Boko Haram, the militant group based in northeastern Nigeria, has aroused little attention in the West despite launching assaults on churches, police stations and government buildings that have killed an estimated 10,000 people since 2002. The group, however, has received significant attention after abducting more than 270 schoolgirls and publicly threatening to sell them into slavery. The political response since this story started making headlines has been swift. The group’s latest acts have been condemned by both US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
It is important to understand the political history of Nigeria, as it is within this context the current crisis has taken place and this will help us understand the response of the west. Nigeria was first discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century and was then followed by the visits of other travellers from the Netherlands, Britain and France. The port of Lagos was used for the purpose of slavery from 1450 – 1897. In 1885, the British declared the West African region as its colony and by 1914 the area between the Gulf of Guinea, the Great Saharan region of Chad, Benin to the west and Chad and Cameroon in the east was named Nigeria.
Nigeria was created on tribal fault lines to ensure the country would never be able to unify and expel British influence. To ensure Britain maintained its grip Nigeria’s large oil wealth remained within the hands of Britain through Royal Dutch Shell producing a large share of Nigeria oil wealth. Royal Dutch Shell today still produces 50% of Nigeria’s oil. Nigeria’s military has protected the oil infrastructure. Nigeria’s military has ruled the country for most of its history since independence.
When Nigeria gained independence in 1960, it was a divided nation with no distinct identity. It had some 250 ethnic tribes the biggest three being Hausa and al-Faulani in the north, the majority of these tribes remain Muslims today and comprised over half the population of the country. Then there was the Yoruba tribe in central and the southern region which accounted for around 25% of the population, the majority of whom remain Christian today but with a sizable Muslim minority. The South-Central region was inhabited by the Igbo tribe who comprised around 18% of the population and are Catholic Christians. It was the Igbo tribes Binyamin Namdi Azikoi that that Britain left in power when Nigeria gained independence.
By the late 1990’s Nigeria rose in importance for the US as it attempted to diversify its oil dependency from Middle Eastern oil. The US entry into Nigeria began when it called for elections in 1997. The US has attempted to counter the British grip through democracy which would weaken the military’s hold on the nation which has protected British interests.
Although Libya has larger oil reserves than any other country in Africa, Nigeria produces the most of continent’s oil. Nigeria also has a wide array of underexploited mineral resources which include natural gas, coal, bauxite, gold, iron ore, lead and zinc. Despite the huge deposits of these natural resources, the mining industry in Nigeria is still in its infancy. Half of Nigeria’s population remains in poverty despite possessing such mineral wealth. The north of the country is largely savannah grassland which supports farming. Much of Nigeria has Arable land, which alongside its energy reserves should make it easy to support Africa’s largest population of 150 million people. However the tribal design of the nation has led to decades of infighting, coups and counter coups as each dominant tribe attempted to exert influence over the other. Western and Eastern corporations have their eyes on the countries coveted resources which has further complicated matters.
Boko Haram
Islam has a rich history in Nigeria and the wider region. During the era of colonialism the British struggled against the demand for Islam and split the country into tribal lines. Even after independence the Northern regions of Nigeria maintained their Islamic identity and the people of the region established varying degrees of governance as they were failed by the central government. Boko Haram emerged in this environment.
It was the Imam Muhammad Yusuf who originally established Boko Haram and called for adherence to the Qur’an amongst the rural poor in the North of Nigeria. He organized the provision of free food and education, which led to the growth of his movement. The name Boko Haram arose due to the establishment of a mosque and school as alternatives to government schools who continue with the colonial curriculum.
Sensing the growing popularity of the movement the governor of Borno ordered a crackdown which led to the deaths of hundreds of people and bystanders. By 2009, the group took up arms in response to state oppression – a civil war had begun. Many of Bako Haram members were rounded up and imprisoned without trial. Muhammad Yusuf killed was in custody. Following this, the original educational movement turned into a full-blown insurgency.
The economist highlighted, there are legitimate grievances that northerners feel such as the tyranny of security forces, state oppression and crippling poverty owing to misrule coupled with the widespread corruption of the political elite. In an interview to the economist a northerner explained: “Boko Haram is a resistance movement against misrule rather than a purely Islamic group.” The Economist notes that it ‘covers a wide spectrum. It comprises an ever-greater number of malcontents with a variety of aims. Some are criminals using the Boko Haram label to disguise the motives for attacks. Rival nightclub owners in Kano are said to have bombed each other’s venues and then posted bogus Islamist-sounding claims of responsibility, hoping to fool the police.’
Whilst Boko Haram has its own aims it has also served other political aims. Powerful politicians in Nigeria’s north use the group to pressure the government of President Goodluck Jonathan in an effort to gain a larger share of the political system funded by Nigeria’s oil revenues. Southern politicians such as Jonathan use militant groups in the Niger Delta for the same purpose.
In Nigeria, the use of militant proxies has long been part of the political process. Just as Niger Delta politicians have used groups like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta for their own purposes, politicians in Nigeria’s north have supported and used Boko Haram. In fact, an alleged senior member of the group was arrested at the home of a Nigerian senator in Maiduguri in October 2012, and a previous governor of Borno state allegedly sponsored of the group.
The kidnapping of individuals is abhorrent no matter who carries them out. No one can excuse such terrible acts and there is no Islamic justification of these. However the western response is not as altruistic as is being made out.
Two weeks after the abductions, the world’s media, gave no attention to the issue and Nigeria’s military and government did little in dealing with the issue. Parents took to social media to complain about the government’s perceived slow and inadequate response. On 30 April and 1 May, protests demanding more government action were held in several Nigerian cities. On 30 April a salon news piece criticized western media outlets for not giving any covering to the kidnappings – Why is the media ignoring 200 missing girls?
Britain’s announcement that it was preparing sending Special Forces and intelligence-gathering aircraft to Nigeria, only came after Nigerian president Jonathan announced the US would be deploying its drones in neighboring Niger to Nigeria.
Indeed if America or the UK were concerned about human life they would have addressed and highlighted the massacres and forced expulsions that took place in the Central African Republic but as there were no direct political and economic gains this issue was largely ignored. Similarly is the example of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma who have suffered for decades under the Burmese government. There have even been reports of Rohingya Muslim women being forced into sex slavery by the Burmese military. Yet there are no celebrities or politicians holding up signs in support these oppressed Muslims.
Western intervention is following a familiar pattern. Highlight an atrocity, create a moral outrage, which becomes the justification for intervention as a means to establish long term influence in the country that coincidently is not only Africa’s largest economy, but also possesses the continent’s largest oil reserves.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” يُوشِكُ الأُمَمُ أَنْ تَدَاعَى عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا تَدَاعَى الأَكَلَةُ إِلَى قَصْعَتِهَا ” . فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ وَمِنْ قِلَّةٍ نَحْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ قَالَ ” بَلْ أَنْتُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ كَثِيرٌ وَلَكِنَّكُمْ غُثَاءٌ كَغُثَاءِ السَّيْلِ وَلَيَنْزِعَنَّ اللَّهُ مِنْ صُدُورِ عَدُوِّكُمُ الْمَهَابَةَ مِنْكُمْ وَلَيَقْذِفَنَّ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمُ الْوَهَنَ ” . فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا الْوَهَنُ قَالَ ” حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا وَكَرَاهِيَةُ الْمَوْتِ ”
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “The people will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite others to share their dish.” Someone asked: “Will that be because of our small numbers at that time?” He replied: “No, you will be numerous at that time, but you will be scum and rubbish like that carried down by a torrent, and Allah will take fear of you from the breasts of your enemy and put wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked: “What is wahn?” The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم replied: “Love of the world and dislike of death.”