Nigeria's government has been corrupt for basically my entire life. The inability of the country's people to establish some form of functional government is a known problem and has allowed room for these things to occur. This is quite the hopeless situation as outside intervention would not likely go over well and the state obviously lacks the means to prevent any sort of disturbance. Hopefully this will spark a movement among the Nigerian people to demand better as a people finally. It would be a shame that this had to be the catalyst. I've debated America based Nigerian friends so many times about the apparent lack of interest they seem to have as a people to mobilize against the corruption in the country, but it seems like it's a behavior that is rooted in the culture of the people themselves. I'm not qualified to speak in or on such matters at the end of the day, just an observer.
Yeah, this about explains a good bit of how pretty much any extremist movement gets its cannon fodder. Frustration and alienation combined with unsafe conditions, unhealthy conditions, and a crap-ton of ignorance. That even makes people in these conditions in the States get lured toward organizations full of empty promises, emotional appeals, and crud like that. To be entirely honest, I think this is part of why religion is so popular. But the cannon fodder is not the leadership. How does the leadership emerge?In many parts of the country, the government is unable to provide security, good roads, water, health, reliable power and education. The situation is particularly dire in the far north. Frustration and alienation drive many to join “self-help” ethnic, religious, community or civic groups, some of which are hostile to the state.