Counter-Insurgency by Civilian Joint Task Force and the Restoration of Cultural Heritage in Old Kanem Borno Empire

Abstract

Nigeria returned to democracy in the year 1999. After a decade of the country’s return to civil rule, the phenomenon of insecurity erupted in the old Kanem Borno Empire. The uprising of some terrorists affected Nigeria and some parts of the neighboring countries namely, Chad, Niger and Cameroon which constituted the Old Kanem Borno Empire. The activities of these terrorists resulted in the killing of thousands of innocent lives, destruction of property worth billions of Naira and the displacement of most tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the empire. Consequently, some youth arose to complement efforts of government and military Joint Task Force (JTF) towards the restoration of the cultural heritage of the area. The objectives of the study are to: assess the counter-insurgency towards the role of restoration of cultural heritage which Boko Haram fights to disrupt and to identify the effects of the activities of Civilian Joint Task Force on restoring affected cultural heritage in Old Kanem Borno Empire. The findings of this study revealed that the rise of CJTF is multifactorial. The study revealed that the factors that precipitated the rise of CJTF vary with time, place, and situation. The key motivating factors were the widespread killings and destruction of property by Boko Haram and the counter-attacks and destruction by the military which also adversely affected several tangible and intangible communities. The study recommended that people should be vigilant enough and report any suspicious movement to avoid future reoccurrence of this problem. The government as a matter of urgency should assist and encourage the youths that sacrificed their lives in restoring the cultural heritage with employment, scholarships or money to establish business to sustain themselves.