Since 2009, violence between the government forces and Boko Haram
has peaked. An intensive conflict erupted between Boko Haram and the Government
in July 2009 when the members of the Boko Haram terrorist group rejected the
implementation of a national law related to the use of motorcycle helmets while
driving. According to the helmet law, both drivers and passengers have to
use helmets for their own safety but the members of Boko Haram rejected it
because of the fact that the members of Boko Haram using motorbikes were very
poor and illiterate young, therefore they did not want to buy helmets. Many
unemployed youngs criticised that helmets were very expensive.[1] The
second reason was that the Boko Haram terrorist group in the north of the
country have particularly refused using it because Boko Haram does not accept
the Federal Government of Nigeria as a legitimate power in the country and
believes that the Government of Nigeria does not protect the interests of the
Muslims living in the country. Rejecting the law imposed by the Federal
Government is an evidence that the group questions the legitimacy of the
Nigerian Government.
After this incident, the Nigerian security forces killed seventeen
members of Boko Haram and the leader of Boko Haram Mohammed Yusuf was arrested
and killed in a brutal way by the Nigerian security forces. With the killing of
the leader of Boko Haram, the group changed its strategy and launched massive
and aggressive attacks against schools, prisons, police stations, government
buildings, churches and mosques in the country. The 2009 conflict between the
two forces left 1000 people dead and 700 people wounded in the country. The
group changed its headquarters and moved to Kanamma in Yobe State, near the
border of Niger.[2]
There are a number of significant reasons for the escalation of
violence between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Government. The first reason was
that Boko Haram demanded to build its own mosque in Monguno in December 2008
but its initiative was not allowed by the state authority. A conflict erupted
between the two groups over the contest for building a mosque after the
rejection of the building and some of the members, including Abubakar Shekau
were arrested. The second reason is that security forces have mismanaged the
crises and attempted to use a brutal method to stop and eliminate the
activities of the terrorist group.[3] Oppressive
policies of the security forces against the terrorist group instigated tension
between Boko Haram and the government.
In the conflict in July 2009, the injured people belonged to Boko
Haram were not accepted by the hospitals to receive a treatment. Boko Haram
announced that the state waged a war against itself with its injustice
policies. In this conflict, the leader of Boko Haram Mohammed Yusuf and
prominent members were killed. Particularly, killing of the leader of Boko
Haram increased animosity between Boko Haram and the government. The security
forces without the identification of the members of Boko Haram carefully killed
many innocent and unarmed people during the conflict of July 2009. For
instance, 185 unarmed people were killed and almost 2.000 houses were burnt by
the military forces on 19 April 2013..Killing of innocent people,
looting, illegal and arbitrary detentions, arson and raping have raised
anger on the society against the security forces and the Nigerian government.
On 9 July 2011, security forces killed more than fourth people but only eight
of the fourth people belonged to the Boko Haram terrorist group.[4]
Nigeria is labeled as one of the poorest countries in the world[5] despite
having mass natural resources. Its infrastructure is extremely poor. It is one
of the most corrupt countries in the world.[6] On the
other hand, oil has been the most significant source of the government revenues
since 1970. It is the eight largest exporter of oil in the world and largest in
Africa. However, more than 62 percent of the population lives in extreme
poverty in Nigeria. Economic disparities between the Muslim north and the
Christian south are extremely terrible. While more than 70 percent live poverty
in the north, only 27 percent live in poverty in the south and 35 percent in
the Niger Delta.[7] Brutal
and unjust policies of the State of Plateau against the Muslims living in the
north have also led to the emergence of irritation against the State in
particular and the Federal government in general.[8] According
to Boko Haram, political institutions in northern Nigeria have been controlled
by corrupt politicians and therefore corrupt institutions of the government
have igored political, economic and social developments in the north. Brutal
policies of the security services on the civilians have marginalized the poor
people and unemployed youth throughout the country. Book Haram believes that
the ruling elite created by the Britain during the colonial period are
spiritually and morally corrupt and they only focus on their own self-interests
rather than the interests of the Muslim community. Socioeconomic and political
challenges in the country have increased the operational capacity of Boko Haram
and restrict the capacity of the Nigerian Government to fight against Boko
Haram. The underlying factors behind the attacks of Boko Haram are poverty,
corruption, unemployment, and economic problems.
