FOR the past five years an Islamic extremist group called Boko Haram has grown in stature and gruesomeness in Nigeria's north-east. It has expanded its membership, range of operations and the territory it controls to the point where two dozens cities are beyond government control. This has happened despite the fact that Nigeria is now Africa's largest economy and has a highly capable political elite. Currently the army is fighting insurgents for control of the city of Chibok where Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls earlier this year. How come Nigeria's situation keeps getting worse, given international support for the Nigerian government? The crisis in the north-east needs to be seen in the context of generally rising criminality in Nigeria. Kidnappings for ransom are rife: celebrities and clergymen are plucked off the street in daylight. Hundreds of people are killed every year in land disputes. Thieves siphon off as much as a fifth of the country’s oil output in the Niger delta. Piracy is common. Rampant criminality also infects politics. Gangsters aid politicians by intimidating opponents. In return elected officials share out funds plundered from state coffers. Two years ago KPMG, a global audit firm, named Nigeria as the most fraud-prone country in Africa.

Boko Haram’s motivations lie not so much in religious fanaticism as in protest against government neglect. While fabulously wealthy, Nigeria's government and elite shares very little with the masses, especially those in the north-east, traditionally the poorest and least influential part of the country. Development levels there are among the lowest in the world, despite being one of OPEC's biggest oil producers. Nigeria's government has also neglected to pour money into its armed forces, out of both greed and fear. Coups used to be common. So now unpopular leaders are fighting an insurgency without capable security forces, which often inflames the situation, for example when under-paid and ill-trained soldiers rape and pillage just like Boko Haram.

The only way to defeat the insurgents is for Nigeria to do what it should have done long ago for other reasons: sort out its governance. Politicians should concentrate on building institutions, such as a fair-minded police force and a competent health care system, rather than filling their pockets in cooperation with criminals. Only then will the government be able to build a decent army and channel enough resources to the poor in the north-east. That is the way to defeat Boko Haram.

Dig deeper:

An extremist takeover exposes the flaw at the heart of Africa's lodestar nation (Oct 2014)

To make it big in Africa, a business must succeed in Nigeria (Aug 2014)

Revised figures show that Nigeria is Africa's biggest economy (April 2014)