Mastering Nigeria's 21st-Century Social and Security Challenges: Terrorism as a Case Study

Abstract

Terrorism has become one of the most difficult manifestations of contemporary insecurity because its causes, methods and consequences extend beyond conventional military threats. Nigeria illustrates this complexity particularly well. Although counterterrorism operations have degraded the capabilities of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), terrorism continues to exploit poverty, unemployment, weak public services, social exclusion, institutional distrust, porous borders and local grievances. This article examines Nigeria's contemporary terrorism challenge through a social-policy and security perspective. Using a qualitative case-study and documentary research design, it analyses recent evidence from the Global Terrorism Index, Nigerian official statistics, United Nations agencies, the World Bank, International Organization for Migration and other credible sources published between 2021 and 2026. The study finds that Nigeria's terrorism problem cannot be sustainably addressed through kinetic operations alone. In 2025, terrorism deaths in Nigeria increased by 46% to 750, returning the country to fourth place globally on the Global Terrorism Index, while ISWAP and Boko Haram accounted for approximately 80% of terrorism deaths. At the same time, 62.9% of Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, with severe regional disparities. The article argues for an integrated model combining intelligence-led security operations with employment, education, social protection, community resilience, accountable governance and regional cooperation. It concludes that social policy should be treated as a strategic component of Nigeria's long-term counterterrorism architecture