In God’s Name: Violent Extremism in North East Nigeria

The expansion of the extremist violent acts of terror in the last two decades and their apparent entanglement with religion has generated an intense push for engagement of religion in diplomacy. Yet, there remains scepticism on the input of religion in addressing violent extremism especially when the heated debate on its role in promoting violence is yet to settle. Delineating motivations for insurgency in the North East region of Nigeria, which have been the focus of most scholarly works, from its drivers, the study submits that the intensification and sustenance of Boko Haram insurgency in the area is largely anchored on conflict drivers and less on what is arguably taken to be the motivations for violent extremism in general. Thus, strategic measures that focus on drivers of violence without ignoring completely religious motivations may be more effective in countering insurgency in the region.