As of late, we have been hearing much talk about Boko Haram. Many of us lacking the knowledge of what Boko Haram really is; I was one of those people did in fact lack the knowledge. I became familiar with them at first, when I heard about the kidnapping of over 200 girls in Nigeria. I knew that whoever he/she or them was, they were very rivalrous, and they cared not one bit about maybe starting some kind of war, due to retaliation. In this entry, I will share background information about Boko Haram and why they exist, historically relating events to more recent ones.
Boko Haram, meaning “Western education is sin”, is a terrorist organization based in Northeastern Nigeria. This organization was founded by Mr. Mohammed Yusuf back in 2002, but in 1995, the group was said to have still existed, but just under another name; Shabaab, Muslim Youth Organization, and with a man by the name of Mallam Lawal as their leader. After Mallam left to further his education, Mohammed Yusuf, took over leadership of the group. The organization was established originally, at mosque Ibyn Taymiyyah, which was named after the spiritual head of Boko Haram, where his objective was to put an end to what he deemed as westernization. Westernization meaning, societies adopt Western culture.
Yusuf then established a form of religious complex, that included a mosque and a school, where poor families across Nigeria enrolled their children.
Though this might seem to be a good thing, it is believed that Boko Haram’s leader, had ulterior motives, involving their goals politically.
The center that he had created, in time, became somewhat of a recruiting center for jihadis so they could fight the state. Almost like building their own army of men.
The group included men from Niger and Chad, which were countries neighboring Nigeria.
Two years later, in 2004, the center was relocated back in Yusuf’s home state, near the Niger border, in a village named Kanamma.
They began to attract and recruit unemployed youth, by speaking against the police and political corruption in the country. They painted themselves as the good guys.
The organization has been known to attack schools, churches and police station. They also often perform the kidnapping of tourists who visit the country, and assassinations of islamic members who have been critical about their group. Boko Haram is widely known to be associated with violence in Nigeria, and an estimate of 10,000 deaths from 2002-2013 has been linked to them.
However, It wasn’t always like this. During the first seven years, their operations were more so peaceful, but that changed in 2009 when the Nigerian government decided they wanted to have an investigation on the group and their activites; It was believed that the men were arming themselves.
The government had ignored plenty of previous signs that the organization was very militant.
In 2009, the government cracked down on it’s members, due to attacks being attributed to Boko Haram. It appeared that the group had now expanded beyond the religious views that were founded based on. The group now not only included Islamic militants, but also criminals and politicians.
When the government stepped in physically, members of the Boko Haram group got arrested due in Bauchi, which sparked a deadly event.
“The immediate cause of the violence stemmed from an incident in which a group of the sect's members were stopped by police in the city of Maiduguri as they were on the way to the cemetery to bury a comrade. The officers, part of a special operation aimed at stamping out violence and rampant crime in Borno State, demanded that the young men comply with a law requiring motorcycle passengers to wear helmets. They refused and, in the confrontation that followed, several were shot and wounded by police.”
In Boko Haram’s retaliation, it was found that they used fuel-laden motorcycles and poisoned arrows to attack the police station. In this event, their leader, Mohammed Yusuf lost his life while being held in police custody.
After Yusuf’s death, one of his former deputies, Abubakar Shekau took over the organization. Abubakar’s reputation wasn’t so clean, as he was described as a “ruthless killer”. Since he has been in control, the violence has only escalated.
According to the Human Rights Watch, between the year 2009 and the beginning of 2012, Boko Harām was responsible for over 900 deaths at the time. And in May of 2013, President Goodluck Johnson, declared that it was in a state of emergency in the states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa in a bid to fight the activities being performed by Boko Harām.
The leadership of Boko Haram also has international ties with Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab, the Movement for unity and Jihad in West Africa (also known as MUJAO), and other militant groups prevalent outside of Nigeria.
Most attacks by Boko Haram have been in the country, as their international attacks have been very limited. However, the group was still labeled as a terrorist organization, by the United States government, in November of 2013.
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