Nigeria’s former Chief of Defence Staff, retired General Lucky Irabor, is set to release a new book on Boko Haram insurgency that promises to reshape public understanding of the terrorist group and its impact on the country.
The book, titled “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,” will be formally unveiled on October 3, 2025, at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
Organisers of the launch said the 330-page volume is “a compelling revelation of the complex dynamics of Boko Haram” and is “destined to change” the Boko Haram narrative.
President Bola Tinubu has been invited as the Special Guest of Honour at the event, while former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, will serve as chairman of the occasion. The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, will review the book.
LEADERSHIP reports that Boko Haram’s emergence in 2002 marked the beginning of what has been described as an “unprecedented era of bloodbath, destruction of property and devastation of economies,” not only in Nigeria but across the West African region. The insurgency’s impact, analysts note£d has had far-reaching regional, continental and global consequences.
In the book, Irabor draws from his first-hand experience, leading Nigerian forces against Boko Haram to dissect the group’s operations and the wider insurgency challenge. According to the press statement, the retired general not only offers a “bird’s-eye view of the Boko Haram conundrum” but also proposes solutions to what he describes as “a challenge that threatens the future of Nigeria and other West African states.”
The book is divided into 14 chapters across three parts, covering Nigeria’s historical past and its security challenges, the rise and evolution of Boko Haram, and the paradigm shifts needed to restore and sustain peace in Nigeria despite the threat of insurgency.
Jonah Ejenavi, chairman of the book launch organising committee, urged the public to engage with the work, describing it as a timely intervention in national discourse on security.
