The scourge of Boko Haram
A brief review of the activities of Boko Haram would show what crimes are being committed in the name of Islam. Ever since its inception in 2009 the group has launched deadly attacks on schools and colleges, killing teachers and students in classrooms or while sleeping in hostels. The victims were targeted only because they were pursuing western education opposed by the terrorist network whose name translates into “Western education is disallowed”. Boko Haram have also burnt down churches and slit throats of hundreds of Christians because they practiced a different religion. In August last year they stormed a mosque in a town and gunned down 44 worshippers as the moderate prayer leader opposed terrorist attacks. Buses carrying passengers have also been subjected to blasts at busy terminals to terrorise the population. Since 2010, the militants have been blamed for killing more than 2,000 people. Like the TTP leaders in Pakistan, Boko Haram claims to be fighting for an Islamic state across Nigeria and to enact strict Sharia laws. The network has links with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and with Somalia’s al-Shabab.
The insurgency by the terrorist group has put pressure on the economy of Africa’s most populous nation. Nigeria’s security spending has risen to more than $6.26 billion per year, or around 20 per cent of the federal budget. The militant network has thus turned into a bane of Nigeria which has Africa’s second largest economy and is top oil exporter.
In perhaps the most ignominious attack since its inception, in mid April the militants kidnapped over 200 girl students from a school. On May 3 they kidnapped another eight girls, all between the ages of 12 and 15. Boko Haram chief Abubakar Sheikau later described the girls as slaves and announced in a video that he would sell them as allowed by Sharia. The incident has sent a wave of resentment all over the globe and shaken the conscience of world leaders. The US is reportedly sending a team of law enforcement experts and military advisers. France said Thursday that it would send a “specialised team” to help. The British government is also sending a small team, Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said. British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and CNN has quoted Nigerian government claiming China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network
The feeble Nigerian federal government was responsible for allowing the cancer of Boko Haram to spread. If firm action was taken at the outset, the country could have been saved from so many tragedies.