Religion and politics have been frequently used together by the
politicians or the ruling elite in the north throughout the history. While the
politicians in the south mostly employ Christianity to strengthen their own
political interests, the politicians in the north also abuse Islam for
preserving their own self-interests. Politicians have particularly strengthened
their power and gained their legitimacy through the religion. The most
prominent group that used the religion as a political tool was the Maitatsine
group. The group carried out many attacks in the north by employing the religion
of Islam. The group led to the emergence of religious uprisings in 1980 in
Kano, in 1982 and in 1983 in Yola and Maiduguri respectively.[9] Boko
Haram attempts to exploit the religious differences and spread fear among the
public by using violence. Violence has been one of the most important
instruments of the Boko Haram terrorist group, believing that it will reach its
goals through violence and bloodshed.
Boko Haram not only kills the Muslims in the country but also kills
the Christians. The Government needs to create a perception that Boko Haram is
a common threat which aggravates political, economic and social development.
Importantly, the Government should particularly address social and economic
challenges and political divisions. It is a fact that terrorism in the country
feeds itself from the structural problems of the country. International
community remains passive in solving security issues in Nigeria. In 2013, the
US and the Western countries declared Boko Haram as a terrorist organization.
Britain has a significant economic oil interest in Nigeria and has produced oil
in the southern part of the country since 1958. British foreign and security
policy in Nigeria is to protect its economic and political interests in the
country rather than focusing on the root causes of terrorism. The US and the
West are strongly concerned that Boko Haram is a global threat and has
strategic ties with Al-Qeada and Al-Shabaab. The West is also alarmed that Boko
Haram has a religious identity and, therefore it threatens the secular
government which is strategically important for political and economic
interests of the West in Nigeria and in West Africa.
The Nigerian Government has employed the method of hard power to
eliminate the root causes of terrorism in the country. The leadership of
Goodluck Jonathan has been accused that its policy does not handle the
socio-economic problems of the country. Particularly, the Nigerian Government
has developed a state-centric security policy towards terrorism rather than a
human security approach but this has aggravated socio-economic development and
sparked violence. In 2013, the Nigerian Government declared Boko Haram as a
terrorist organization and imposed a state of emergency over the three
countries in the north. Since then, the Government has hardened its security
policies against the members of the Boko Haram terrorist group and put many
members of the group into the jail. On 14 April 2014, Boko Haram captured more
than 250 girls in the northeast of Nigeria. The critics point out that it
abducted the school girls for the retaliation that the Government has very
strict policy against the members of Boko Haram. It is strongly criticised that
the Nigerian armed forces are actively involved in human rights abuses when
dealing with terrorism in the north. While strict security policies, human
rights violations and the lack of social and economic policies strengthen and
legalise the existence and the terrorist activities of Boko Haram in the north,
they damage legitimacy of the Nigerian Government in the eyes of the public.
The Government needs to deal with social, economic and political challenges.The
future of the country depends on the solving of the internal problems,
including unemployment, poverty, economic and social challenges.
References:
[3]Kyari Mohammed, “The Message and Methods of Boko Haram,” in
Boko Haram: Islamism, Politics, Security and the State in Nigeria, ed. by
March-Antoine Perouse de montclos (Leiden: African Studies Centre, 2014), pp.
24-6.
[5] See, http://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/the-poorest-countries-in-the-world
(4 August 2014)
[8] Andrew Walker, “What is Book Haram”, Special Report,
United States Institute of Peace, 2012, pp. 13-14.
[9] A.I. Ajayi, “Boko Haram and Terrorism in Nigeria: Exploratory
and Explanatory Notes”, Global Advanced Research Journal of History,
Vol. 1, No., 5 (2012), p. 104.
