Not sure what to make of the video and its release although I'm well aware of the Jihad ritual of beheading infidels.Originally Posted by KingJaja
Other than the three pastors beheaded in 2009, is this something BH has been routinely performing ?
If you want to blend in, take the bus
I don't know, my views aren't important. It is what the Christian community in Northern Nigeria thinks that really counts here.Not sure what to make of the video and its release although I'm well aware of the Jihad ritual of beheading infidels.
Other than the three pastors beheaded in 2009, is this something BH has been routinely performing ?
I'm in Lagos, so I don't have a handle on what those people are saying, doing or even planning to do.
Al-Mustapha sentenced to death
You guys might not be familiar with Sanni Abacha, he was a very brutal dictator who held sway in the nineties. His chief security officer Major Hamza Al-Mustapha was recently sentenced to death for the death of Kudirat Abiola.
It is in this context that a present you a picture of what is claimed to be Mustapha's hit squad. (Class pictures from North Korean training).
Surreal?. We've come a long way in Nigeria.
North Korean training the Nigerian Army?
King Jaja,
That photo alone explains a lot. Those paragons of minimal force were responsible for enhancing the ZNA's performance in the early 1980's Zimbabwe, with the infamous Fifth Brigade and the alleged brutality in COIN in Matabeleland.
Any ideas if Nigeria still uses North Korea training?
davidbfpo
I don't know whether any Nigerians are being trained by North Koreans. However, I suspect that similar class pictures with the Chinese have already been taken - and just as some of our guys have been sent to the States for training, others have been sent to China (discreetly) for precisely the same reason.
If you were a Nigerian leader, where would you prefer you guys to go on training and whose methods would you prefer? No one doubts that the Americans can be good at what they do (although mushy "human rights" considerations sometimes get in the way). But the Chinese and North Koreans are experts at putting the fear of God into the hearts of opponents of the state.
North Korean and Chinese methods are also closer to the modus operandi of the Nigerian Army. There is also less fuss and less media attention involved.
PS: Abacha also got the North Koreans to organise "Dear Leader" style calisthenics displays. Unfortunately, he did not last long enough in office to perfect that.
How human beings can do this to each other is beyond me, and reading from a holy book and praying before they do it. Such a video will surely raise the fear and rage of Christians. My guess is that is the very reason it was released. I, too, understand that the Crusades had Christians carrying out such acts as well. Faith stirs passion, yet how far that passion can be misguided boarders on the unfathomable.
It is because of such acts and others like them that we (the human race) must work for peace and understanding.
In your opinion, or from what you hear and is in Lagos, how wide a viewing has this video had?
Kano bombings: 'Extra-judicial' killings spark Nigeria fury
The BBC reports on the violence by the Nigerian state and ends with:Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16860954There is a growing fear that security forces do not appear to be differentiating between devout Muslims and those who choose to use violent means to further their political goals. Without addressing those concerns, the government could find its tactics backfire in its quest to rid itself of Boko Haram.
davidbfpo
Boko Haram Strikes Kaduna today
Happened today. Kaduna (like Jos) is a fault-line city - scene of extreme violence between Muslims and Christians.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8161N220120207(Reuters) - A suspected suicide bomber disguised in military uniform was killed on Tuesday when his car bomb exploded under fire from soldiers outside a military base in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, the army said.
It was the latest in a series of attacks on military and other targets to have hit northern regions of Africa's most populous nation in the past months.
"The soldiers repelled the attack and were able to stop what will have been a suicide bombing. However, after firing (at) the suicide bomber who tried to force his way, the bomb exploded and shattered the glasses that adorn the frontage of the headquarters. The suicide bomber was the only casualty," the statement signed by Raphael Isa, director of Nigerian army public relations, said.
Although not some quick victory, it seems the Nigerian military are learning or Ansaru are now assisting with information, and that only means the BH will either falter in defeat or up their game.
What David eludes to is a real problem. Will everybody end up looking like Muslims and who determines what is excessive force.
If you want to blend in, take the bus
Better tactics / better COIN methods will be used in future, but in the interim, those guys have got to shave their beards! Simple fact.
The Nigerian Army has never been a precision force (not under the British and not now). The Nigerian Army is a very brutal fighting force - and they don't want to change that. To do so, you've got to sack all the drill sergeants at the Army depot and sack the entire faculty at the defense academy.
As I said earlier, there are political consequences. Every day Jonathan survives, the stronger and bolder he becomes. If he survives a year's worth of Boko Haram suicide bombings / drive-by shootings, he'll be in a much stronger position by December and his opponents (read: Northern Muslim elite) will be much weaker.
