BOKO HARAM ATROCITIES IN NIGERIA

WRITTEN BY EDITOR KALAHAN DENG

 Boko Haram is a Hausa word which means in English “Western education is sinful.” The group rejects everything that has to do with Western origins, especially western education, ideologies and systems, such as democracy and many other forms of civilization. Many analysts agree that this terrorist group in Nigeria started in 2001, but I do not agree with their findings, because Boko Haram was an underground movement that started earlier than what the analysts claimed, probably in the early 80’s to early 2001. Boko Haram groups are purely the product of the Islamic School in Cairo, Egypt where most of the young Nigerians from the northern region were sent to study all kinds of radical and strict views of Islam which they are pursuing in their country right now. As a matter of fact, many who finished in Al-Azhar Islamic School in Cairo, Egypt returned to their country with the view that despise all forms of western civilizations, and those who returned to northern Nigeria, the regions which is predominately Muslim, do agree in one thing which is the formation of the Islamic State in northern Nigeria.

In fact, the tension started in 2009 when sectarian religious violence between rival Islamic groups in northern country, unfortunately, this violence did not end there, but Christians in the regions became the focus and the victims of rival Islamic groups. For example, January 5-6, 2012, there were multiple church bombings in northern Nigeria, in June 3, 2012, over 25 church goers were killed in Bauchi, and in June 17, 2012, suicide bombing attacks on three churches in Kaduna.

During that religious violence between the Islamic groups in northern state, a fellow by the name Mohammed Yusuf assumed the leadership as the founder of the group known as Boko Haram. He was a student in the Egyptian Islamic School that I previously mentioned. He was killed by another rival group known as Men of the Nigerian Armed Forces in 2009. After him came another new leader called Abubakar Shekau who is still leading the terrorist group to this day. There are prominent members and spokespersons of Boko Haram such as Abul Qaqa and Abu Zaid.

Here are some facts about Boko Haram terrorist group. First, their mission is to eliminate or kill non-Muslims in northern Nigeria. They also fight the government in order to establish the Islamic State which is based on a strict Islamic Sharia Law; for example, the bombing of the international organization such as the UN Headquarters in Abuja, the Nigerian capital city. Moreover, on April 14, 2014, 276 teenage girls staying in dormitories of Governments Secondary school in Chibok, Borno State, northern Nigeria, were abducted by them and were forcibly converted to Islam and also sold, and married them off to fighters or used them in attacks. Meanwhile, the abduction of the Chibok girls had become one of the high profile cases illustrated a phenomenon that attracted increased attention and concern in recent years. Violent targeted attacks on students, teachers, and education institutions. Such attacks highlight the fact that, in certain situations, going to school, church, and university can be a high-risk and life-threatening activity.

The group manipulated the inability of state security forcers to provide adequate protection to Nigeria’s citizens. Notwithstanding the fact that the group’s name is often translated as “Western education is a sin”, then why are they (Boko Haram) use western made weapons such as rockets and all sorts of sophisticated technologies such as internet and all of modern technologies? Why are they not using swords as the early Islam was preached by? Why are they using cars and communicating through cell phones and so forth and not riding on horses or camels as in the early age of Islam? Therefore, there is undeniable hypocrisy with Boko Haram members in Nigeria, Al-Shabab terrorist group in Somalia, and the ISIS in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and else where in the Middle East.