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Thread: 'Nigeria: the context for violence' (2006-2013)

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    Default My 130 days in the hands of al-Qaeda's African "monsters", by former hostage

    Hostage's account of Al Qaeda captivity.

    In December 2008, I was making my third trip to Niger as the United Nations Special Envoy, attempting to broker a peace between the government and rebel Tuareg groups. One Sunday, two weeks before Christmas, my colleague, Louis Guay, and I were returning to the capital, Niamey, in a UN vehicle when a truck passed us, slewed in front and forced us to a stop.
    Two AK-47s were aimed at the face of our driver, and within the blink on an eye all three of us were torn from our seats and thrown into the back of their truck. The whole grab took perhaps 40 seconds.
    Thus began our 56-hour descent into hell, a 1,000 km off-road nightmare into the middle of the Sahara desert. Twelve hours into that appalling journey, we stopped for a couple of hours rest. As I paced back and forth, the sentry, a young Senegalese, looked up from where he was making tea and asked, “Have you figured out who we are yet?” Refusing to acknowledge the dawning reality, I shook my head and he spat “We are al-Qaeda,” enjoying the effect as the bottom fell out of my world.
    Three days later, we were ushered toward a large, dark tent, and when I saw the assembled video equipment, I despaired at the thought of my family watching a You Tube video of our beheading. Instead, we recorded a message in which I stated that we had been captured by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and urged the UN and the government of Canada to bend every effort to secure our release and — as instructed — warned them to avoid violence in any effort to win our freedom.
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...r-hostage.html

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    Read this. Chilling...

    In the face of the murderous rampage of Boko Haram in Nigeria over the past year, which included the bombing of Nigerian police headquarters in Abuja and the destruction of UN headquarters, many hundreds have been killed (thousands over the past decade). There seems, though, to be a reluctance to believe that it is all part of the same jihadi movement. Many want to believe that Boko Haram is different, somehow less dangerous than Al Qaeda’s other African affiliates. While I understand the reluctance to acknowledge that Al Qaeda might have won a solid foothold in Africa’s most populous and important country, again, I know that to be the case. One of my captors was a young Nigerian from Kano; clearly what we would call an “exchange officer.

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    Quote Originally Posted by KingJaja View Post
    can we conclude that Al Qaeda has already made contact with Boko Haram?
    I think most reached that conclusion a long time ago. The danger is that the conclusion, taken one-dimensionally, will lead to unproductive and inappropriate intervention. That happens when an essentially national movement that has had some links is reclassified as an "international terrorist group" along the AQ mold.

    I wouldn't be too moved by kidnappers saying "we are Al Qaeda". People say all sorts of things, especially when they want to scare somebody. Conclusions have to be based on hard intel, not on what somebody said.
    “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”

    H.L. Mencken

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    Default Canadian diplomat kidnap (historical)

    The tale of the kidnapped Canadian diplomat, serving with the UN in Niger, is well covered in a separate thread - on Niger - thanks to Rex B. and maybe worth checking:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=9303
    davidbfpo

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    Rex did an excellent job of keeping us up to date !
    In sum, this pretty much says it all:

    Quote Originally Posted by Rex Brynen View Post
    In his most recent comments to the CBC, Bob has suggested that his itinerary was leaked to AQIM by a source within the government of Niger or the UN.
    If you want to blend in, take the bus

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    Quote Originally Posted by KingJaja View Post
    Read this. Chilling...
    Good article ! Link to post and this para a little clearer on motives:

    ... but from the outset it was made excruciatingly clear by the 31 members of the group which held us, that as representatives of the hated United Nations, we were “prisoners of war” and not some random targets of opportunity.
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    I think most reached that conclusion a long time ago. The danger is that the conclusion, taken one-dimensionally, will lead to unproductive and inappropriate intervention. That happens when an essentially national movement that has had some links is reclassified as an "international terrorist group" along the AQ mold.

    I wouldn't be too moved by kidnappers saying "we are Al Qaeda". People say all sorts of things, especially when they want to scare somebody. Conclusions have to be based on hard intel, not on what somebody said.
    But isn't that exactly how Al Qaeda in Iraq started business? Even Al Qaeda didn't start out as the Al Qaeda we know today.

    This phenomena has economic roots, but it also has theological and political roots - let us not discount them. Several decades of Wahabbist theology and the impact of the Iranian revolution on political Islam need to be considered.

