Boko Haram has emerged as a violent extremist group in Nigeria over the past decade. Their insurgency has resulted in over 12,000 deaths since 2002 and widespread violence continues. This violence has negatively impacted Nigeria's economy by reducing foreign direct investment, hindering trade and economic development. As businesses close locations and people flee dangerous areas, entire regions have faced economic depletion. The future stability and prosperity of Nigeria will depend on the government's ability to address the root causes fueling Boko Haram's insurgency and restore security across the country.

1. Boko Haram and its Impact on the Nigerian
Economy
By Angus Gillespie
Despite emerging from the murky shadows within Nigeria just a
dozen years ago,
Boko Haram has quickly earned itself an infamous reputation
for being one of the
most callous and violent radical Islamist groups in African
history. In fact, it’s
already been tagged a terrorist group by western countries such
as the United
States. Over the past 12 to 15 months, Boko Haram has
unleashed a massive
wave of violence, fear and chaos throughout the northern
African country – so
much so, that it’s know seen by many as having a noticeable
impact on the way
the country operates, and by extension, is hindering its
economic well being to a
widening degree.
Founded in 2002, Boko Haram is an ultra extremist Islamic cult
focusing primarily
on the edict that Western education is forbidden. Military
operations were
launched in 2009 to support their cause in creating an
independent Islamic state.
It also has roots that can be traced to the northern part of
Cameroon and parts of

2. Niger. The Boko Haram leadership has international
connections to Al-Qaeda.
Suspected Boko Haram militants have killed dozens of
Nigerians in recent weeks
and there is no sign of the violence abating. In one attack,
gunmen disguised as
soldiers fired on a crowd in a church compound. The radical
sect is known for
attacking churches, schools, and police stations. Tourists are
also considered fair
game. Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has
resulted in an
estimated 12,000 killings since 2002, although that figure has
gone up
considerably since 2009 when the group began to heavily arm
itself as a militia.
Making matters worse for the Nigerian government of Goodluck
Jonathan is that
some of the attacks come amidst reports some army generals
have been aiding
the rebel militants, on the belief that a national coup is going to
take place.
Nigerian media sources have reported that as many as 10
generals and five
other senior military officers have already been tried before the
courts for
supplying arms and information to Boko Haram. However, at
least one Nigerian
military spokesman called the reports “falsehoods”.
This contradicted Interior Minister Abba Moro said it was

3. “good news” that the
army had identified soldiers who were undermining the fight
against the
insurgents, and that it sent a strong message to other serving
officers.
Boko Haram has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since
2009 in an
attempt to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
One small town that has been hard hit by the violence is
Attagara, where the
village church came under attack leaving at least 20 people
dead.
Nigeria’s government has been facing mounting pressure both at
home and
abroad to do more to tackle the group and bring about the
release of more than
300 schoolgirls kidnapped by the group on April 15.
President Jonathan originally declared a state of emergency in
May of last year in
the three northern states where Boko Haram is, and has been,
most active –
Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
Boko Haram retaliated by stepping up its bombing campaign in
cities and
launching mass attacks on small towns and villages.
Media correspondents in those regions say that since the
infamous kidnapping of
more than 300 schoolgirls, the attacks have become an almost
daily occurrence.
The campaign to free the girls that began in their home village
has now gone
global, with the U.S., Canadian and British governments

4. offering support to help
with the rescue. It’s believed about 55 girls have managed to
escape their
captors since being taken hostage in April. The government has
ruled out
swapping the girls for detained insurgents associated with Boko
Haram.
President Jonathan has promised to address the poverty that
helps fuel the
uprising — but only once the insurgency is put down. The
World Bank says two-
thirds of 170 million Nigerians struggle in poverty in Africa’s
biggest oil producer.
Despite the fact there is so much poverty and lack of
widespread education,
Nigeria remains Africa’s largest economy – thanks in large part
to the massive oil
reserves that are often exploited by international corporations.
That said, to put
things into perspective, only about 3% of the world’s oil supply
is found in the
country. More recent successful business sectors have included
the likes of
banking, telecommunications and a burgeoning film industry.
Agriculture and
services have also been two traditional economic staples for the
country,
although neither has shown much in the way of expansion over
the past 10 to 20
years. To its credit, the country has also been diversifying the
core economic
drivers away from energy and agriculture. The nation’s GDP is
now $490 billion,
just shy of the economies of countries like Norway and Sweden.

