2014 was dominated by increased levels of extremism and jihadist movements – and the attempts to fight them. This year seems little different. One of the most remarkable phenomena to have emerged is that of the Islamic State (IS), currently operating in Syria and Iraq and expanding to Libya. This is an organisation that just 3 years ago no one had heard of, yet which has managed to become one of the most dangerous and brutal terrorist groups in the world in a matter of months.

IS is now the world’s most prominent terrorist threat – but it can only be dealt with multilaterally. From the perspective of what the UK can do on its own, in my view it is more important to focus on Boko Haram, which continues to pose a serious threat to UK security.

After all, Nigeria is a member of the Commonwealth: it has strong ties with Britain and is one of the most popular migration destinations for Nigerians in Europe. Due to its low levels of publicity and more traditional forms of recruitment – in comparison, IS exhibits a completely new level of professionalism and sophistication in using the Internet and social media – Boko Haram seems to be have been disregarded by the public and has thrived below the radar. The group’s crimes are less well known, bar the abduction of hundreds of girls, which was forgotten after a spasm of media interest. But they are by no means less brutal. There is a danger that, because of a lack of public attention, the expansion, spread and growth of Boko Haram may go unnoticed.

Boko Haram has not only already established a caliphate on Nigerian territory, but it is now also trying to spread further afield to India, another member of the Commonwealth and one of the UK’s biggest trade partners. Moreover, they are actively cooperating with IS, potentially boosting their activities and increasing both the human and financial resources available to them.

While the whole world watches IS’s terrifying executions and acts of violence with horror, and implements plans to retaliate, train soldiers and carry out airstrikes, Boko Haram remains in the shade. Worryingly, this might provide the group with a favourable environment within which to develop into a new global terrorist monster, like Al Qaeda before it.

In the September 2014 issue of the Bow Group’s Crossbow magazine, Jacob Zenn challenged the West to take more active measures in countering Boko Haram. He called for active military and diplomatic support for Nigeria in order to make its government more capable of protecting the country. However, this is not enough. As Nigeria’s most important European partner, what Britain must do is place greater effort into fighting Boko Haram with soft power, as well as with hard power.

Even though Nigeria has displayed considerable economic success, its education sector remains dysfunctional. There is a lack of higher education institutions and university places in general: for a total of 1.7 million potential students there are only half a million places available. Moreover, around 40% of the population is illiterate.

According to a 2014 report by the US Institute of Peace, this factor has proved one of the critical reasons behind young people joining Boko Haram. A lack of education not only hinders a country’s youth in pursuing a successful career path, but it also makes young people more inclined to radicalisation. Anger about the government being unable to provide them with the opportunities they so desperately need is a strong driving factor here.

Recent research also shows that very often the young people who join radical groups are motivated by religious reasons, either in terms of having a perverted image of a religion or not knowing the tenets of their own religion.

In the case of Nigeria, religious education is provided in the country’s schools, where students are taught how to practice their religion (Islam or Christianity), along with the main tenets and their interpretations. But it is also important to provide young people with information about other religions that exist within a country; this is something that is currently practiced in only a few private schools. This makes it more difficult for terrorists to speculate about their differences. Furthermore, schools must pay more attention to the contents of religious education and the teachers’ backgrounds, so as to make sure that the information given to the students is not distorted.

Along with exercising leadership in dealing with the direct security threats posed by Boko Haram, the UK needs to provide assistance in building a more favourable social environment, particularly through education. What Boko Haram hates and fights against could be used as a weapon against the group. Otherwise, Boko Haram might remain the Lernaean Hydra, the severed heads of which would only come to grow once again.