Entangled Incidents: Nigeria in the Global War on Terror (1994–2009)

This article reviews the early history of Boko Haram
(1994–2009) in the light of the trans-local entanglement of
Nigerian political and religious actors in the global paradigm of
the War on Terror (WoT). Empirically, the article shows evidence
of Nigeria’s early involvement in a counterterrorism strategy
based on the surveillance of actors (who gradually morphed into
Boko Haram) believed to be connected to international terrorist
networks. Such a strategy was mainly designed to sever such
alleged international ties. Methodologically, the article draws on
the idea that terrorism and counterterrorism are two structures
that take shape in parallel ways in any given context and suggests
that Nigeria’s counterterrorism strategies need to become part of
the historical narrative on Boko Haram. Theoretically, it argues
that the early history of Boko Haram was shaped by a specifically
Nigerian configuration of WoT politics. It submits that two incidents
that occurred in 2003 and 2009 should be viewed as WoT
preemptive strikes rather than as insurgencies. Finally, it argues
that such WoT policies have contributed to transform a small,
embryonic group of militants animated by a global agenda into
an all-out, local insurgency against Nigerian institutions and
civil society.