'Nigeria: the (wide) context for violence'

[Stan]

Originally Posted by KingJaja

A LOT has been happening in Nigeria this past week, but since nobody is interested, I'll probably stop posting.

Hey Jaja !
That would be a shame but you are certainly entitled to your own decisions. It's not a lack of interest as most of us are quite busy. I have 5 teams in Africa from Libya to Brazzaville and taking care of them is priority One.

To date, the Nigerian government seems incapable of responding to Boko Haram, and through a series of mistakes has revealed what outside observers have long suspected: certain elements of the security forces and political leaders of Muslim-majority northern Nigeria are either complicit with Boko Haram’s operations, or they are taking a rather complacent view of its success.

Thanks for a good find and read ! You and I have had some varying views on BH and this guy (7,000 miles away) manged to put all of that together. I'm of the opinion that the Nigerian security are wallowing in their slight successes and let their guard down, and, you have pointed out many times that BH has contacts at every level.

Originally Posted by KingJaja

3. For all their noise and violence Boko Haram is yet to cross the River (Niger) - i.e. they haven't posed a direct threat to Southern Nigeria, yet. If they do this, they would have crossed the River. Crossing the River means that all bets are off.

As you may recall, I often wondered what keeps BH from going after all the foreigners - soft targets. It's clear their reach south is limited, but it also seems clear the foreigners are not their prime targets.

Keep posting

Regards, Stan

[davidbfpo]

The title is taken from this BBC News report from Maiduguri and the report opens with:

Jimeh Saleh from BBC Hausa returns to his home town of Maiduguri in the far north-east of Nigeria for the first time in almost a year - to find the city is a mere shell of its once lively self, following a spate of deadly attacks by the Boko Haram Islamist group.

Referring to the "people in the middle":

The soldiers are there to protect the residents of Maiduguri - but people seem united in their condemnation of the curfew and the militarisation of the streets. They accuse the soldiers of torture and other human rights violations.....After an attack, the soldiers go into neighbouring houses, and are said to indiscriminately beat up the male occupants. The army denies this is happening - nevertheless, it is a recurring cry that is hard to ignore.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17847718

[KingJaja]

Stan,

They hadn't gone after the news media in a big way - until last Thursday.

I still think they will eventually go after foreigners and Western interests and when they do so, they will go big.

What are they waiting for? They want to totally discredit the present administration (at least in the North) and to do so, they merely have to target the symbols of government and Churches to attract local sympathy.

You guys are failing to realise that for the majority of the largely illiterate Muslims in Nigeria, there is no distinction between the West and Christianity - one can substitute for another. If they can attack churches, they can easily attack Western interests.

[KingJaja]

David,

There are loads of young men from that part of Nigeria where I live in Lagos. To say that the economy of Northern Nigeria is in free-fall is an understatement.

One more year of Boko Haram and you may begin to see mass starvation.

[KingJaja]

Stan,

They are yet to cross the river, but they are getting close. They've been extremely successful and are likely to be more confident. They'll want to try something spectacular soon.

[KingJaja]

The government is losing the confidence of the Christian community in Nigeria. When confidence is lost, people tend to take matters in their own hands.

Dissatisfied with federal government's style of handling the security challenge posed by the spate of bombings and killing of innocent citizens occasioned by the insurgencies of a terrorist gang, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday pointedly told President Goodluck Jonathan to step aside if he couldn't put a stop to the mindless killings in the country.

Specifically reacting to the attacks on Christian worshippers in Kano and Borno states, CAN said, "We are telling President Goodluck Jonathan, if he has not done anything to put an end to this madness, then, he should know that there is trouble in his hand."

Meanwhile, Taraba State commissioner of police Mr. Maman Sule yesterday narrowly escaped death when a suicide bomber who laid ambush on the route to the commissioner's office thrust an improvised explosive device (IED), at his convoy.

