Boko Haram: Terrorism and Trauma
Boko Haram: Terrorism and Trauma
According to our text, Boko Haram would be considered a culturally motivated terrorist group due to its agenda to retain cultural heritage and reject capitalism and democracy which it perceives as a corrupting influence. (Bartol & Bartol, 2017 p.230) When discussing terrorism in this class I believe that some classmates are under the impression that those recruited have been brainwashed or in some way are weak and have been preyed upon. And in some cases, I am positive that manipulation has occurred, but I also believe that there is another factor to consider. The choosing of lesser of two evils.
Take Nigeria, for instance, which is a country that had its borders created for it by Britain and with zero regard for the religions or cultural difference of the citizens. This process, which according to Jonathan White, author of Terrorism and Homeland Security, took almost a century to complete and ended with a country composed of 250 ethnic groups, three different religion types (Christianity, Muslim, and tribal religion), and extended family groups across several states. (White, 2017 p.163) In addition to a myriad of different customs being jammed together Nigeria also experiences low life expectancy rates (average of 47.6 years), a 61% literacy rate, and poverty rates of 20%. (White, 2017 p.164) In addition to poor living conditions and cultural unrest is the reality that the military and government of the country is horribly corrupt and has been cited many times for corruption and crimes against humanity. Mike Smith, news editor for Israel and the Palestine territories for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and former AFP bureau chief of West Africa notes several instances of corruption in his book Boko Haram: Inside Nigeria’s Unholy War. The government itself is thought to have stolen hundred of millions of dollars from the Central Bank, a former governor of the southern Delta state embezzled more than $250 million from its oil production profits, and approximately $6 billion of oil profits each year is stolen by the military and high level government officials.(Smith, 2016 p.61) Along with corruption, the security forces used by the government use tactics such as summary executions, torture, and hold men with no provocation. (Smith, 2016 p.149) This security force has also been publicly condemned by the Human Rights Watchlist and according to their 2016 report, the security forces have been accused of torture, wrongful detainment and disappearances, as well as extrajudicial killings. (www.hrw.org) This Watchlist also states that the security forces have been known to burn houses when they question citizens about suspects, recruit children for their forces, and have been accused of raping and sexually exploiting women that are victims of displacement. (www.hrw.org) In truth, when looking at the actions of the government and military it is hard to discern a difference between them and the terrorist group Boko Haram. It is also not hard to see why people living in terror of their government as well as locked into poverty would see Boko Haram as the lesser of two evils. Boko Haram denounces the government and the democracy it supposedly stands for as well as the capitalism seen in oil sales and sees them as signs that the influences of the West are inherently corrupt. According to a Congressional Research report written in early 2015 their fighting element is anywhere from 4,000-6,000 people. (www.congressional-proquest-com.ezproxy.bu.edu) Smith reports that most of membership comes from unemployed youths with the promises of monetary gains and men disenfranchised with their lives of poverty that blame the governments they see as corrupt for their misfortune. (Smith, 2016 p.86) Also, it is reported that all members of Boko Haram take care of the basic needs of every member. (Smith, 2016 p.16, 87) The government and military do not help their cause when even a minor attack by Boko Haram is answered by a hammer being brought down by the government. For instance, in 2009 when an attack on a police station by Boko Haram killed two police officers and one soldier (as well as 39 members of Boko Haram itself), the Nigerian military response was to take armored vehicles to the Boko Haram mosque and open fire. This firefight lasted 5 days and almost 800 people were killed. (Smith, 2016 p.4)
My conclusion is that Boko Haram was born out of traumatized citizens and if the government and military are corrupt and continue to commit crimes against their own people there will always be recruits. These recruits are not brainwashed or mentally ill people, they are traumatized and terrorized people that have been pushed to the breaking point and have chosen what they perceive as the lesser of two evils.
Human Rights Watch online. Nigeria Events of 2016. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/nigeria
Library of Congress. Foreign Affairs Division. (2015). Boko Haram CRS In Focus. Found at https://congressional-proquest-com.ezproxy.bu.edu/congressional/result/pqpresultpage.gispdfhitspanel.pdflink/$2fapp-bin$2fgis-congresearch$2f0$2fe$2f5$2f8$2fcrs-2015-fdt-0233_from_1_to_2.pdf/entitlementkeys=1234%7Capp-gis%7Ccongresearch%7Ccrs-2015-fdt-0233
Smith, M. (2015). Boko Haram: Inside Nigeria’s unholy war.
White, Jonathan.R (2017). Terrorism and Homeland Security. Boston: Cengage Learning.