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    Quote Originally Posted by KingJaja View Post
    So Al Qaeda was behind it! . What are the US and AFRICOM waiting for?
    The claims - denied last night by the Foreign Office - were made by a Mauritanian news agency, Agence Nouakchott D’Information
    AFRICOM is heading home, as you have also noted. As far as the British press and the USG go, I can tell you first hand that using open sources is far too complex (what motivates the concerned parties reporting). One thing throughout the African press is clear, there is the temptation to either downplay or exaggerate.

    Why (or who) would start paying a ransom and then give a green light for a hostage rescue is absurd IMO. What's with Johnathan doing favors for the UK obviously knowing most Nigerians would be against British intervention ?
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    Quote Originally Posted by KingJaja View Post
    But isn't that exactly how Al Qaeda in Iraq started business? Even Al Qaeda didn't start out as the Al Qaeda we know today.

    This phenomena has economic roots, but it also has theological and political roots - let us not discount them. Several decades of Wahabbist theology and the impact of the Iranian revolution on political Islam need to be considered.
    Al Qaeda in Iraq didn't exist until a US occupation gave it a reason to exist.

    I'm well aware of the complexity of the AQ phenomenon and its religious and geopolitical roots. I'm also aware that militant groups focusing almost entirely on national concerns but with some connections to AQ can in some minds morph into AQ "franchises" that may then be treated as full participants in AQ's global agenda. That perception can then become an excuse for the kind of foreign involvement that ends up enhancing the perception that "the west" supports the oppression of Muslims and the frustration of their goals, a narrative that can end up promoting AQ and further internationalizing the conflict.
    “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”

    H.L. Mencken

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    I'd also like to echo Dayuhan's post by saying AQIM back in the early 90s pledged to avoid civilians while attacking military and government.
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    Default Bomb blast at St Finbarrs Catholic Church in Jos, Plateau State

    Latest Boko Haram suicide attack. (Viewers discretion required in following link).

    http://lindaikeji.blogspot.com/2012/...-catholic.html

    Retaliation has already started.

    http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/r...n-nigerias-jos

    If one recalls that only two Sundays ago, another church was bombed in Jos ....

    This is going to get ugly.

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    Default An Account of the Rescue Mission, Part Two

    In Post 780 KingJajaa asked:
    Could our military experts comment on this?
    KingJaja was referring to the failed hostage rescue and I am not a 'military expert'.

    Speed, Aggression and Surprise are normally the operational and planning principles used in law enforcement and I expect in the military in this situation, when negotiation is not an option. From the assorted reporting once the operation began none of the principles were present.

    Once resistance started - by two armed men - access to the house was not gained. Instead it became a rather long, probably disorganised fire fight.
    davidbfpo

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    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post

    Speed, Aggression and Surprise are normally the operational and planning principles used in law enforcement and I expect in the military in this situation, when negotiation is not an option. From the assorted reporting once the operation began none of the principles were present.

    Once resistance started - by two armed men - access to the house was not gained. Instead it became a rather long, probably disorganised fire fight.
    David,
    I can't speak for UK law enforcement nor military, but US law enforcement officers and military are held to strict guidelines regarding excessive use of force. British, FBI and US Military all attend the same hostage rescue courses - often together. I would assume they are also all guided by the same principles. However, as I indicated above, had the soldiers realized that the captives were already dead, such a ridiculously long firefight would have terminated with a few grenades. It was clear that they had to at least recover the bodies and without any means of determining the state of the hostages, they continued the firefight.

    Just my $0.02 !
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    Default Nigeria: Tension as explosion rocks Nigerian town, six bodies found

    The daily drip drip of violence will either be the new normal (we'll learn to live with it, shrug it off) or the beginnings of a transition to a more dangerous state.

    Lagos, Nigeria - The town of Mubi in Nigeria's northern Adamawa state was rocked by several explosions on Monday night, followed by sporadic gunshots that sent residents scampering for safety, eyewitnesses said.

    It was not known who was behind the blasts, which came shortly after six bullet-riddled bodies were picked up in different parts of the town, which has been targeted in recent times by the Islamic sect Boko Haram.

    The discovered of the bodies triggered protests among residents of the town.
    http://www.afriquejet.com/nigeria-te...031334956.html

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    Default Boko Haram: Aussie Special Forces in Nigeria

    Can anyone comment on this bizarre story? Australia isn't normally a country you'd think about with respect to Africa.

    Australian special forces have been operating in several African countries, including Nigeria, over the past year gathering intelligence on terrorist activities, a report said on Tuesday.

    The Sydney Morning Herald said 4 Squadron of the elite Special Air Service (SAS) had mounted dozens of clandestine operations in places such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Kenya in a role normally carried out by spies.