A Nigerian proverb goes like this: a child does not throw stones at an elder without the backing of another elder. The perception in Nigeria's South and Middle Belt is that the Northern Muslim elite are behind Boko Haram.
Unlike the US, where people unite during a crisis, in Nigeria, crises divide people. BH must be seeking to divide Muslims and Christians, but the Northern elite are in a very difficult position - they can't be seen to be condemning BH openly (fear of life/limb) and they are realistic: the North is an economic basket case.
Nigeria: the challenge of “Boko Haram II”
A short analysis from an Africa watcher, based in Norway (previously unheard of) and makes a few new points:http://www.opendemocracy.net/morten-...am-ii%E2%80%9D
I was particularly struck by this passage:The third paragraph I do recall spotting before.In this perspective, Boko Haram’s spectacular comeback could be entirely homegrown.
The second argument places Boko Haram in a regional context. It insists that a network must be in place that facilitates the flow of finance, arms and training between Boko Haram, al-Shabaab of Somalia and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). This cannot be ruled out, but two critical points need to be addressed.
First, there is little credible evidence that AQIM has managed to move so far south of the Sahara. Second, there are indeed rumours about Boko Haram activists travelling to al-Shabaab camps in Somalia to learn bomb-making and other terrorist tactics, and some may have actually made this long and difficult journey.
But why travel across the continent for this purpose when there are plenty of former combatants in the Niger Delta who are increasingly disillusioned by the amnesty and rehabilitation packages they have received, and consequently may have few scruples about whom they share their expertise with as long as they get paid (even if they may have no appetite for Boko Haram’s ideology)?
There have several posts here expressing bemusement if not disbelief on the alleged BH-AQ links.
davidbfpo
David,
I tend to agree with the 3rd para as well. There certainly are people in Nigeria with school training on explosives as well as access to fundamental elements, and, in financial dire straights (ideology takes the back seat when one is hungry and the bills aren't paid).
Then there's the less obvious technical side of things that raise far more questions. Excessive use of binary explosives and poor placement to name a few.
If you want to blend in, take the bus
David and Stan,
There is a lot of sense in what that Africa watcher wrote, now listen to this African.
1. It takes much more than thuggery to inspire suicide bombing. I've lived in Northern Nigeria and I know the culture there. Religious violence is part of their way of life, suicide bombing isn't.
2. Some one must have been spreading an ideology or theology of suicide bombing. That person certainly isn't a Nigerian.
3. What exactly do links between Boko Haram and AQIM mean? These aren't stable, established organisations with fixed home addresses and public affairs departments. Can you track an itinerant preacher moving in the space between Somalia and Mali?
4. Are these links even important? Who cares?
5. As to whether Niger Delta Militants would sell expertise to Boko Haram - highly unlikely. Firstly, Jonathan is extremely close to the Niger Delta Militants (he comes from that area and he dealt with them directly as Bayelsa State governor). Secondly, there are many other more profitable means of making a quick buck - you could shake down oil companies, do one or two kidnappings, illegally bunker crude or blow one or two pipelines. (In case you weren't paying attention, an AGIP trunk line was recently blown up).
Hey Jaja,
I don't agree with the whole article and I agree that it takes a little more to commit suicide than just being hungry. But, the expertise exists as do the explosives. I can't comment on exactly what lengths the average person is willing to go, nor what lengths the Niger Delta Militants are willing to go. The bomb maker is not necessarily the deliver man. In most cases they are different people. I see the ability and materials to make a bomb, and, apparently there are people willing to deliver the bombs.
Depending on which government we're talking about, yes, links to AQIM are significant. As to who currently cares - just about the entire West
I would deeply care as a Nigerian, because the last people I want for neighbors is AQIM.
This recent oil line being blown up has more to do with SA prosecuting their leader and accusing the SA President of being a mercenary of President Goodluck Jonathan. I don't recall seeing a ransom request - they just simply blew it up. Correct (this time around) ?
I can't comment on just how much a bomb maker gets in Nigeria, but over here, about $10 grand a pop. Again, they are only selling something, not being paid to commit suicide.
If you want to blend in, take the bus
AGIP is an Italian company. If they were really serious about hitting SA, they would have gone for MTN facilities. I look beyond what they say, I consider what they do and what they have done in the past.This recent oil line being blown up has more to do with SA prosecuting their leader and accusing the SA President of being a mercenary of President Goodluck Jonathan. I don't recall seeing a ransom request - they just simply blew it up. Correct (this time around) ?
