Boko Haram’s Insurgency and Nigeria’s Relations with the United States of America 2009-2016

The study sought to examine Boko Haram’s insurgency and Nigeria’s relations with; the United States, the work was divided into five chapters. The study was guided by the following research questions: How did Boko Haram insurgency shape Nigeria’s international image? How did insurgency of Boko Haram influence Nigeria -United States of America security relations? To what level does insurgency of the Boko Haram affect trade relations between Nigeria and the United States of America? The study’s methodological design was explanatory and data collection method was entirely based on secondary data. The study adopted both qualitative and quantative analytical techniques in analyzing findings in relation to the respective themes as reflected in the research questions. With regard to the first research question, it was confirmed that Boko Haram insurgency destroyed Nigeria’s image abroad. The international partners regarded Nigeria as a less secure, terrorism infested country. The findings of this research show us that the Boko Haram insurgency had little negative effect on the relations between Nigeria and USA, in fact the USA got more involved in Nigeria by paying more attention to Nigeria because of the Boko Haram insurgency. The USA is known for its anti-terrorism policy and this served as motivation for them to help their ally fight terrorism bringing into consideration the securitization theory, this theory helped to understand the reasons for the USA’s involvement. During the course of the research, it was found out that the Nigerian military could not handle the Boko Haram insurgency effectively, because of that they requested assistance from the United States government. The United States government responded by sending military assistance in form of U.S troops and military training to Nigeria to help out with the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency especially after the kidnapping of the Chibok girls. About the relations of trade between the two countries, the effect was severe in the first three years but remained less significant in the subsequent years until 2016 when drastic decline in Nigerian exports to the U. S was recorded. The study concludes that the persistence of Boko Haram insurgency weakens Nigeria’s ability in pursuing a robust foreign policy and exposes its internal security and decision-making capability to foreign influence from United States.