Description
Over the last decade, Nigeria have been terrorised by Boko Haram whose wanton destruction of lives and properties have seen a severe response by the Nigerian government. Central to this concern is the international communities’ response in supporting the Nigerian government in suppressing Boko Haram as seen in the United States delayed supply of the relevant munitions to combat the terrorist group. There also seems to be paucity of research that have sought to explore perceptions concerning the rationality behind counterterrorism. The study relied on a qualitative method and semi-structured interview comprising 53 participants recruited from Lagos states in Nigeria. Informed by the principles of thematic analysis and Weber’s formal rationality the study found that there was a perceived notion that the Nigerian counterterrorism response was one devoid of consideration to the root causes and as such evoking a sense of irrationality behind counterterrorism. The study recommends a context-specific outlook on some of the drivers of the conflict in order to reduce terrorism.
