The Making of Boko Haram - by Akali Omeni (Hardcover)

About the Book

An essential and up-to-date look at Boko Haram that examines the historical antecedents, events and personalities that shaped the movement's ideology and pivot towards violence.

Book Synopsis

An essential and timely exploration of Boko Haram, a terror group whose violence has surpassed every other modern terror group including that of Daesh, al Qaeda and Al-Shabaab.

This key volume constitutes a vital resource on Boko Haram's ideology, history, leadership, and pivot towards violence. With particular emphasis on the events, personalities, radical histories and Islamic discourses that shaped Boko Haram's rise, the volume examines the movement's formative years under Muhammad Yusuf and its evolution into one of the world's most violent terror groups. Delving into the traditions, institutional structures and politicisation of shari'a (Islamic law) in Northern Nigeria, this ground-breaking volume offers crucial insights into Boko Haram as a social movement that exploits political Islam towards deadly ends.

Review Quotes

"A remarkable book - accessible, reader-friendly and versatile" --Iwebunor Okwechime, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

"Akali Omeni brings rigor and originality to a subject that continues to shape Nigeria and Africa's security landscape. The Making of Boko Haram is not just scholarship; it is a valuable reference for historians, security practitioners and professional military education (PME)." --Major General Muhammad Inuwa Idris (rtd), The 26th Commanding General of the Nigerian Defence Academy

"The Making of Boko Haram is an important and much needed contribution to understanding the rise and trajectory of this violent and highly consequential movement. Akali Omeni has done a superb job of mining archival material, utilizing key narratives, and applying social movement theory to produce this compelling and authoritative account of Boko Haram" --Bruce Hoffman, Georgetown University, USA

"Akali Omeni's "The Making of Boko Haram" peels back critical layers to explain the group's origins, ideolog(ies) and violence, reframing our understanding of an extremist movement often narrowly defined despite its wider social movement grounding. Omeni skillfully uncovers the historical tensions and contextual debates between faith and politics which shaped Boko Haram's evolution, adaptation and resilience. A timely and essential read, imperative for Nigeria and the world to better understand the challenge rising religious fundamentalism' poses to multicultural, constitutional democracy. " --Leena Koni Hoffmann-Atar, Chatham House, UK

"Omeni has written the definitive history of Boko Haram. Vivid, well-evidenced and gripping. If you are interested in understanding how social movements gradually embrace terror, with Boko Haram as an exemplar, you should read this book." --Finda Koroma, ECOWAS Commission, Former Vice President, Sierra Leone

About the Author

omeni is the principal consultant at Terrorism Studies Consultancy and a visiting professor at Boston University. He has taught at the War Studies Department, King's College London, at the University of Leicester, and at the University of St Andrews, UK, where he was Senior Lecturer. He is the author of Policing and Politics in Nigeria (2022), Insurgency and War in Nigeria (2019), Counter-Insurgency in Nigeria (2017) and Picking Sides: Race, Ethnicity and Recruitment in the Colonial Nigerian Army (forthcoming).