The Boko Haram are the present
manifestation of the anti-West, anti-government, and pro-Islam sentiments that
have been brewing in Nigeria for the past 40 years. The recent Boko Haram
attack of June 2, 2014, involved Boko Haram militants dressing up as soldiers
and mercilessly slaughtering 200 civilizians in the Gwoza district of Borno
state. The attack came without warning, and the government and local law
enforcement were utterly unable to retaliate or ward off the raid. Action must
be taken against this ruthless group as they continue to evade the authorities,
cause chaos in the area, terrorize innocents, and hold Nigeria back from
becoming the power it was meant to be. The actions of the Boko Haram are the
culmination of tensions related to inequality, poor governance, and corruption
over the past 20 years. Since 1999, 25,000 people have died in killings that can
be related to the Boko Haram and groups like it.Issues related to internal diversity,
once again, have only exacerbated the problem. Boko Haram was created in 2002
in Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern
state of Borno, by Islamist cleric Mohammed Yusuf.
The group aims to establish a fully
Islamic state in Nigeria, including the implementation of sharia criminal courts
across the country. Paul Lubeck, a University of California, Santa Cruz, professor
who researches Muslim societies in Africa, says Yusuf was a trained Salafist
(an adherent of a school of thought often associated with jihad), and was strongly
influenced by Ibn Taymiyyah, a fourteenth-century legal scholar who preached
Islamic fundamentalism and is an important figure for radical groups in the
Middle East. In July 2009, Boko Haram members refused to follow a motorbike
helmet law, leading to heavy-handed police tactics that set off an armed
uprising in the northern state of Bauchi and spread into the states of Borno,
Yobe, and Kano.
The army suppressed protests,
leaving more than eight hundred dead. Human Rights Watch reported that Yusuf,
his father-in- law, and other sect members were arrested during the clashes and
shot outside police headquarters, actions human rights groups denounced as
extra-judicial killings. In the aftermath of the 2009 unrest, "an
Islamist insurrection under a splintered leadership" emerged, says Lubeck.
Members of Boko Haram carried out a number of suicide bombings and assassinations
from Maiduguri to Abuja and staged a prison break in Bauchi, freeing more than
seven hundred inmates in 2010.
Historical imbalance between the
north and the south According to The Guardian, “seemingly disconnected
historical events over the past 60-70 years started the slide into poverty and
inequality that eventually led to the formation of Boko Haram”. Boko Haram
means “Western education is forbidden”. Western schools were being actively
opened in the south, while Christian missions were not supported by Muslim
leaders in the north. Insurgents have launched scores of attacks on schools.
One of the most outrageous acts was the abduction of the Chibok girls on April 14, 2014. The children are
still missing. The imbalance, both economic and educational, between the
regions has remained to this day. There have been accusations of political
sponsorship of the sect. Numerous reports,
especially in the Nigerian media, claimed that some powerful politicians finance
the terrorists to weaken the government. Some claimed the sponsors were inside
Nigeria. Others, however, believed the sect could have been backed from outside
the country.
It is widely believed that Boko
Haram fighters are (at least predominantly) Muslims. However, basically all the
Islamic scholars have been saying that Boko Haram has nothing to do with Islam.
They openly disagree with the sect and are outraged that terrorists use
religion to justify atrocities, and to cause division in society. The dreaded
sect has attacked or attempted to attack several mosques during prayers. Many
Muslims, like Christians, have become victims of the mass murders. This
indicates that Boko Haram is a non-religious issue.
Poor
response by the government:
Numerous analysts believe that
the Nigerian government has been either inadequate or slow in its response to
the terrorism challenge in the country. Some associated the government’s
failure with the corruption problem. Others link the ineffectiveness with the
following reasons: refusal to accept international help (especially after the
Chibok girls’ kidnap), the actual inability to admit the failure, negotiating
(or not negotiating with terrorists), etc.
1. Means of rehabilitating rape
victims in conflict zones
2. Reducing the risk to civilians
as well as ensuring greater accountability from states towards sexual violence
within their boundaries.
3. Finding ways to provide
security to civilians during the conflict itself
4. Curbing widespread trafficking
of women as slaves
5. Examining whether stronger
guidelines are needed for UN Peacekeepers entering conflict areas as well.
