SEATTLE — Since turning to violence in 2009, Boko Haram has become one of the deadliest terrorist organization in the world. Nestled in the Northern region of Nigeria, Boko Haram has terrorized the surrounding Lake Chad Basin and the bordering nations of Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Just how did Boko Haram come to be, and what is being done to stop them?
The Origins of Boko Haram
With the Settlement of 1960, Nigeria declared independence from Britain and did away with its use of Sharia law. As a result, Muslims in the north frequently fought with the Christians in the south. Around this time, radical Islam was rapidly gaining traction in the region, and by the mid-1980s, the Muslim north had come to the conclusion that adopting the Settlement of 1960 was a bad idea. Public dissonance with the government led to many riots in the 1980s, killing thousands of people.
In 1999, after nearly 40 years of political turmoil and numerous coups to overthrow the government, Niger’s constitution was redrafted. The Nigerian Constitution of 1999 granted significant power to the states, including the opportunity to use Sharia law. Nine of the 12 northern states implemented full Sharia law, and the remaining three implemented Sharia Law in civil but not criminal affairs.
Religious revitalization in Northern Nigeria led to the founding of Boko Haram in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf. Yusuf was an Islamic fundamentalist who followed Wahhabi theology, which was identified by European Parliament as the main source of global terrorism due to its vehement opposition to non-Islamic practices, including those of fellow Muslims who do not rigorously follow Islam.
Boko Haram was peaceful until 2009 when a riot broke out after several members were arrested for refusing to wear motorcycle helmets because they were seen as ‘un-Islamic.’ During the riot, 800 people died, and Yusuf was arrested, questioned and subsequently put to death without a trial.
Following Yusuf’s death, his successor, Abubakar Shekau, has advocated using terrorism to advance the group’s agenda of establishing a Nigerian Islamic state. Since 2009, the group has killed over 15 thousand people and affected over 30 million.
So what is being done by national and international actors to stop Boko Haram’s increasing spread of violence?
- Fighting government corruption — This June, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari fired dozens of senior officers accused of corruption. An internal investigation found more than 50 officers responsible for stealing billions of dollars from the government.
- An aggressive military campaign — 2016 has been a good year for the Nigerian military, as it has seen multiple victories against Boko Haram. On April 7, military leaders reported that 800 Boko Haram members had surrendered in the previous three weeks, setting 11,000 captives free. Furthermore, a joint force of Nigerian and Cameroonian troops killed 22 Boko Haram fighters, arresting three commanders in a raid along the border region of Nigeria and Cameroon. The raid reportedly freed 1,275 hostages after it cleared six towns and other adjoining settlements.
- Foreign aid — On June 27, the U.N. used $13 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide life-saving assistance in the form of food, funds and medical supplies to 250,000 people in areas of Northeastern Nigeria that had just became accessible thanks to a successful military campaign. In addition, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayeb made a donation of medical and educational supplies and funds a scholarship for internally displaced persons in Nigeria. El Tayeb said that Muslims all over the world shared Nigeria’s pains from terrorism, and that he would continue to support efforts to ensure the return of peace and unity among all faiths in the country.
- Education and economic empowerment — Karim Shettima, governor of the Borno State, says that the root cause of this issue is extreme poverty and a lack of education. Nigeria’s literacy rate is below 60 percent, and 70 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The people of Nigeria, especially Northeast Nigeria, lack the educational and economic opportunities required to combat extremist ideology and poverty.
It will take a continued multifaceted effort to combat and defeat Boko Haram, but progress is being made by the Nigerian government and its foreign partners to empower the people of Nigeria and put an end to the ongoing human rights abuses. A successful military campaign has opened the door for aid to reach the people in Northern Nigeria, and if this pattern continues, more people may have access to the education and jobs that they need to be free from violence and poverty.
– Aaron Parr
Photo: Flickr