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| A Boko Haram Bombing Image Courtesy: Diariocritico de Venezuela, Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic |
In western countries, parents are generally comfortable with leaving their children in public schools during the day. But in many other countries, a sense of security is hard to come by. The world was reminded of this in February when the kidnapping of over a hundred Nigerian schoolgirls (Matfess “What We Know”) made global news. Unfortunately, though the public outcry is unique, the kidnapping is not.
The group responsible for the kidnapping, Boko Haram, is responsible for the kidnapping of hundreds of girls (Matfess “What We Know”) and over 10,000 young boys (Hinshaw and Parkinson). Boko Haram is a militant, Islamist terror cell that aims to establish an Islamic state in the northern area of Nigeria (Schultz). Their insurgency has caused thousands of deaths and displaced millions (Searcey and Stein). Recent efforts to quell the insurgency have proven effective (Haruna), but Boko Haram has still managed to keep recruiting and kidnapping new members.
Despite the group’s violence, many local to Borno—the state in northern Nigeria in which Boko Haram operates—look upon Boko Haram favorably (Matfess “Violence”). Membership can remedy otherwise poor socioeconomic conditions (MacEachern; Schultz). The northern part of Nigeria doesn’t export oil, and as a result, the government has sidelined the area economically, drastically cutting funding for social services and halting development (Matfess “Violence”). Boko Haram initially recruited by offering economic help, and the group continues to provide a sense of identity and purpose, which to some is preferable to abject poverty (Matfess “Violence”). Many men have no prospects for marriage due to economic conditions. Dowries are typically required (MacEachern). Men who cannot find a job or wife can get both by joining Boko Haram (Matfess “Violence”; MacEachern). This is particularly important because marriage is a prerequisite to becoming a man or “head of a household”, and those without wives are looked down upon as children (Matfess “Violence”; MacEachern). Though many of Boko Haram’s arranged wives are kidnapped, some join willingly. The group’s relative wealth allow women to avoid manual labor for domestic work, which is viewed as a status symbol (Matfess “What We Know”). As of yet, the Nigerian government has made little effort to remedy the socioeconomic conditions contributing to Boko Haram’s power because the state is too preoccupied dealing with the insurgency’s violent fronts to think about economic reform.
With the mass kidnappings of schoolgirls in the spotlight, the government has also been wrapped up handling the public outrage. Understandably, the families of the kidnapped girls demand they be brought home (Searcey and Stein). This demand spread across the world in 2014 and again with the recent kidnapping (Searcey and Stein). However, there is no way to know where the girls are or if they could be rescued safely, so the government has resorted to negotiation (Haruna). Thus far, the proceedings have been erratic and unpredictable, as one would expect when negotiating with terrorists. Boko Haram’s negotiators have been killed in battles, and their demands have included the release of their captured explosives experts (Searcey and Stein). Ahmed Abdullahi, former director of the Borno Department of Security Service, claims that these negotiations will only strengthen Boko Haram in the long run (Haruna). These kinds of kidnappings are trivial for Boko Haram to perform, and the subsequent negotiations have proven to be among the few reliable sources of funding they have left (Haruna). Therefore, the Nigerian government has to decide how to balance reuniting families and working to eradicate Boko Haram in the long run.
Despite the group’s violence, many local to Borno—the state in northern Nigeria in which Boko Haram operates—look upon Boko Haram favorably (Matfess “Violence”). Membership can remedy otherwise poor socioeconomic conditions (MacEachern; Schultz). The northern part of Nigeria doesn’t export oil, and as a result, the government has sidelined the area economically, drastically cutting funding for social services and halting development (Matfess “Violence”). Boko Haram initially recruited by offering economic help, and the group continues to provide a sense of identity and purpose, which to some is preferable to abject poverty (Matfess “Violence”). Many men have no prospects for marriage due to economic conditions. Dowries are typically required (MacEachern). Men who cannot find a job or wife can get both by joining Boko Haram (Matfess “Violence”; MacEachern). This is particularly important because marriage is a prerequisite to becoming a man or “head of a household”, and those without wives are looked down upon as children (Matfess “Violence”; MacEachern). Though many of Boko Haram’s arranged wives are kidnapped, some join willingly. The group’s relative wealth allow women to avoid manual labor for domestic work, which is viewed as a status symbol (Matfess “What We Know”). As of yet, the Nigerian government has made little effort to remedy the socioeconomic conditions contributing to Boko Haram’s power because the state is too preoccupied dealing with the insurgency’s violent fronts to think about economic reform.
