Conflicts and Regional Underdevelopment: A Review of Lake Chad Basin Region

Abstract

This paper has carefully examined conflicts and regional underdevelopment, a review of the Lake Chad Basin region. This work started out by exploring Nigeria’s foreign policy and the counter-insurgency in the Chad Basin region. This paper makes it clear that Nigeria’s foreign policy has been poised to end insurgency in this region. By providing an analysis of the historic dynamics of the Lake Chad Basin region and the common challenges that Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria face, this brief deconstructs common narratives around "violent extremism’ held by the policy community; it provides a more nuanced explanation of the drivers of insurgency in the region; and it offers a set of recommendations to governments and policymakers on ways to manage the on-going crisis. Leaning largely on secondary sources, this paper used the Linkage approach to explain the need for states in the Chad Basin region to concertedly find solutions to the insurgency problem. The work that found insurgency has fueled instability and underdevelopment with attendant consequences across the Chad Basin region; and it has shattered the economic base of this region. Despite being vigorously fought, insurgency through Boko Haram remains resilient. Consequently, this paper recommended: adequate empowerment of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to eradicate insurgency in the region; awareness about the global and regional tide of terrorism as a precautionary measure; use of faith-based organisations to stop radicalization; use of coherent strategies that respond to the manifestations and the drivers of the insurgency; galvanising sustained political will and national commitment to deal with insurgency; bolstered civil-military co-operation to fight insurgency; and enhanced military cooperation across borders to fight insurgency in the Chad Basin region.