African securityBoko Haram poses a serious challenge to the Nigerian government
The sophistication of Boko Haram’s operations including the prison break, use of propaganda, and the bombing of key government buildings has led some analysts to suggest that the group might be gaining help from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or Somalia’s al-Shabaab; the Nigerian government, however, has yet to show any evidence of a connection between Boko Haram and other terrorist groups outside the country. Some Nigerian officials have already admitted that Boko Haram cannot be defeated on the battlefield. “Boko Haram (is) better armed and better motivated than our own troops,” Borno state governor Kashim Shettima said in February 2014. “Given the present state of affairs, it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram.”
Boko Haram fighters outclass Nigerian government troops // Source: sadaelbalad.net
Islamist cleric Mohammed Yusuf formed Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, Nigeria, to establish an Islamic state in the country. The group calls itself Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, or “people committed to the propagation of the Prophet’s teachings and jihad,” and seeks to rid northern Nigeria of Western influence. Its widely known name, Boko Haram, translates to “Western education is sin,” representing the group’s rejection of Western concepts such as evolution and the Big Bang theory.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Boko Haram’s widespread use of violence increased drastically in 2009 after hundreds of followers, most of whom are impoverished northern Islamic students and clerics, faced harsh beatings from the Nigerian military and police forces after they refused to obey a recently implemented motorbike helmet law. The incident set off an armed riot in the northern state of Bauchi, and later into Borno, Yobe, and Kano states. More than eight hundred Boko Haram members including Yusuf died in that incident, at the hands of the Nigerian police and military. Shortly, “an Islamist insurrection under a splintered leadership” emerged, says Paul Lubeck, a University of California, Santa Cruz professor who researches Muslim societies in Africa. In the coming months, Boko Haram carried out several suicide bombings, assassinations, and even a prison break in Bauchi, freeing hundreds of prisoners.
The sophistication of Boko Haram’s operations including the prison break, use of propaganda, and the bombing of key government buildings has led some analysts to suggest that the group might be gaining help from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or Somalia’s al-Shabaab; the Nigerian government, however, has yet to show any evidence of a connection between Boko Haram and other terrorist groups outside the country. In May 2013, Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states and assembled a joint task force of military, police, and civilian units to battle Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria. The strategy pushed Boko Haram out of cities but attacks in rural areas and against civilians increased.
