Multinational Joint Task Force and Insurgent Attacks in the Lake Chad Region: Nigeria in Perspective

Security has assumed heightened importance in the world today as the rate of criminal activities also increased in scale. This has not only posed a great threat to national development but also to education. This paper examined the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and insurgent attacks in the Lake Chad region, with Nigeria in perspective. The theoretical thrust of the study is the realists' theory. The study adopted ex-post facto research design which is based on already documented evidences. Data were generated from secondary sources, such as textbooks, journals, newspapers, online (internet) publications and conference papers. The result revealed that education has come under serious threat, especially in the Northeast Nigeria. It also showed that insurgent attacks persist despite the formation of MNJTF due to porous borders, policy inconsistency, inadequate funding, lack of commitment, uncoordinated reprisals, poor intelligent gathering, external support and failed governance. However, as the counter terror operations appears to be the panacea for security and return of millions of displaced persons who are living in extremely vulnerable conditions, the paper concludes that there has been persistent insurgent attacks on residents, education and developmental projects. The study recommends amongst others that government should address the persistent insurgent attacks through effective harnessing of the regional resources in the provision of needed funds and sophisticated weaponry for the counter terro operation. This is to avoid the endless wait of aid from international donors. The region's porous borders should be secured by setting up a regional joint border police.