I was speaking of Africa and not nearly as far back as 1947. That was a year before I saw the light of day. I respect your experience and understanding from that time in Asia.Originally Posted by Ken White
This is more a political discussion, so I will only say that Bush the bully's rhetoric and actions, from my perspective, accelerated the decline of America's respect around the world, yet I know most of Africa. Yes, I understand Kingjaja's comment about AIDS. His wife did help a lot in that realm.
Bottom line, America's respect in the world is not a goal for which to strive, IMHO. Justice and effective help, in partnership with Africa is a much more honorable goal. I think we would all agree with that. Yet, it is hard to be trusted when you have a tarnished reputation.
Agreed. And, we peddle this same form of democracy to Africa. Of course, it is up to them to accept or reject it. They have much larger problems than the USA has to deal with, and short terms of office hardly give their leaders an opportunity to do much good.
I agree with most of what has been said about corruption in the police force in Nigeria, yet who am I to have an opinion on that. Kingjaja has the best, first hand, perspective on it. All that considered, some of the rank and file police, like this one, are taking huge risks everyday for Nigerians, and some, like him have perished.True, the guy didn't have protective clothing.
The only good that could possibly come from the Boko Haram crisis is the restructuring of the Nigerian Police Force. It is an institution in terminal decline.I agree with most of what has been said about corruption in the police force in Nigeria, yet who am I to have an opinion on that. Kingjaja has the best, first hand, perspective on it. All that considered, some of the rank and file police, like this one, are taking huge risks everyday for Nigerians, and some, like him have perished.
Only a few days ago, the police chief ordered his men to dismantle road blocks. The road blocks are still there, so discipline is lacking.
I'm not sure I do agree with it. Easy to say and sounds good, but there are going to be some gaps in the practicality of execution.
How do you propose that America go about bringing "justice" to Africa? Shall we wear a cape?
In my admittedly cynical view, when people talk about "help" they tend to mean "send money", and "effective help" is defined by to whom they want the money sent.
“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
Boko Haram seems set to challenge Nigeria's military on its home territory.
Having grown up in a house full of professors, I am not entirely convinced that the PhD is an compelling indicator of practical intelligence.
I would agree that a coup is a real threat... an insurrection, of course, is an external challenge to the military, no less than an invasion.
It is of course true that being Southern doesn't necessarily correlate with incompetence, or with competence, but any time command and promotion are based on ethnicity and perceived loyalty there's potential for backlash, even if that effort is designed to correct previous similar distortions. Those who feel passed over on the basis of ethnicity or perceived loyalty easily become disgruntled. You promote ethnic/tribal cliques, some defending their privileged position, others reinforcing the perception of exclusion. This inevitably distracts from focus on the mission.
Would you really want a primarily northern Muslim rank and file under a primarily southern Christian command fighting a northern Muslim insurgency?
Question on the Nigerian military... does it have a rather exorbitant number of generals for the size of the force? Many 3rd world militaries do. When coup time comes around it sometimes turns out that a President surrounding himself with loyal generals isn't always an advantage. When push comes to shove the troops may be more likely to follow the officer they know - the captains and majors, including many who are stranded in those ranks due to actual or perceived lack of connections and ethnic advantage - rather than some general they've rarely ever seen. A building full of generals in cushy staff billets doesn't help much if they don't have any troops.
Obviously things can shake out any number of ways, but a President surrounding himself with generals perceived to be loyal and based in his own ethnic/sectarian group would be a real sign of weakness to me.
“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
Jonathan has not done anything different from virtually every Nigerian head of state before him.
General Aguiyi-Ironsi was a Southerner and a head of state in the sixties. He made of mistake of having a northerner as his adc (T.Y. Danjuma) and another northerner as his chief of army staff (Yakubu Gowon). He didn't last six months - his body was dumped somewhere in the bush outside Ibadan.
No head of state is going to ever make that mistake.
There are a lot of Northerners in the Nigerian Army, but they are no where as dominant as they used to be in the past (Obasanjo put paid to that).
Jonathan may be book smart but it takes a certain amount of cunning to survive and thrive in the murky World of Nigerian politics, especially at the highest levels.
Boko Haram is not a Military forceBoko Haram seems set to challenge Nigeria's military on its home territory.
Nigeria's Abandoned Youth: Are They Potential Recruits for Militants?
Talked about this a while ago.
"In a small stone, tin-roof building in Regassa in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, in a room whose walls are decorated with slates inscribed with Koranic verses, Adulai, 15, lies on a mat, feverish with malaria and typhoid. His younger brother, Adamu, tends to him. "He's very sick," says Adamu. Adamu has not eaten since the night before. He says he is hoping for some leftovers from a nearby house, where the family is finishing lunch.