    Citing a government source, it said the missions by the previously unknown squadron were believed to involve terrorism intelligence gathering amid concerns about the threat posed by the Islamist al-Shebab militia.

    They are also aimed at developing rescue strategies for evacuating trapped Australian civilians while assessing African border controls and exploring landing sites for possible military interventions.

    The information gathered flows into databases used by the United States and its allies, it said.

    The Herald added the operations have raised serious concerns among some sections of the military and intelligence communities that the troops do not have adequate legal protection or contingency plans if they are captured.

    “They have all the espionage skills but without (Australian Secret Intelligence Service’s) legal cover,” said one government source.

    According to the newspaper, ASIS officers are permitted under Australian law to carry false passports and, if arrested, to deny who they are employed by.
    http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/03/13/...es-in-nigeria/

  16. #816
    Council Member Stan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KingJaja View Post
    Can anyone comment on this bizarre story? Australia isn't normally a country you'd think about with respect to Africa.
    Not so bizarre actually.
    Several posts back I told you that US SF teams were a whole lot closer than you believed. Several as far back as 1985.

    Even here in the early 90s we had teams performing similar missions, some even here just to immerse in language training.

    They are also aimed at developing rescue strategies for evacuating trapped Australian civilians while assessing African border controls and exploring landing sites for possible military interventions.
    This is about 90% of the reasons they are around, not just Australia either. When Zaire imploded the first time, a massive evacuation took place with troops flying in from God knows where The entire four-day event went off without a hitch - perfectly executed and minimal local involvement. We managed to get over 15,000 people safely home with less than 30 soldiers.

    The Herald added the operations have raised serious concerns among some sections of the military and intelligence communities that the troops do not have adequate legal protection or contingency plans if they are captured.

    “They have all the espionage skills but without (Australian Secret Intelligence Service’s) legal cover,” said one government source.
    Rest assured someone knew/knows who they are and where they operate. As for having "adequate" legal protection inside the host country (such as declared spies purportedly possess) - that's a load of Sierra and history in Africa tells a different tale.

    I'd be more worried about the spies than professional military trained to be in a jam and get out too !
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    Stan,

    That explains it. In that case they are of little concern either to myself or 160 million other Nigerians. Given the experience of Zaire, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia - if Nigeria implodes, we don't expect the West to behave any differently.

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    Quote Originally Posted by KingJaja View Post
    Stan,

    That explains it. In that case they are of little concern either to myself or 160 million other Nigerians. Given the experience of Zaire, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia - if Nigeria implodes, we don't expect the West to behave any differently.
    Jaja,
    Sadly, you are once again correct.
    I wish it was so easy to dismiss as typical Western behavior. There are countless events on several continents where such measures have proven to be prudent vs not being prepared and "going in" blind.

    You've displayed a better understanding of our politicians than I even pretend to care about - yet alone understand. But yet, you don't see the pressure most of us work under - whether we like it or not. All most of us can do is be prepared for an evacuation.

    I wished just once the roles were reversed. Imagine you're the President of Nigeria and you have 10 to 25 thousand citizens in DC when the place has a civil war. They've been pumping oil for decades and they put you in office, and, they want a safe way out alive, or, you will not be doling out those 10 grand dinner parties. So, you put your AMERICOM dudes on it and they conclude a serious intel and language gap exists

    The rest is easy.
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    Default Nigerian Trends

    I live in Lagos, Nigeria's biggest city and a barometer of where Nigeria is heading.

    I went to Church last Sunday and heard an announcement about the creation of a cooperative. Members are supposed to pool resources for a period of six months and then be eligible to apply for loans and financial support. The amount requested per month is minimal (about $20), but the implications are far ranging - in a nation with a non-existent social security system, the Church has stepped into the void.

    Juxtapose this with the planned retrenchment of 25,000 workers from the Civil Service next year, you'd immediately understand that the Church is thinking ahead.

    Many Western analysts tend to underestimate the appeal and influence of Christian organisations in Nigeria. The Redeemed Christian Church of God, the largest evangelical denomination in Nigeria has at least 26,000 parishes and membership runs into millions. But evangelical churches don't just preach the word, they are heavily into education - these churches operate several primary and secondary schools and several operate or are in the process of establishing private universities.



    (The pix above shows Covenant University campus, it may not be much by American standards, but for Nigeria, it is quite an achievement).