5. When an organization managed to get the president of the
country to declare a
state of emergency, it stands to reason it has the ability to
unwieldy a
tremendous amount of damage on the country, be it through
violence or
economic crippling.
Economic Impact
Since Boko Haram emerged from the shadows about four years
ago, once armed
militarily, one of the first obvious economic concerns was the
almost immediate
drop in foreign direct investment (FDI), with the concern being
whether the
government had the wherewithal to deal with the serious
insurrection and stave
off the many decades of political instability the country has
faced. According to
the World Investment Report (WIR) 2013, FDI flows into
Nigeria dropped by 21%
in just one year — from $8.9 billion in 2011 to $7 billion in
2012. The loss of $1.9
billion for a country in desperate need of money – such as
Nigeria – was a
staggering blow.
The monumental decline in FDI over such a short period of time
sent ripple
effects throughout the international community, creating a
negative domino
effect. It’s a rock heading downhill that continues to gain

6. momentum, and it will
be up to Jonathan and his government not only to slow it down,
but to stop it
altogether, or it will begin all over again.
FDI into Nigeria has a direct impact on trade, while also
ensuring progression of
economic development to the south. FDI inflow also
supplements the available
domestic capital by stimulating the productivity of domestic
investments.
Someone troublesome is the high codependency ratio between
the inflow of FDI,
the Nigerian oil sector, and the country’s GDP.
A scientific study found that a unit increase in FDI into the
Nigerian oil sector will
increase the country’s GDP by approximately 16 units. This
shows that the
Nigerian oil and gas sector, which is the mainstay of the
economy, has a high
rate of exposure to foreign direct investment.
Between the lack of jobs, and the increasing violence with the
likes of terrorist
groups such as Boko Harm, there has been a mass movement of
Nigerian
citizens looking to settle in areas not impacted by the violence.
The trouble is
this: the areas not affected by the violence are most often areas
that have
nothing in terms of sustainable economic activity that would
allow a person or a
family to survive. Living in the dangerous regions is where
there’s hope for
employment.

7. The rush to escape from the northern part of the country that
has been hard hit is
already affecting the profitability of businesses in the region.
It’s no reached the
point where accredited banks have begun closing down some
branches due to a
huge decrease of economic activity. On top of that, a number of
employees at
these businesses are demanding to be reassigned to areas that
are less volatile.
As noted many times before, a lot of the current problems with
terrorist uprisings
can easily be pinpointed to a lack of government leadership due
to the constant
political insecurity, and especially so in the northern region.
Once the banks and other businesses decide to pack up and
move elsewhere, it
leaves the region in a state of economic depletion, and one that
won’t easily be
regained. It’s always quicker destroying something than it is
building it up. The
people of Nigeria are hoping President Jonathan’s government
takes drastic
action to bring about more stability in the country and soon.
Or, it will be a long
road to recovery for a nation that can already ill afford this type
of economic
setback.
More than $21 billion of foreign direct investment poured into
Nigeria in 2013, up
28% from the year before. The country does not want to see that

8. slide backwards
due to political instability and the onset of widespread violence.
The country has
attracted the most foreign direct investment in sub-Saharan
Africa since 2007,
according to Ernst & Young. But all of that could be quickly
eroded if the violence
is not snuffed out.
Many financial analysts seem to be of the opinion that the
impact on foreign
investment will largely be determined by geography. As
example, investors may
pull out funding from manufacturing and infrastructure
investments in northern
Nigeria, which has been ravaged by violence. But the resource
rich southern
region has been spared from violence to this point. This could
be one of the
factors as to why Nigeria’s stock market has been seemingly
unaffected by all the
recent turmoil. The benchmark equity index has only declined
about 1% since the
kidnappings in mid April; so for all intents and purposes, it has
been business as
usual.
So just how bad is it in Nigeria? It is perhaps best summed up
in a balanced
report by an analyst with Ernst & Young.
“Nigeria epitomizes this almost bipolar view of Africa,” says
Henry Egbiki, West
Africa regional leader at Ernst & Young. “For many of us
already doing business
on the continent it is an exciting, dynamic, high octane growth
market; for some
others, often on the outside looking in, it seems chaotic,
unstable, and uncertain.

9. The reality is obviously less cut and dried than either of these
extremes.”
The next 12 to 18 months will be critical for the government
and how it responds
to the upswing in violent outbreaks by radical groups such as
Boko
Haram. Humanitarian groups and countries will be looking on
from a human
rights point of view, but you can also bet that the international
investment
community will be keeping a close watch as well.
Case Study Assignment: REVISED November 2013
CMST 430 Communication in Organizations
Jeffrey L. Stafford, PhD
Your task is to develop a case study about some aspect of
organizational life, this might be a problem or some change
issue. You should probably focus on an issue or a problem or
something about change in the organization, but you can focus
more broadly than that.
NOTE: Do NOT include any proprietary or confidential
information or names of people or the organization if it could be
harmful to you, others or the organization. Do let me know if it
is a fictitious organization or a Real organization with the
names changed to protect the organization.
It is very important that you follow the format very carefully. I
will take points off for failing to follow the directions. Do each
section separately and turn it in separately.
The parts are:

10. Part 1A: Describe the Organization (5%)
Around a page in length, certainly not much more.
Part 1B: Describe the Situation you will analyze in the case
study (5%)
Around a page in length, certainly not much more.
Part 2: Situational Analysis (30%)
Use the Matrix, and then write a half a page to a page on each
of the 2 to 4 areas you will focus on.
Part 3: Recommendation (10%)
A one or two pages at most.
NOTE: all page descriptions are approximate and are 12 pt font
double spaced
Part 1A: Describe the Organization (5%)
Briefly describe the organization. NOTE: here is where you
state if it is real or fictitious. This description is likely to be 1
to 2 pages in length. You should also include an organizational
chart.
Format for Part 1A:
ORGANIZATIONAL NAME: You can change the name to
protect confidentiality
REAL OR FICTITIOUS: Just let me know if it is a real
organization of one that you have made up.

11. DESCRIPTION: A paragraph or two or three
ORG CHART: If one is not available, create it.
ADDITIONAL NOTES (optional):
Part 1B: Describe the Situation you will analyze in the case
study (5%)
Describe the issue or situation that you wish to deal with in the
case study.
You can and should bring relevant information in from Part 1A
if it helps you to be clear. Do NOT make me go back and forth
hunting for something. The online submissions do not make
that easy.
You should pretend that you either work for me, or that I have
hired you as a consultant on this issue.
After describing the issue, try to indicate what you think the
initial or perceived problem is and if you know it, the real
problem or the root cause.
Also briefly say what your initial approach might look like.
NOTE: all of this is in one document that you upload per the
instructions.
Format for Part 1B:
ISSUE OR SITUATION: you can do this in 1 to 3 pages
PERCEIVED PROBLEM: describe what you think the problem
or issue is. This might be what the organizational members

12. think the problem or issue is. You might change your mind
later. This should be brief, no longer than 1 page, maybe only a
short paragraph or a few bullets.
REAL PROBLEM: (optional) if you think you know what the
real problem is state it here, no longer than 1 page, maybe only
a short paragraph or a few bullets.
INITIAL APPROACH: describe how you think you might
proceed and why. This will be brief, 1, maybe 2 pages.
NOTE: all of this is in one document that you upload per the
instructions.
Part 2: Situational Analysis (20%)
Here is where you analyze the situation. You are not making
recommendations yet. You are trying to delve deeper into the
problem.
You might try to do a matrix analysis first to identify some
focal areas. A matrix analysis It is in both excel and word
format. You simply need to fill in the cells. Entries into a cell
might be a sentence or two, or they might be as long as a
paragraph or two. After doing the matrix analysis, pull 2 or 3
main issues out and describe them in more detail.
The matrix has four columns. The four columns correspond to
the four frames from Bolman & Deal
The matrix has as many rows as you would like. The rows
correspond to issues. Come up with 3 to 6 issues.
Then you fill in some of the cells, but certainly not all of them.
You write something in to a cell anytime that you feel there
might be an important interaction. Here is an example.

13. Issues
Structural Frame
Cultural Frame
Political Frame
Human Resource Frame
Morale
Morale seems low, people are discouraged
There seems to be a lack of alignment between what people
need and what the organization needs
Resources
There don’t seem to be enough resources to go around. People
are often fighting over what they need to do their job.
Strategic Direction
There is NOT a written strategic direction
People seem confused about what they are to do
People don’t know how their job fits into where the company is
going.
You then use the more significant cells to elaborate on in your
analysis.

14. You should only do a more detailed analysis on 2 to 4 of the
cells. Each of these more detailed analysis should be one half
to one page in length. Go into details, tear it apart.
Format for Part 2:
MATRIX: use the template. Paste it into your detailed
analysis.
Issues
Structural Frame
Cultural Frame
Political Frame
Human Resource Frame

15. DETAILED ANALYIS: do this in word and then save as a PDF
if you want.
Part 3: Recommendation (10%)
Describe what you think should be done, why, the end results,
and a brief description of first steps and your plan.
Format for Part 3:
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE: 1-2 pages
WHY: 1-2 pages
END RESULTS: less than a page:
FIRST STEPS & THE PLAN: less than a page, in outline form
NOTE: I do not care about numbers and roman numerals in the
outline; I would consider how I have described this assignment
for you an outline form.

16. NOTE: all of Part 3 is in one document that you upload per the
instructions.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Remember to work hard, have fun and be brilliant.