Adulai and Adamu are not orphans, but they might as well be. A year ago, their parents, poor farmers with more children than they can afford, brought them hundreds of miles from Katsina on the edge of the Sahara to Kaduna to study the Koran in a ramshackle Islamic school called a tsangaya. There are just two among millions of boys who have made the same journey in similar situations across the country. Communal rooms in this tsangaya host up to 80 boys at night. Thin, straw mats cover the floor. Filthy bags holding modest belongings are nailed high on the grimy walls. The boys — known as almajiris — are meant to be under the guidance of mallams, or religious teachers. In reality, when the almajiris "break" for the day, they stream out in the scores onto the streets armed with small plastic bowls to begin a long day of begging. "Almajiri is a hausa word meaning 'emigrant,'" explains Dr Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, secretary-general of Jama'atu Nasril Islam, an umbrella Muslim group. "It is someone who is searching for knowledge to make himself a better individual. But it has now become a concept of its own in northern Nigeria, synonymous with begging."
(PHOTOS: Deadly Attacks in Nigeria)
Nigeria's population of 160 million is roughly split between a mostly Muslim north and a largely Christian south. Absolute poverty — defined as people who can only afford the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing — rose to 60.9% in 2010 from 54.7% in 2004, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That inequality is widening. And the majority of the poorest states lie in the dusty, arid north. Add into that destitution a polygamous society which can produce dozens of children in a single family and parents, with little means to feed them, willingly send their offspring to tsangayas, often hundreds of miles away in neighboring states or even countries.
In cities across northern Nigeria, the scale of the problem is apparent. Young boys swarm around cars stopped in traffic looking for alms or scraps of food. Kids with painful skin diseases and open sores on their heads and hands stare into car windows. Accidents, even fatalities, are common. Dr Suleiman Shinkfi runs a Kaduna-based NGO helping almajiris. "They are children that assume that they don't have anybody," he says. "They feed on the roadsides, they rush for your scraps when you finish eating. Sometimes they fight dogs for food." Naturally, the children are vulnerable to criminality, says Tayo Fatinikun, State Secretary of the Child Protection Network in Sokoto. "They are living where they don't have families. Some are as young as six years of age. It is an impetus to criminal activities." Arinze Orakwe from the National Agency for the Prohibition of People Trafficking adds: "These children are vulnerable to all sorts of social problems — abuse, violence. [They can be] cherry-picked for any vice that adults want to use them for.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...#ixzz1mneUKc7H
UPDATE 1-Explosion strikes outskirts of Nigerian capital
Seems like Boko Haram again.
http://af.reuters.com/article/nigeri...8DJ05220120219LAGOS Feb 19 (Reuters) - An explosion struck the Nigerian town of Suleja, on the edge of the capital Abuja, on Sunday, a security source and a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.
"NEMA has alerted other response agencies to an explosion reported in Morocco area of Suleja. Public are strongly advised to desist from getting close to explosion and allow rescue workers access to site," the spokesman said in a text message. He added that the casualty toll was not yet known.
The security source said the blast struck near the Christ Embassy Church, on the main Morocco Road, but officials did not immediately confirm this.
Nigerian officials say Suleja and surrounding Niger state have been infiltrated by militants from the Boko Haram Islamist sect which is waging an insurgency against the Nigerian government, usually concentrated in the largely Muslim far north and northeast.
Since last year, the group has radiated from its northern heartlands and struck in or around the capital a few times.
On Christmas Day, a bomb blast claimed by Boko Haram against a Catholic Church in Madala, just outside Abuja, killed 37 people and wounded 57.
That attack heightened sectarian tensions in the country of 160 million, split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims.
On Wednesday, gunmen stormed a prison in Kogi state in central Nigeria, killing one warden and freeing 119 prisoners, the prison authorities said.
Although the majority of Boko Haram's attacks occur in its home base in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, its threat has spread. At least 178 people were killed in the sect's most deadly attack last month in Nigeria's largest northern city, Kano. (Reporting by Tim Cocks, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Seems they are still hanging in their comfort zone (traditional area of operations) and avoiding hard targets. With but one slight example to their (self claimed) credit, BH has yet to demonstrate ability to project power outside traditional operational areas.
In this case, even the public are more aware. Do the Nigerian security services have a public awareness program or was this by luck and by God ?
I'm also wondering if the Nigerian govt. has figured out where the commercial explosives are coming from. It was more than a year ago when the FBI concluded that BH had access to commercial grade explosives and basic explosives use. Not something you just read on the internet or from a book, and one can't continue to blow things up without supplies !
If you want to blend in, take the bus
There is something of a public awareness campaign, but this more likely due to vigilance on the part of Church attendees.Seems they are still hanging in their comfort zone (traditional area of operations) and avoiding hard targets. With but one slight example to their (self claimed) credit, BH has yet to demonstrate ability to project power outside traditional operational areas.