Although the commissioner escaped unhurt, many security operatives on his entourage were not spared: 11 persons lost their lives in the attack.

But speaking with journalists in Kaduna, the spokesman of the northern CAN, Elder Sunday Oibe, also accused northern traditional rulers of the mindless killings in the region.

He said: "We are telling the emirs, traditional rulers and the political chieftains in the north that they are behind these things and they must bring the perpetrators to book"

"To us, we feel that government is just playing games and politics with the church and the church is not going to take it anymore because anybody who kills is a murderer or arsonist.

"Why is the government becoming helpless to bring these people to book? Is the government telling us that a particular tribe or religion is superior to every other person in this country?

"We are feeling serious pains and disappointment at the entire system called Nigeria. It is highly condemnable in the strongest term because these are innocent students who were sent to school by their parents to acquire education.

"They went to worship their God only for some people to come and sniff lives out of them. It is highly condemnable, it is not just condemnable, but we will not sit down and fold our arms to accept this madness any more.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201205010487.html

Very troubling. They are accusing Northern Muslim traditional rulers of complicity.

[KingJaja]

Chilling, bears the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDqv6srmoI4

The translation (mainly deals with local issues).

Video has a background music in Hausa language, saying,” Nigerians, our name is not Boko Haram, we are Muslims, Ahlis sunnah”. The lyrics also said, “We attacked Thisday because we will never forget or forgive anyone who abused our prophet.”

First written message says the video is from ‘Public awareness department which presents; ‘Reasons for attacking Thisday Newspaper’

The Video also shows coverage of the suicide attack at Thisday office in Abuja.

It also shows a man wielding a rifle and reciting some prayer verses. Shots of the late leader of the sect Muhammad Yusuf, delivering a sermon, and in other clips, preaching, was shown.

Full transcription

This is a message from the public awareness department of the Jamatu Ahlis sunnah lil daawati wal jihad, a group engaged in jihad in Nigeria.

We wish to explain about the attack we carried out on Thisday Newspapers. Some of the reasons why we decided to attack some Media Houses, especially Thisday, is because the paper was used in dishonouring our prophet, Mohammad (SAW) during a beauty pageant in Kaduna in November 2002.

At that time, some people who called themselves leaders of Muslims came out to say they have forgiven those who committed the offence.

http://africanspotlight.com/2012/05/...medium=twitter

[Chowing]

Originally Posted by KingJaja

Chilling, bears the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda video.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that BH said they would be causing extreme havoc and do something very extreme within the next three months. It seems they have begun. Every time that there is a short lull, it is followed by a series of bombings.
BH is committed to the long haul. The government continues to be unable to slow them down.

[Chowing]

http://world.myjoyonline.com/pages/n...1205/85879.php

Meanwhile former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), yesterday, took a critical look at the heightened insecurity in Nigeria and concluded that the nation is on fire and tending towards the Somalia experience.

Gen. Danjuma who rarely comments on political issues warned at the 50th birthday anniversary of the publisher of Leadership newspaper, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, in Abuja, that the process of becoming like Somalia has started in Nigeria and that firm measures must be taken in the immediate to halt it.

His words: “I used to tell myself that we shall muddle through but believe me, in the last two months, I began to wonder – our house is on fire. Nigeria is becoming like Somalia. The Somaliasation of our country is going on now. We have to sit down and tell ourselves the truth. Our house is on fire, let us not deceive ourselves. We must tell ourselves the truth”.

When the Defense Minister speaks honestly in such a vain, it seems he has about used up all of his options and has seen not change. This is a very pessimistic statement - a sign of real trouble.

[Chowing]

Just noticed that it was the former Defense Minister who was quoted in my previous post. sorry.

[Stan]

Originally Posted by Chowing

Every time that there is a short lull, it is followed by a series of bombings.

Good observation. The so called short lull could be better described as the security elements wallowing in slight success while the BH reassesses their intel and strikes.

