Abstract
This article reviews the historical legacy of the British policy of indirect rule and how
its colonial policy of preserving the local traditions of the people through Quranic
education contributed to the rise of Boko Haram terrorism. The narrative of hatred and
anger against Western education is deeply ingrained and rooted in the political and
religious culture of the region. Hence, the article traces the continuities between the
colonial past and post-colonial Northern Nigeria and unveils the similarities contained
therein. This article asserts that the policy of indirect rule and the official apathy towards
Islamic and Quranic education in the region has led to this rise of unregulated and
unreformed fundamentalist Quranic schools in Northern Nigeria. Under British rule,
Quranic education in Northern Nigeria was left unregulated and unchecked due to
fear of a backlash from the region’s religious and political leaders. The British needed
these leaders to further consolidate colonial rule in the area. Although the colonial
government was aware of the enormous danger of spreading Islamic fundamentalism,
the region remained unregulated. This governmental apathy towards reforming the basic
tenets of Quranic schools persisted in post- independence Nigeria.
The article also suggests that efforts to combat Boko Haram terrorism in Northern
Nigeria should involve policies to reform and regulate the thousands of Quranic schools
in the north. These schools target desperately poor, unemployed and unemployable
young men and women, who are recruited easily as foot soldiers by Boko Haram leaders.