The Nigerian military response and local politics contribute more to the resilience of Boko Haram and the protraction of the conflict in the Lake Chad region than Boko Haram’s affiliation with the Islamic State does.
Nigeria
The disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) program in the Nigerian oil region brought forth changes for ex-insurgents and community members across four levels to some extent—cultural, intrapersonal, structural, and interpersonal (CISI)—though interpersonal change did not extend to all conflict parties, hindering the conflict transformation potential of the program.
Military action is often an ineffective and counterproductive tool for countering terrorism, as it fuels grievances of already marginalized communities.