the nigerian war

8/12/2019 The Nigerian War

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The Nigerian War

9/11 was a turning point in the history of the world. Rather, it was a point from

where the destiny of some nations was defined. 9/11 led America to launch a war

against terror. Afghanistan was the prime victim of it. And then USA invaded Iraq

as well. From these invasions, anti-USA sentiments got stronger across the

Muslim world. And militant groups were formed within the Islamic world. These

militant groups ironically targeted their own Muslim brothers and sisters in their

country as well. They had forged an excuse that they were fighting disbelief, and

whosoever helped them was liable to be killed as well, though he may be a

Muslim by religion.

Nigeria has a population of 170 million and is the most populous country of the

African sub-continent. Nigeria is the second largest growing economy among the

sub-Saharan countries. Nigeria is facing the same problem which has been

mentioned above. In 1980s ,90s and early 2000s Nigeria faced ethnic and

religious riots but then a group named Boko Haram surfaced in Nigeria which

started killing masses. The name Boko Haram is a hybrid of Hausa and Arabic

languages. Boko means Western in Hausa language and Haram means

impermissible in Arabic.Piecing the two words together 'BokoHaram' meansto

forbid everything Western and Western education. The group sees the learning of

all that knowledge impermissible which comes from the West. Those who are up

for learning Western Knowledge are deemed traitors and liable to be killed by the

group. Nigerian government has listed the group as a terrorist group. According to

official sources, the group began its activities as a liberation movement. The


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founder of the movement was killed in 2009 by Nigerian Police, his followers

vowed to take the revenge and have been killing the people in Nigeria since then.

According to James Verini of the article, Boko Haram is a consequence of war

against terror. He argues that even after 12 years, the Islamic militancy still exists.

James Verini sees the group as a bigger threat than Al Qaeda and other dominant

terrorist groups in Africa. The group has succeeded on a collective conscious

level. The group is now taken more than a group, a movement or an ideology. The

citizens are afraid to take its name. They cant take its name aloud. Nigerians fear

to say Boko Haram aloud as they fear that theyll be heard by some member of

Boko Haram and will be killed then. They dont trust their neighbors. They cant

trust anyone as anyone may turn out to be a Boko Haram member. They fear to

endanger their lives by calling the name of the organization aloud. Instead, they

refer to the organization as Boko Boys or something like tha t. They cant even

condemn Boko Harams acts openly. Instead they use vague words like the

crisis and insecurity etc. to refer to the prevalent situation.Nigerian President

Jonathan Goodman thinks that the end of the times is approaching nearer, that s

why all the violence is being carried out in the country. The interesting thing is

that like some other countries which are facing militancy and rebellions, Nigeria

too has been divided ideologically on the issue of Boko Haram. Some Nigerians

think that Boko Haram doesnt exist at all. It is a hoax. They think that it is an

imaginary organization. Others say that Boko Haram isnt an organization. There

doesntexist any organization with such name. It is mere a political expression.

James Verini asked one native who had witnessed an attack by Boko Haram that


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whether or not the armed forces had come to rescue them, the natives reply

surprised James Verini to a great extent. According to the native, neither did the

forces show up for help and nor he was expecting them. According to that local

fellow, forces were with the Boko Haramsmen and all the opposition was mere a

drama. The hardest blow afflicted by Boko Haram isnt a physical one. It has

rather hit the countrys ideological unity. The citizens are skeptic about its

existence. The nation has been divided on their existence. Some blame them for

each major incidence of terrorism; others deny its existence in the first place.

The stats and figures on the casualties done by Boko Haram are quite diverse.

Some sources quote that more or less 16,000 policemen have been killed by Boko

Haram as an expression of retaliation. However James Verini produced this article

in November 2013, and he mentions that by then almost 4700 killings were

associated with Boko Haram. Boko Haram had targeted police stations, bus

stations and all the places where people could gather. Most of the people killed

were innocent. Their only fault was to be present at the wrong place and wrong

time. Boko Haram had been killing mainly on the basis of religion and targeting

the security forces primarily.

Having said so much about Boko Haram, the group isnt solely responsible for the

anarchy in Nigeria. James Verini himself claims that although 4700 killings were

attributed to Boko Haram, almost half of them were done by the security forces.

He has mentioned that he interviewed people in Kano, who claimed that they

were harassed, beaten or shot by the security forces. James Verini mentions that

in April 2013, the security forces raided a village named Baga, claiming that it


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was a hideout of Boko Haram and killed 200 villagers. Such activities by the

forces also mount to violence. Some Fulani Muslims in Nigeria told James Verini

upon asking that they had been attacked by Christians because they were Muslims

by religions. However James Verini doesnt seem to give much importance to this

claim. The international experts claim that the very powerful global oil mafia is

also backing these riots and is a stake holder of the violence in Nigeria.

Almost all experts of political science agree that the reason behind Kano being

more prone to such violence is the class difference and poverty. Kano is in the

Northern part of the country which was once oil rich. But now oil sources are

depleting rapidly, thereby reducing the business of oil companies. The result is

obvious. Increase in unemployment and poverty. The incompetent government

has been equally responsible for the overall situation of Nigeria. Since when

President Jonathan has entered his office, 31 billion $ have vanished and no one

knows where. The result is quite obvious, again. All these things are having a

combined effect on the situation of Nigeria, and Kano in particular.


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References:

Ogbonnaya, U. M., & Ehigiamusoe, U. K. (2013). Niger Delta Militancy and

Boko Haram Insurgency: National Security in Nigeria. Global Security

Studies,4(3).

Danjibo, N. D. (2009). Islamic Fundamentalism and Sectarian Violence:

The Maitatsineand Boko HaramCrises in Northern Nigeria. Peace and

Conflict Studies Paper Series, 1-21.

Omeje, K. C. (2006). High stakes and stakeholders: Oil conflict and

security in Nigeria. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd..

James Verini. (2013). The War for Nigeria. Para no. 16

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