There are many states on the northern border of Nigeria with Niger, Chad and Cameroon. And in these states, there are many ethnic groups. However, it is only the Kanuri enclave of Borno and Yobe states that produced the radical Islamic boko haram sect. It is the informed position of this paper that one of the reasons why the Kanuri gestated boko haram was largely due to the international territorial advantage they have. The reason is that the Kanuri is the only ethnic group in northern Nigeria that undistorted distribution into neighbouring countries of Chad, Cameroon and Niger, with the special feature of almost uninterrupted spread. Therefore, the paper argues that this geographical advantage certainly has a fundamental role in the on-going conflict of the boko haram. It is also the submission of this paper that the version of Islam prevalent in the Kanuri enclave is predisposed to radicalism that boko haram prides with. It is common knowledge that since the conflict ensued, the Nigerian government has taken measures aimed at curtailing moments of attacks and frustrating the movement’s ambition. This desire is yet a success. Therefore, the paper appraises the methodologies so far employed, identifying why they have not worked, and probably why they will never work for this conflict that has lasted for a decade now.
Keywords: Boko Haram, Ethnic Identity, Kanuri, Politics, Religion., conspiracy
