Newly elected Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari faces many challenges. He has the Herculean task of reversing fifty years of decay that exists at the heart of Nigeria's current development and security architecture. Tackling Boko Haram, which is his most urgent task, is only the latest manifestation of growing ethnic and religious extremism that has seen successive waves of violence and even efforts of state dismemberment.
Writing for the Small Wars Journal, Matthew Blood recently wrote: 'In the long term, reforming Nigeria and its institutions will require rooting out corruption, transforming the country's mafia-like political culture, building government capacity, undertaking comprehensive security sector reform, institutionalizing the rule of law and respect for human rights, developing the non-oil economy, reducing poverty, and increasing educational enrolment.' Democratic entitlement compounds the challenge in a country known for its robust and divisive politics, and grand theft from state coffers.
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