I can't comment on just how much a bomb maker gets in Nigeria, but over here, about $10 grand a pop. Again, they are only selling something, not being paid to commit suicide.
MEND simply doesn't blow up pipelines to make a statement, they blow up pipelines to make money. If you blow up a pipeline, the Oil company will be forced to pay you protection money to ensure (a) safe passage as you repair it (b) to make sure you don't blow it up again.
Secondly, when we talk about Niger Delta militants and Boko Haram we are really talking about Ijaw tribesmen and Hausa-Fulani and Kanuri tribesmen. There are several reasons why an Ijaw will NEVER under any circumstance, sell explosives to a Hausa man or in furtherance of what can be considered as Hausa objectives. A lot of bad blood exists between these groups.
It's a bit like saying that the Dinkas in Southern Sudan would sell weapons to Sudanese Arabs.
Money talks!
KingJaJa,
You stated just:Not the perfect parallel, but there is evidence that in Afghanistan non-Pashtu, ex-Northern Alliance were selling weapons to the Taliban down south.There are several reasons why an Ijaw will NEVER under any circumstance, sell explosives to a Hausa man or in furtherance of what can be considered as Hausa objectives. A lot of bad blood exists between these groups.
It's a bit like saying that the Dinkas in Southern Sudan would sell weapons to Sudanese Arabs.
IIRC there was a thread with this, which I cannot readily locate now.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 02-08-2012 at 07:19 PM.
davidbfpo
Nigeria isn't Afghanistan and the politics and economics are a lot different.
First of all, the Ijaws and Hausas are opposite culturally and religiously. Hausas are Muslims, Ijaws are not.
Secondly, an Ijaw man is at Aso Rock, Abuja. This Ijaw man is the first Ijaw in Nigeria's history to ever be president. The Ijaws will not have this opportunity for a very long time.
(If you really want to appreciate how the Ijaw feel about Jonathan's presidency - go to the foyer of the Abuja Sheraton. It is their turn to eat).
Thirdly, in case you were not paying attention, the anti-subsidy removal protests in Nigeria failed because the Niger Delta and the South East were solidly behind the president.
Fourthly, the Ijaws operate in a much richer economy than any of the Afghan factions. They have much less pressure to sell weapons for money than non-Pashtu Afghans. And if they are selling weapons to anyone up North it is more likely to be to the non-Hausa Christian population. (They also have the money to buy weapons).
Riot sparks fear in southern Nigeria
This is sad. But I knew it was coming, all that was needed was a spark, a trigger.
http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Ri...geria-20120209Lagos - Rioting in two southern Nigerian cities Thursday over a police killing forced Muslims to take shelter at barracks over fears they would be targeted in reprisal attacks.
The riots broke out in Onitsha and Asaba after a police officer shot dead a bus driver, police said. Both cities are mainly populated by Igbos, who are overwhelmingly Christian.
Hausas, who are mostly Muslim and often originate from Nigeria's north, took shelter at police and army barracks, though there were conflicting reports over whether any were attacked.
Attacks blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram, some of which have targeted Christians, have sparked fears of reprisals and have led Christian leaders to warn they would defend themselves if the violence continued.
"A police corporal accidentally shot a bus driver dead in Onitsha and this angered the people, who went on the rampage in protests, and the situation caused fear among Hausa residents," Anambra state police spokesperson Emeka Chukwuemeka told AFP.
He confirmed that Hausa residents had fled to police and army barracks, but added that none had been attacked following the protests. Chukwuemeka could not say how many fled, but added that the policeman had been arrested.
Will a change of name do the trick?
I learnt that AQIM was previously known as Groupe Salafiste pour la Prdication et le Combat (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat). Which sounds very similar to Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati Wal-Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad) - Boko Haram
What if Boko Haram changes its name to Al Qaeda in Arewa, does that automatically change the dynamics?
On a more serious note, what are the similarities between the evolution of the GIA and then AQIM and Boko Haram? We can agree that these groups started as associations of pious Muslims, they got dissatisfied with the outcome of a political process / politicians, they were both dealt with brutally by security services and then they evolved into full scale Jihad.
Northern Nigeria and the Maghreb have cultural and trade associations that are at least a thousand years old. (Anyone visiting Kano is aware of that). Let us stop the speculation and admit that Nigerian and Algerian Salafists are in communication.
I think the best prediction of where Boko Haram is headed lies in the history of GIA/AQIM. The only complications are that Nigeria has a significant Christian population and that Nigeria is multi-ethnic, everything else seems to tally.
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