Boko Haram Terrorism in Nigeria
Brief Outline of Development in Attitudes to the Group in Relation to the Group's Verbal and Logistical Propaganda
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
This conspiracy theory is not new.
It also conveniently ignores how Boko Haram attacks rose in number and deadliness while the group became more openly political after Jonathan came to power, and after Atiku Abubakar's openly declared threat to the new government on account of his disappointment that a Northerner was not made PDP Presidential flag bearer as many had expected, that "Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable".
The writer also ignores the fact that for a long time, Boko Haram were presented as freedom fighters, equivalent to the Niger Delta militants protesting environmental degradation.
Muhammadu Buhari, Bamanga Tukur,if I remember well, among others, made these specific claims.
Even Rauf Aregbesola, Osun state governor, once stated that Boko Haram is fighting for true federalism.
I wonder if at that point, as a Muslim, he was influenced, as some were, by the Boko Haram claim of being Muslim fighters.
Lamido Sanusi, as CBN governor, stated the problem was caused by inadequate allocation to some Northern states while some SS states had more money than they knew what to do with.
Some Northern elders argued they wanted the Joint Task Force withdrawn from the North because of their excesses in relation to the anti-Boko Haram struggle.
Shiekh Gumi stated that the Boko Haram problem was partly caused by injustice against Muslims.
He later asked the govt to withdraw the JTF and leave the North to relate with Boko Haram as fellow Muslims.
All this was when Boko Haram focused on bombing churches and govt presises and killing agents of the govt.
A good number of Northern spokespeople insisted the President should grant Boko Haram amnesty.
He offered the terrorists amnesty, they replied that it is they who should give the President amnesty, not the other way round.
They also said unless the President becomes a Muslim, they won't stop their attacks, at which point the President addressed them directly.
The President was urged to change his National Security Adviser to a Muslim, and one who understood the local social terrain where Boko Haram was operating, if I remember well, and engage in dialogue with the terrorists.
He replaced Azazi with Dasuki and the negotiations commenced.
People jubilated. Some members on the Northern centred Yan Arewa group expressed scorn for the JTF, with one complaining of how a JTF soldier had the temerity to keep him in the rain at a checkpoint while putting him through security procedures. . When told the same soldier was also in the rain and would remain there after he, the civilian had gone home, he responded that that was the job of the soldier. A number of people on the group jubilated that the JTF would soon leave the North as negotiations with the terrorists proceeded. Some described the JTF as being as bad as or even worse than Boko Haram.
Not too long after, the terrorists struck at Dasuki's hometown or somewhere near there, if I remember well.
When it now became clear that all that was reasonable had been tried, the President launched a state of emergency in some Northern states and a determined push to dislodge Boko Haram.
Members of the Northern communities assisted and some even fought the terrorists unarmed, while others formed civilian JTF forces.
The terrorists were pushed out of the centres of stability they had controlled and their movements within population dense zones drastically cut.
At this point, they removed the mask of claiming they were Muslim soldiers trying to cleanse the North of Christians and agitating for an Islamic countr,y and began to mass murder schoolchildren, at first claiming the children were helping the govt against them, then later without any statement of purpose. They also attacked at least one mosque firing within and killing worshipers.
From this point on, from their hideouts away from population centres, they launched an assault that does not focus on Christians or govt agents, but targets as many people as people indiscriminately, more than ever before.
This timeline is meant to show the development of Boko Haram's self description and propaganda and how influential attitudes of resentment against Jonathan's Presidency and ambivalence about Boko Haram from Northern Nigeria helped the group gain a foothold until it became late.
Having followed these developments I don't take seriously claims trying to blame the Nigerian govt for the existence of the Boko Haram terrorist problem or for its continuing development.
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