Originally Posted by Chowing

BH is committed to the long haul. The government continues to be unable to slow them down.

They may be committed, but most of their success stories are based on foolishness and short sightedness on the part of the security apparatus. Instead of pondering over meager achievements and pathetic promotions, maybe the Nigerian government could work towards a proactive role. With over 160K military personnel and involved in conflicts since 67, one would think they have the upper hand.

[Stan]

Originally Posted by KingJaja

The government is losing the confidence of the Christian community in Nigeria. When confidence is lost, people tend to take matters in their own hands.

Jaja,
Wouldn't that be a good thing when the people have had enough ? Not to compare Zaire and Nigeria (again), but once the Zairois had had enough, only then did things begin to dramatically change. Goodluck Jonathan is no uneducated dictator, but is he listening to his people ? BH has no need in crossing into the south if they garner public support.

[KingJaja]

Stan,

I should have written "the Christian community in Northern Nigeria".

Zaire wasn't a struggle between a virulent form of Islam and Christianity. Nigeria is uncharted territory.

[KingJaja]

This is what the former defense minister was worried about.

ABUJA — The head of Nigeria's Christians on Wednesday issued a "final" warning to the government that it must bring an end to attacks targeting the faithful after a new surge in deadly violence in recent days.
"I will now make a final call to the Nigerian government to use all resources available to it to clearly define and neutralise the problem as other nations have done," Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told reporters.
"The Church leadership has hitherto put great restraint on the restive and aggrieved millions of Nigerians, but can no longer guarantee such cooperation if this trend of terror is not halted immediately."
Islamist group Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of attacks that have left hundreds dead in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.
On Sunday, gunmen stormed two church services on a university campus in the northern city of Kano, throwing explosives and opening fire on worshippers as they sought to flee, leaving at least 19 dead.
Four others, including a pastor, were gunned down in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on the same day while leaving church.
No one has claimed responsibility for those attacks.
Boko Haram took responsibility for Christmas Day attacks, including a bombing at a church near the capital Abuja which killed at least 44 people. A bombing on Easter Sunday in Kaduna which was not claimed killed 41 people.
In the wake of the Christmas violence, Oritsejafor and others warned that Christians may be forced to defend themselves if attacks continued.
"At this point in the unfolding insecurity challenges, it has become irrelevant whether the root cause is political, religious, ethnic or ideological," Oritsejafor said Wednesday at the country's national church in Abuja.
"The fundamental issues are that the intimidation, killings, bombings and wanton destruction of lives and properties must stop immediately."
He added however that Nigerians should remain calm "as I am aware that the greater part of the overall design is to instill fear in the populace".
Boko Haram has regularly widened its targets in its insurgency which has killed more than 1,000 people since mid-2009.
On Tuesday, a video on YouTube purportedly from Boko Haram showed footage of last week's attack on a Nigerian newspaper and threatened news outlets, including the Hausa-language services of Voice of America and Radio France International.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...563a347328.4f1

[davidbfpo]

An interesting primer by the Oxford Research Group, with Paul Rogers as author, on current events, which opens with this summary:

A series of major attacks in Nigeria in April are presumed to be the work of militants from the Boko Haram movement. There is little sign that extensive and rigorous police and army action against Boko Haram has had any effect in curbing the movement. Indeed, it may be stimulating further support, leading in turn to increased international concerns over the longer-term prospects for stability in Africa’s most populous country....this briefing will focus on the role of economic and political marginalisation in fostering violence.

The graphics are worth a look:http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.u...haram_violence

[KingJaja]

But the differences in regional poverty rates are not that significant. Not significant enough to account for the formation of a terrorist group in the North East, but none in the North Central.

The author hits at an important point. "Washington consensus" style reforms have led to economic growth on the one hand and significant increases in the poverty rate on the other.

Will Africa be better served (from a national security point of view) by some form of socialism?

[SWJ Blog]

Confronting the Terrorism of Boko Haram in Nigeria

Entry Excerpt:



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Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.

