Boko Haram: Still on recruitment and radicalism In the Jihad training camps in Gao in Northern Mali, Boko Haram recruits make up the bulk of the trainees. There are also reports that Boko Haram may be morphing into a regional entity, when one considers that its members are spread across Cameroun, Chad, Niger, and Mali. Boko Haram leaders now boast that they are recruiting from all of the above mentioned countries. The current upsurge of Boko Haram activities is related to the spread of radical Islamist ideologies in the form of Tablighi clerics from Pakistan and Wahhabist missionaries from Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism, in particular, lends itself to the ideology of Al-Qa’ida and affiliated militant Islamist groups. These doctrines espouse the notion that Nigeria state is taagut, or evil, unworthy of allegiance on the part of a true Muslim and offers Boko Haram members a rationale for targeting policemen, politicians and government officials. Boko Haram’s target selection has also been influenced by its interaction with militants abroad. The Cameroonian Mamman Nur, who is wanted by Interpol and Federal Bureau of Investigation for masterminding the August 26, 2011, bombing of the United Nations Headquarters, reportedly fled to Chad and travelled to Somalia to receive explosive training from al- Shabab before returning to Nigeria in the weeks before the attacks. Also, in Shekau’s Novermber 29, 2012 video, interaction with Islamist militants has likely caused a shift in Shekau’s messaging, since it now resembles al-Qa’ida. Counter terrorism efforts suffer as a result of credibility gap attributable to differences between government promises and government performance, between rhetoric and reality. While promising to curb terrorism, government action does not reflect that urgency. At a time when even al-Qa-‘ida is questioning its own brand, militant groups need not have formal affiliations with it to have an international agenda. Boko Haram’s connections to militants in the Northern Mali, the Sahel and elsewhere in the Muslim world enable it to receive and provide support to other Islamist militants. As a result, Boko Haram will be capable of surviving outside of its main base of operations in Borno State if the Nigerian security forces drive out key leaders. Also, Boko Haram has been able to draw on al-Qa’ida ideology and take advantage of anti-government and anti-western sentiment in northern Nigeria to justify its existence and ability to recruit members. Considerations also must be given to politicians that recruit, fund, train, encourage and harness violence in order to destabilize the Nigeria Federal government. This area becomes moot especially when all of the other overriding factors takes’ precedent to encourage recruitment. Alex Schmid established twelve rules for preventing and Countering Terrorism. I will take a look at only at a few of those rules with an assessment as to how it can help when applied to recruitment for Boko Haram and the Nigerian context. His position that in order to “prevent radical individuals and groups from becoming terrorist extremists by confronting them with a mixture of “carrot and stick” tactics and search for effective counter-motivation measures”; is what Nigeria government tried to do with the proposed amnesty. However, the premise for that approach was ill-conceived and, as a result, failed. He also stated: “Stimulate and encourage defection and conversion of free and imprisoned terrorists and find ways to reduce support of aggrieved constituencies for terrorist originations.” The idea is totally lost on Nigeria as it is most likely to release captured terrorists untimely on the premise of goodwill. Keep in mind that terrorists seek publicity and exploit the media and the internet to propagate their cause, glorify their attacks, win recruits, solicit donations, gather intelligence, disseminate terrorist know how and communicate with their target audience. The Federal government should devise communication means and ways to counter them in all of these areas. Not only that, the Nigerian government has not done enough to show support and sympathy to victims of terrorism. As a result, it has bred resentment towards the government while helping with recruitment. The Federal Government also will need to maintain a moral high ground in the struggle with terrorists by defending and strengthening the rule of law, good governance, democracy and social justice. That way, it will avoid apathy and sympathy that may be generated as a result of the government’s wrong action. Finally, Nigeria needs to counter the ideologies, indoctrination and propaganda of secular and non-secular terrorists and try to get the upper hand in the way of ideas and the battle for the hearts and minds of those the terrorist claim to speak for. Ibegbu, CTE, a counter- terrorism expert, writes in from United States of America I2 Security Group
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 04:08:55 +0000
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