Summary

That the Boko Haram-led insurgency in northern Nigeria has remained outside the purview of Western headlines – save a few cameos following particularly heinous attacks – is not indicative of the severity of the crisis facing Abuja, but rather a pervasive and unfortunate lack of attention paid to political life on the African continent. In truth the situation in northern Nigeria is going from bad to worse, and there is no reason to believe that Boko Haram couldn’t make a breakthrough in 2015 similar to what Islamic State achieved in Mosul last year.