern Nigeria. You should go back at least to the '80s and the Maitatsine, and follow the pattern of events through to the emergence of Ahl-Sunna wal Jamma in '95 and then the rise of Boko Haram. You should be able to collect plenty of material to adequately describe the failure of the Nigerian state to address core issues of resentment in the Muslim north over a period of decades in the face of a clearly evolving threat.