    The same trend is mirrored within Islam (Nigeria also has a very large number of progressive Muslims, but they tend to be ignored by Western analysts). There are a rising number of "Nigeria Turkish" secondary schools (the Turks have street cred in those parts of Nigeria).

    However, there is a strain of Islam that sees the superior organisational ability and financial muscle of Christian organisations as a threat that must be dealt with. Boko Haram, political Sharia and some Christian/Muslim crises may be seen as an attempt to mark boundaries.

    As government is in retreat, religious organisations are rapidly taking over the functions of government. Will the next generation of Nigerians be even less tolerant than mine?

    The next trend is the diminishing relevance of the center. Don't get me wrong, the central Federal Government is still hugely relevant, but due to compromises that have to be made to balance religious and ethnic sentiments and corruption it is increasingly less able to respond in a timely manner in meeting developmental challenges.

    Lagos illustrates what the relationship between the Federal Government and more competent local administrations is likely to be in future. Lagos State depends on the Federal Government for only 25% of its funding (unlike most states in the North where the figure is closer to 95%). In addition the Lagos State government, through aggressive tax collection, is funding several important infrastructure projects.

    The methods of Lagos are being adopted by more progressive states in Nigeria's South. Right now, there is talk about regional integration between Lagos and the five other states in the South West. (Ogun state is already leveraging on its proximity to Lagos to jump start its economy). Other states in the South are eagerly jumping on the bandwagon (levels of education in the South are high by African standards and increasingly so are expectations of governance).

    Where does this leave us? It leaves us with a two speed Nigeria. With the terms North and South and Muslim and Christian not only referring to ethnic and religious affiliations but indicating steadily increasing differences in standards of living, educational attainment but most importantly worldviews.

    For a nation to whether the test of time, it has to be much more than a vehicle to support the exploration of crude oil - it needs to have a common focus and a common soul. With two rapidly diverging identities (Muslim/Christian, Northern/Southern), is that possible?

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    Default Youths refuse job offers in the North

    A peek into the economic impact of Boko Haram. (Nigeria's educated workforce is dominated by Christian Southerners).

    The increasing flight of people, especially non-indigenes, from northern states to the southern part of Nigeria, in the wake of the unabated suicide bombings by the Boko Haram religious sect, is causing manpower shortages which are undermining economic activities up north.

    BusinessDay gathered in Kaduna that chief among the sectors affected are privately owned companies, banks, insurance outfits and the informal sector, where most young men and women have been forced to resign their jobs due to pressures from parents and loved ones that they should return to the south which is considered safer.

    We further gathered that the persistent suicide attacks and bombings in the north by the Boko Haram religious sect, on various institutions, including churches and banks, which have led to the death of scores of people and destruction of properties worth billions of naira, have forced a rethink by many who had wanted to stay.

    Within the past four months, the activities of Boko Haram in the north have claimed the lives of well- educated bankers, artisans, technicians and other professionals, who had spent years in the northern states of Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Niger, Yobe, Bauchi, and Plateau. The situation is made worse by the fact that the Peace and Unity Conference initiated by northern leaders, under the auspices of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the series of meetings held by northern traditional and religious leaders, as well as the Northern States Governors Forum, could not convince members of the sect to sheathe their swords.

    According to a bank manager in Kaduna who spoke on condition of anonymity, the insecurity in the region has created vacancies in most banks in the northern states, especially Bauchi, Borno, Plateau, Kaduna and Kano. He said most young graduates who were employed not long ago, have resigned their jobs due to pressure from their loved ones to quit the north.

    He added that when the banks attempted to transfer personnel from the south to fill the vacancies, they were met with resistance and threats of resignation by experienced staff. He added that “Most people interviewed for replacement from the northern region did not measure up”. BusinessDay findings are that other economic activities are at the moment, at a very low ebb in the region.

    For instance, the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA) had to postpone indefinitely, this year’s International Trade Fair, due to security challenges currently facing the state.

    Borno state Commissioner for Information, Inuwa Bwala, however told BusinessDay that notwithstanding the security challenges, the government of Borno would keep its electoral promises to the people, pointing out that in the middle of the crisis, the present administration has constructed four out of the five hospitals it promised to deliver before the end of its first year in office.

    Bwala also told BusinessDay that plans were underway to engage 27,000 youths in productive ventures, to reduce poverty and unemployment among the youths. He added that government plans to cultivate 10,000 hectres of land to keep the youth gainfully engaged in the production of various agricultural produce, regretting that the issue of Boko Haram has been hijacked by various criminal groups to unleash terror and even settle political scores with the present administration in the state.
    http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/...s-in-the-north

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