The violent rise and resilience of the jihadist group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin since 2009 poses enormous security, humanitarian and governance challenges. A heavy-handed or solely military response will not bring peace and may be counter-productive. As one of the few organisations with field-based expertise in the greater Sahel and on all four countries caught up in the insurgency - Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria - Crisis Group is well placed to analyse Boko Haram’s activities and impact. We aim to help develop creative and effective responses to contain the group, prevent the spread of violence, and limit the humanitarian impact of the conflict.
In late 2018 Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Gender Azadeh Moaveni went to north-east Nigeria, which has been the epicenter of the fight between Boko Haram and the Nigerian military, to explore how effectively women formerly associated with the group have been rehabilitated and reintegrated back into society.
You cannot say yet that the [Multinational Joint Task Force tackling Boko Haram] is integrated like a NATO force. It’s just to coordinate; it is not yet a unified force. Each of the forces is based in their own territories.
The Nigerian government owes [the Chibok girls'] parents and the public the fundamental responsibility of accounting for every one of them.
For some women trapped in domestic life, Boko Haram offers an escape. But this reflects a huge abyss of desperation among women and a failure of society in the northeast [of Nigeria].
We have to think very carefully about the use of violence [against Boko Haram], sometimes it is necessary, but it mustn’t aggravate the situation, rather it must help to reduce or resolve the conflict. Force should be used cautiously.
Only a quarter [of Boko Haram's recruits] learned about the group at mosques or Islamic schools. [They] used to be the place to get new recruits, but now they are under the spotlight.
Each force [fighting against Boko Haram] is based in its country of origin. There’s no integrated force with battalions moving in perfect coordination.
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