With the mass kidnappings of schoolgirls in the spotlight, the government has also been wrapped up handling the public outrage. Understandably, the families of the kidnapped girls demand they be brought home (Searcey and Stein). This demand spread across the world in 2014 and again with the recent kidnapping (Searcey and Stein). However, there is no way to know where the girls are or if they could be rescued safely, so the government has resorted to negotiation (Haruna). Thus far, the proceedings have been erratic and unpredictable, as one would expect when negotiating with terrorists. Boko Haram’s negotiators have been killed in battles, and their demands have included the release of their captured explosives experts (Searcey and Stein). Ahmed Abdullahi, former director of the Borno Department of Security Service, claims that these negotiations will only strengthen Boko Haram in the long run (Haruna). These kinds of kidnappings are trivial for Boko Haram to perform, and the subsequent negotiations have proven to be among the few reliable sources of funding they have left (Haruna). Therefore, the Nigerian government has to decide how to balance reuniting families and working to eradicate Boko Haram in the long run.
Kabiru Adamu, a security consultant for UN groups operating in Borno, hypothesizes that the current unrest in the North East may be benefitting members of the Nigerian government (Haruna). While the military has cut off Boko Haram’s resources, the federal government’s failure to take a hard stance on negotiations and address the socioeconomic conditions that led to Boko Haram’s rise is what currently sustains the group (Haruna). Without change, Adamu claims, we can only expect more kidnappings (Haruna).
Works Cited:
Haruna, Abdulkareem. “#DapchiGirls: How Nigerian Government Is Strengthening Boko Haram - Security Experts.” Premium Times Nigeria, 7 Mar. 2018, www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/261001-dapchigirls-nigerian-government-strengthening-boko-haram-security-experts.html.
Hinshaw, Drew, and Joe Parkinson. “The 10,000 Kidnapped Boys of Boko Haram.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 12 Aug. 2016, www.wsj.com/articles/the-kidnapped-boys-of-boko-haram-1471013062.
MacEachern, Scott. “Locals Call Boko Haram 'Slave Raiders.' Here's What That Means, and Why It Matters.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Feb. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/02/21/locals-call-boko-haram-slave-raiders-heres-what-that-means-and-why-it-matters/?utm_term=.3d6e48316d15.
Matfess, Hilary. “Boko Haram Has Kidnapped More Girls. Here's What We Know.”The Washington Post, WP Company, 8 Mar. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/03/08/boko-haram-has-kidnapped-more-girls-heres-what-we-know/?utm_term=.6b5a66a19592.
Matfess, Hilary. “Here's Why so Many People Join Boko Haram, despite Its Notorious Violence.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Apr. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/04/26/heres-why-so-many-people-join-boko-haram-despite-its-notorious-violence/?utm_term=.b9fbd83a68f8.
Schultz, Heidi. “Nigeria's Boko Haram: Who Are They and What Do They Want?” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 8 May 2014, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140507-boko-haram-nigeria-borno-state-maiduguri-mohammed-yusuf-abubukar-shekau-goodluck-jonathan-world/.
Searcey, Dionne, and Chris Stein. “Nigeria Describes 3 Failed Negotiations With Boko Haram on Kidnapped Girls.” The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-chibok.html.
1) favorite aspect of the piece was identifying the root cause of Boko Haram's success in recruiting
ReplyDelete2) the main takeaway was that Boko Haram still has widespread support in the northern part of Nigeria despite its kidnappings
3) Maybe some context/what the recent release of the Chibok girls means as it was in your hook?
My favorite aspect of the article was how you explained why the Boko Haram exists and why they are doing bad things. I was surprised to learn that it is trivial for them to capture girls and that they gain a lot from doing so. One question I have is why hasn't the government tried to wipe them out or taken a stronger stance?
ReplyDelete1. My favorite aspect was the clarity of the issue, the article didn't move to fast
ReplyDelete2. My main takeaway is that Boko Haram is still growing, but so is the awareness of the kidnappings
3. What are Boko Haram's long term goals?
1. It was good that an explanation for the kidnappings was offered. While the kidnappings are written about, the motives behind them were not something I knew about.
ReplyDelete2. I took away a good deal more information about the internal state of Nigeria, and how this contributes to the issue you describe.
3. How would the recent news of the release of many kidnapped girls change your article?
My favorite part of this article was how narrow the topic was, as since you chose a specific country and specific group it was clear that you were well-educated on the topic. My main take-away was that the Boko Haram terror cell has been kidnapping girls (and others) to grow and to have a way to gain strength by negotiating with the government. My follow up question is: are there any proposed solutions to this problem? As you mentioned, if the girls recently kidnapped were returned, Boko Haram could probably kidnap more. So what are organizations/people/governments considering doing?
ReplyDelete