I've mentioned this earlier, African nations like Nigeria and Kenya are very different from other "traditional" fronts on the war on terror like Somalia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria etc.

All the nations I mentioned are Islamic-dominated nations, Nigeria & Kenya are not. Kenya can be said to be "Christian-dominated" (Muslims are a fraction of the population), but Nigeria has about equal numbers of Muslims & Christians - and that's where the problems start.

Most scholars haven't investigated the impact of Boko Haram's violence on the perception of Islam by Nigeria's significant Christian community.

I live in Nigeria, the impact is quite significant and it will be reflected in the results of the next elections.

The next elections in Nigeria are likely to be a cliff hanger. I'm almost certain that it would be virtually impossible to conduct elections in Nigeria's North East (the epicenter of Boko Haram), so there would be shouts of disenfranchisement.

There are likely to be two major candidates. One will be a Christian (the incumbent) while the other is most definitely going to be a Muslim from Nigeria's North. Four years of Boko Haram violence against Churches in the North is likely to result in heavy support for the Christian candidate from the Christian community, while the converse is likely to apply for Muslims.

Right now Boko Haram is brutal but in a way, manageable. The next set of elections are likely to split the religious & sectional fault-lines wide open.

This could be worse than Yugoslavia if not handled well.

No nation on earth has the resources or capability to prevent Nigeria from imploding if the Nigerian ruling elite doesn't navigate 2015 with care. The language from the political elite isn't very encouraging.