THE campaign team of Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan is under attack over its slogan # BringBackGoodluck2015, launched recently in support of what is widely believed to be his desire to stand for a second term in next year’s election. It has outraged many Nigerians who believe it mocks the # BringBackOurGirls campaign, which went viral earlier this year, demanding the return of several hundred schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalist group Boko Haram. The sensitivity relates in part to the fact that the girls have not been rescued, despite the international attention, assistance by foreign military experts and the intervention of the region. Instead, Boko Haram — emboldened by its growing international profile — has increased the scale of its operations, moving from a strategy of hit-and-run attacks on soft targets to one of occupying towns. The Islamists have captured at least six towns in and around their heartland, Borno State in north- eastern Nigeria. They include the state’s second-largest city, where recently they drove thousands out and hoisted their flag. Citizens of the state are now concerned about reports that the sect is poised to attack the state’s capital, Maiduguri, where Boko Haram was founded as a nonviolent antigovernment organisation 12 years ago. Maiduguri has become a refuge for thousands of displaced people fearing attack. Though many believe the government has already lost the battle against the sect, the symbolic value of a Boko Haram victory in Maiduguri would be a devastating blow, not just to Jonathan’s election ambitions, but to fight against this scourge. On Friday, the government said 500 more troops would be sent to take back the captured towns. But the army, once a formidable fighting force in West Africa, is part of the problem. It is ill-equipped to fight the well-armed insurgents and is undermined by desertions, poor logistical support and inferior weaponry. Boko Haram has long threatened to establish an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria. The parallels with the Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria are unavoidable but it is not clear if there are links between them. Despite theories about Boko Haram’s links to external terror groups such as al-Qaeda, many Nigerians still believe the group is motivated and supported by domestic interests. There have been many claims that senior military officers and influential politicians are among their supporters. Former Borno State governor Ali Modu Sheriff is the latest to be accused of collaborating with the sect after allegations that he was funding the sect. These were made by an Australian hostage negotiator who worked with the state in trying to secure the schoolgirls’ release. But these supporters may find this genie is not so easy to put back into the bottle. With more than 2,000 dead at the hands of Boko Haram in just the first half of this year, the situation is worse than ever. Many commentators say Nigeria faces its biggest threat since the Biafran war in the late 1960s. With an election just a few months away, the stakes are high. The outcome may reveal whether this insurgency is about domestic political interests or not. Either way, with politicians now starting to pay more attention to their campaigns than to security considerations, the situation could be a lot worse by then.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 07:54:16 +0000
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