In this case, even the public are more aware. Do the Nigerian security services have a public awareness program or was this by luck and by God ?
I'm also wondering if the Nigerian govt. has figured out where the commercial explosives are coming from. It was more than a year ago when the FBI concluded that BH had access to commercial grade explosives and basic explosives use. Not something you just read on the internet or from a book, and one can't continue to blow things up without supplies !
Even if the Nigerian govt. figures out where the explosives are coming from, they are powerless to stop them, really. Nigerians borders are porous and unless the Nigerian security services are reformed the present situation remains.
To live in Africa requires a certain amount of mental toughness, the sort of which Westerners find difficult to comprehend. You know you are on your own and that the government cannot and will not protect you, but you've got to feed your kids and build a life / business.
So life will continue in Nigeria. We are fast approaching the "is this the worst you can do phase" in our relationship with Boko Haram. Bombings will continue, albeit limited to the traditional areas of operations. Expect a Nigerian equivalent of a "sons of Iraq" to arise - Kano is a business town and they don't joke with making money there!
I expect life to continue. The regular bombings in Iraq haven't changed the strategic situation there - Maliki is still in charge and is consolidating his hold on power. The same applies to Jonathan.
Could I be the youngest person posting here?I was speaking of Africa and not nearly as far back as 1947. That was a year before I saw the light of day. I respect your experience and understanding from that time in Asia.
Gallup poll on Nigeria
http://www.gallup.com/poll/152780/No...oko-Haram.aspxWASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup surveys suggest Nigerians do not embrace the anti-Western rhetoric of Boko Haram, the militant movement behind a series of deadly attacks in the country. About 6 in 10 Nigerians believe greater interaction with the West is more of a benefit than a threat. In Boko Haram's Northeast home base, nearly 7 in 10 say the same. Majorities of residents in other northern regions, which are home to many Muslims, also view such interaction positively.
A few points.
1. The South East views greater interaction between Muslim and Western Societies as more of a threat than a benefit. What that means is that any attempt by the US to show greater understanding of the Muslim pov will be regarded with extreme suspicion by the South East.
There is a historical basis for this, the general belief was that during the colonial era the British favoured the Muslim North over the Christian South East. This culminated in the Nigerian Civil War - the Northern-led Nigerian Army triumphed over the mainly Christian Biafrans (85% of the weapons of the Nigerian Army were supplied by the British). So the distrust of the British (and by extension the Americans) still lingers in that part of Nigeria.
2. A full third of the population of the North-East is opposed to Sharia being a source of legislation. This should correspond to the Christian population in those areas. The figures in the South range from 64% to 83%. In the Middle Belt, it stands at 57%. So, Sharia is extremely unpopular in many parts of Nigeria.
3. Approval ratings for Nigeria's leadership (Jonathan) are relatively high in the South and Middle Belt but low in the North. So Jonathan may not be as vulnerable as he seems. These views were reinforced by an informal survey I carried out on the streets of Lagos (talking to taxi drivers, market women etc). Southerners seem to be much more forgiving of Jonathan's failings than most people assume.
You're in the top tenCould I be the youngest person posting here?And... Our first and only (posting) Nigerian
If you want to blend in, take the bus
Eight Boko Haram’s suspects killed in Borno
A TIMELY intervention by the Joint Task Force (JTF) yesterday prevented suspected Boko Haram gunmen from unleashing large-scale violence on the Baga Market, Maiduguri, Borno State.
But the Boko Haram suspects, who attacked the market around 1.00 p.m., had shot at three traders before officials of the JTF rushed to the market and repelled them.
After fighting off the Boko Haram gunmen, the JTF defused three bombs that were allegedly planted by the group in the market.
If you want to blend in, take the bus
Local news says up thirty bodies at morgue. Not sure whether Boko Haram suspects or innocent bystanders.
Terror Label for Boko Haram Debated
We get it, terrorists are only terrorists when they attack Americans or directly threaten American interests or when kinetic actions against them can be milked for political purposes.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/...139892403.htmlWhile violence involving Boko Haram extremists occurs on an almost daily basis in northern Nigeria, a debate is taking place in the United States over whether the radicals should be labeled as a foreign terrorist organization.
The U.S. State Department currently designates 49 extremist groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Only one of those groups comes from sub-Saharan Africa, Somalia's al-Shabab extremists.
Peter Lewis is the director of the African Studies program at The Johns Hopkins University in Washington. He calls Boko Haram a violent insurgency, but says it would be a mistake for the State Department to add it to the list of terror groups. "We are short on facts other than the undisputed fact that Boko Haram has become a deadly insurgency, not just a security problem, or a challenge, but an organized, capable insurgency in northern Nigeria," he said.