[KingJaja]

I knew this was going to happen:

T

he U.S. government is expected to formally apply a "foreign terrorist" label on Thursday to three alleged leading figures of the violent Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, officials said.

The action by the State and Treasury departments follows growing pressure on the Obama Administration to take stronger action against Boko Haram.

The group, which says it wants to establish an Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria, has stepped up attacks on Christian places of worship this year.

Thursday's anticipated action, officials said, involves applying the "terrorist" designation to three men presumed to be central figures in the group.

The three individuals, an official said, are Abubakar Shekau, aged around 43, described as a Boko Haram leader who allegedly aligned himself with al Qaeda in a video message; Abubakar Adam Kambar, aged roughly 35; and Khalid al Barnawi, aged approximately 36. All three are native Nigerians.

The expected action will freeze any assets they have in the United States, and bar U.S. persons from any transactions with them.

It is among the first such action the U.S. government has taken against Boko Haram, but falls short of demands from some U.S. lawmakers and the Justice Department to designate the entire group as a "foreign terrorist organization."

The State Department has been under pressure to act against Boko Haram for months. In January, Lisa Monaco, the Justice Department's top national security official, sent a letter to the State Department arguing that the Nigerian group met the criteria for a "foreign terrorist" listing because it either engages in terrorism that threatens the United States or has a capability or intent to do so.

Boko Haram increasingly is seen as a potent threat to Nigeria, the continent's most populous state and major oil producer, and as part of growing arc of Islamist extremist groups stretching across northern Africa.

More recently, a group of Republican senators led by Scott Brown of Massachusetts introduced legislation requiring the State Department to determine whether Boko Haram should be designated as a terrorist group.

Republican Representative Patrick Meehan, who chairs a Homeland Security subcommittee in the House, also introduced an amendment that would force the administration to add Boko Haram to the terrorism list or explain why it was not doing so.

However, U.S. diplomats are weighing these demands against counter arguments, including those made by a group of academic experts on Africa who sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last month urging her not to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist group.

The academics argued that the move could backfire by enhancing the group's reputation among potential recruits and other militant groups. A U.S.

designation might also empower more radical elements of Boko Haram, which is divided into factions, the professors said.

In her letter to the State Department, Monaco of the Justice Department reported that since 2009 Boko Haram has conducted violent attacks against Nigeria's "police, politicians, public institutions and civilian population."

Monaco said that according to press reports, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for 510 victims in 2011, and also took credit for a Jan. 20 attack on government buildings in Kano in which more than 160 were killed.

She said that although Boko Haram attacks until now have occurred only within Nigeria, Washington should not underestimate the threat the group poses to U.S. interests.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/...ts-terrorists-

[Jedburgh]

JSOU, 31 May 2012: Confronting the Terrorism of Boko Haram in Nigeria

In this monograph counterterrorism expert James Forest assesses the threat Boko Haram poses to Nigeria and U.S. national security interests. As Dr. Forest notes, Boko Haram is largely a local phenomenon, though one with strategic implications, and must be understood and addressed within its local context and the long standing grievances that motivate terrorist activity. Dr. Forest deftly explores Nigeria’s ethnic fissures and the role of unequal distribution of power in fueling terrorism. Indeed, these conditions, combined with the ready availability of weapons, contribute to Nigeria’s other security challenges including militancy in the Niger Delta and organized
crime around the economic center of the country, Lagos....

[davidbfpo]

We discovered an Improvised Explosive Device factory where suspected terrorists were in the process of coupling the IEDs and we detonated some.

The factory was cordoned and searched and the following items were recovered: IEDs at various stages of development, cans of 33ccl, a sack containing 33ccl, empty cans and two IEDs packed in fire extinguisher tubes as well as timing devices.....the troops arrested one suspect, while others escaped, shot and wounded two residents in the area.

Link:http://ascology.com/news/local-news/...medium=twitter