Thinking Outside the Boko
Written by: Buhle Lindwa, Rentse Khiba
The ‘Bring back our Girls’ hashtag has shown all nations fighting for one cause. Girls are important to the global community because many people strongly believe in female empowerment. Boko Haram’s actions are seen by many people as a sign that they do not want these girls to go to school, but that is not the issue at hand. What Boko Haram wants is for everyone to study Sharia law, meaning all education is Islamic. A link courtesy of WSJ Digital Network shows Abubakar Shekau, (Boko Haram’s leader) admitting to taking the girls and threatening to sell the girls to slave markets.
The kidnapping of almost 300 Nigerian girls has shocked the global community but has also given the Boko Haram what they’ve always wanted: international attention.
Shekau first reported that he would sell these kidnapped girls to the ‘slave markets’ while also boasting about his intentions to marry them off after converting them to Islam. He has since changed his mind. As of the 15th May, Boko Haram has been in negotiations with the Nigerian government and has agreed to release 100 girls for the wives and families of some Boko Haram fighters who are imprisoned by the government. But Mark Simmonds, Britain's top official in Africa, told journalists in the Abuja on 22 May that President Goodluck Jonathan had said that he had ‘made it very clear that there will be no negotiations with Boko Haram that involves a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners’. There is no way the president will release these prisoners as doing so would just allow Boko Haram to gain more power over Nigeria and terrorise more villages. Shekau posted another video in which he states that Boko Haram will never stop killing until Allah is satisfied, which shows how malicious he is. He strongly believes that nobody can stop him and he will get away with what he is doing as he proclaims it is ‘by the grace of Allah’.
Sadly, the words ‘Boko Haram’ mean nothing to many members of the public them who do not even understand the intensity of the meaning these words hold.
Boko Haram has been tormenting villages in Northern Nigeria since 2009. It is difficult to not question their intentions: why would a group of people just go around destroying villages and killing innocent civilians? According to Boko Haram, these civilians are not innocent as they refuse to turn to the Islamic religion and that angers Allah. The organisation believes that it has been sent by Allah to rid Nigeria of non-Muslims… and if this means killing non-Muslims then that’s what they will do. Shekau lists the people who are on his hit-list… including the United States of America, Ban Ki Moon and all Christians
According to many Nigerian nationals, Jonathan has taken his time in sending defence teams to rescue these girls. It was reported that local Chibok officials received a warning call hours before the attack that described 200 armed men on 30 motorbikes and 20 pick-up trucks heading towards Chibok. Officials went around warning residents to flee and also issued an S.O.S. to the nearest barracks, which 45 minutes away. Unfortunately, only 18 soldiers were able to assist and, after being outnumbered and low on ammunition, they fled.
A 16-year-old girl who was amongst the kidnapped but managed to escape tells what happened.
This is not only Nigeria’s problem as many countries are afraid that Boko Haram, with the help of Al Qaeda, will launch a global war on all non-Muslims. Some compare between Shekau and Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden kept a group of powerful men around him but Shekau has a group of ‘yes men’ - people who don’t dare oppose him. For him, resembling Osama is a big deal as the slain Al Qaeda leader is extensively praised in the northern part of Nigeria and this comparison increases Shekau’s support as many idolise him.
Not only does Shekau resemble Bin Laden, he is carefully tightening his links with Al Qaeda. Michael Leiter, former Director of the National Centre for Counter-terrorism states: “Shekau has definitely been the key, not just an ideological alignment with Al Qaeda, but also to adopting Al Qaeda-like tactics.”
Since the death of Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, Shekau rose to power after leaders chose him on the basis of ‘who could be harsher’. Under his rule, Boko Haram has been dubbed the ‘most violent terrorist group in the world’ and has killed over 7 000 people, as confirmed by the Council of Foreign Relations.
Jonathan has said, “From 2009 to date, it (Boko Haram) has changed and is operating clearly as an Al Qaeda organisation. It can be better described as an Al-Qaeda in West and Central Africa.”
Michelle Obama spoke out on: “And I want you to know that Barack has directed our government to do everything possible to support the Nigerian governments efforts to find these girls and bring them home.”
International response has increased through social media like the ‘#BringBackOurGirls’ on Twitter and Facebook that aim to raise public awareness. Israel, France, the U.S. and China are providing help but Nigeria is reluctant to accept help from the international community as doing so will anger Boko Haram and raise questions about Nigeria’s government, which is facing elections in 2015.
Shekau has been communicating with the global village via videos that he releases. Many have dubbed him ‘insane’. He has threatened the U.S. and other countries trying to capture him. A $7 million reward has been placed on his head and that seems to be the main reason he is reacting this way via his videos.
In his recent video, he says: “Some of you, like Germany, Russia and Italy, think because we do not mention your names, you think we don’t know you people are involved. If I catch Jonathan, Obama and the others, I am going to sell them. Don’t think I am joking, God you are my witness. Any amount, let them spend, we will bring this country down. We are stronger than America anywhere they are, we will open a killing pool for all those who have insulted us like George Bush, Obama and even Jonathan.”
With the latest attacks in Nigeria, fears of Boko Haram’s terrorist acts getting worse have come true. It’s as if they are desperate to make a point and they won’t stop until the nation and the world truly fears them. With each attack, they are becoming more brutal. Just in the month of May, more than 500 people have been killed and slaughtered by Boko Haram in attacks ranging from assaults on villages, where they ransacked people’s houses and torched them after stealing their food and cars, to suicide car bombings at local bus stops where they know many civilians are waiting for transport.
With the recent rise in terrorist attacks by Boko Haram, the Nigerian government has been accused of not doing enough to stop the terrorists. Jonathan provided false hope by saying that he had the terrorist group ‘under control’. Clearly he does not have this terrorist group under control. We are baffled as to how they allowed the group to grow so large and so rapidly. what’s taking them so long to contain the situation? Why is there such a lack of military troops?
According to Major-General Abdullah Muraina, who is the army’s chief of accounts and budgets, the soldiers could not meet these security challenges: “Currently, budgetary allocation for the military is inadequate to meet the contemporary security challenges and also cater for the welfare of the Nigerian Army.” He also appealed to the Nigerian government to find other means of funding and support for the military operations so that the army can be provided with more men, more uniforms and - most importantly - more resources like firearms.
Because of recent events, U.S. President Obama deployed 80 military personnel who will operate unarmed drones. These unmanned vehicles can find terrorists without anybody (except the terrorists) getting hurt. The military personnel that has been deployed are air force and security support forces and Obama said that they will ‘support the operation of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft operating over Northern Nigeria and the surrounding area’ until they are no longer needed.
With the U.S. stepping in to assist, we believe it has shown Nigerian citizens that their pleas have been heard and that progress is being made. It’s really difficult to understand how a Mickey Mouse gang managed to evolve into one of the world’s most biggest terrorist groups. We would like Boko Haram to be obliterated… after the girls have been rescued.
As Ripley said in Aliens: “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”