Lewis says very little is known about the group's leadership structure or possible external ties. He says much more is understood about the context of poverty, corruption, poor governance and religious rivalries within which Boko Haram operates.
"Boko Haram, while it is a small movement, while it is essentially a sect that has a claim on the loyalties and ideas of only a tiny minority of northern Nigerians, nonetheless taps into a broader sense of resentment, of anger, a sense of marginality and a broader catchment and demographic of alienated, unemployed, poorly educated northern youth," he said.
Lewis says alleged Boko Haram spokespeople may even have ties to the Nigerian government and pretend they have links with regional terrorist groups to attract more attention and outside funding in the effort to stop the insurgency.
One analyst in favor of the terror label is former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, Howard Jeter. He disagreed with Lewis at a recent Washington conference. "It is really a terrorist group. And Peter said let us not designate it [as such]. I would like to hear your explanation as to why. It is a terrorist group. If you kill 28 innocent people worshipping in a church, it is a terrorist group," he said.
Jeter was referring to bombings during Christmas holiday church services last year on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja.
Other Boko Haram attacks have targeted security forces and Muslims. Leaders who have come forward in the media have said they want to impose Islamic Sharia law. The name Boko Haram, which means "Western education is a sin," was initially given by critics of the radicals as a way to make fun of them.
Jean Herskovits, a professor of history at the State University of New York, recently wrote about Boko Haram in an opinion article in The New York Times. Herskovits said that if the United States placed the group on the foreign terror list, it would make more Nigerians fear and distrust America. She also said such a decision could turn the U.S. government into an enemy of many of northern Nigeria's Muslims. Herskovits says pressure is growing from some lawmakers and U.S. government agencies to label Boko Haram as a terrorist group.
John Campbell, from the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, says U.S.-Nigerian ties are extremely important, and that these debates should not be taken lightly. "We face the challenge of developing a policy response to Nigerian developments that reconciles our strategic interests with our abiding goal of promoting democracy and sustainable development in the giant of Africa," he said.
Last year, U.S. lawmakers from the House Committee on Homeland Security also proposed that Boko Haram be added to the list of designated foreign terror groups, but so far officials from the State Department's Africa bureau have disagreed, and the northern Nigerian radicals have remained off the list.
On its website, the State Department says the designation plays a critical role in the U.S. fight against terrorism and is an effective means to curtail support for terrorist activities and for pressuring groups to get out of the terror business.
One thing is for sure, anti-Boko Haram sentiment is rising in Northern Nigeria (especially among the business community). We can assure the USG, that when Nigeria is called upon next to support US strategic interests, the long period of sitting on the fence will not be forgotten.
The internal dynamics/politics of the "terrorist" label does not interest us. We only see a nation sitting on the fence.
Going back to early posts I see this:
Now I see this:
What changed?
A US "terrorist" designation isn't meant to define who is or isn't a terrorist, it's meant to define which terrorists are of concern to the US.
What would a US "terrorist" designation on BH accomplish, beyond unnecessarily internationalizing a domestic conflict, accelerating expectations of AFRICOM charging over the hill, and giving BH street cred with the AQ crowd? Wouldn't it just be seen as paving the way for that US involvement that you've already said you don't want?
Why exactly would you want a US "terrorist" designation on BH?
Last edited by Dayuhan; 02-22-2012 at 09:14 PM.
“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
Designate it as a terrorist organisation because it is the right thing to do.
Canada joined Britain to fight Germany during the Second World War, not because Canada was directly threatened or because Canada would not suffer losses or because Canada's reputation would suffer in the eyes of Germans. She joined the War effort because it was the right thing to do.
No one is asking the US to commit troops to Nigeria or to fight BH for us. The US should state the bleeding obvious: BH is a terrorist organisation, because it is the right thing to do.
(Since I made that remark, BH has metastasized in to what can be clearly termed as a terrorist organisation.)
Why is it the right thing to do?
I'll quote myself, easier than typing it again:
As you said yourself, this is a Nigerian domestic matter and it's not our concern. You see us "on the fence" because - as you said yourself - it's not our fight. The last thing you (and we) want us us getting off the fence, because that just makes a mess.A US "terrorist" designation isn't meant to define who is or isn't a terrorist, it's meant to define which terrorists are of concern to the US.
As far as I can see, the probable consequences of a US terrorist designation on BH are:
- internationalizing a domestic conflict
- accelerating expectations of AFRICOM involvement
- giving BH street cred with the AQ crowd
How is that "the right thing to do"? What positive outcome, if any, would this designation accomplish?
I see no point in the US spilling words in a situation where supporting those words with action is clearly not desirable. Either you're in or you're out, and we need to be out. Words are a first step to a place we don't want to be; best not to start down the path.
“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
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks