Abstract
More than 3,500 people have died in Nigeria since 2009 when Boko Haram, a radical Islamist group from northeastern Nigeria, launched its violent campaign to wrest power from the Nigerian government and foist an Islamic state under the supreme law of Sharia. Attempts at negotiating with the group, including the recent amnesty offer extended to its members by the Nigerian government, have stalled due to distrust on both sides and the factionalized leadership of the group's different cells. This article provides a systematic account of Boko Haram's emergence, demands, and modus operandi. It also evaluates how the Nigerian government has responded to the group's threat and how they should respond. The socioeconomic approach of this article helps to explain the Boko Haram problem beyond a usual religious agenda and to evaluate the development of the group in the context of Nigeria's checkered political history and local economic grievances.
Notes
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Daniel E. Agbiboa, “The Nigerian Burden: Religious Identity, Conflict and the Current Terrorism of Boko Haram,” Conflict, Security and Development 13(1) (2013), pp. 1–29.
IRIN, “Timeline of Boko Haram and Related Violence in Nigeria,” 22 Feburary 2013. Available at http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97527/Timeline-of-Boko-Haram-and-related-violence-in-Nigeria
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IRIN, “Nigerians on the Run.”
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Agbiboa, “No Retreat, No Surrender,” p. 65.
Nick Chilles, “After Rejecting Nigeria's Amnesty Offer: Boko Haram Continues to Kill,” 23 April 2013, Atlanta Blackstar. Available at http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/04/23/after-rejecting-nigerias-amnesty-offer-boko-haram-continues-to-kill/
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This is not the first time that Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in some parts of northern Nigeria. In December 2011, Jonathan declared a state of emergency over some limited local government areas in the north, after a church bombing blamed on Boko Haram killed hundreds of people, but he lifted it in July 2012.
BBC News, “Nigeria: Goodluck Jonathan Delcares Emergency in States”; Agbiboa, “No Retreat, No Surrender,” p. 66.
Fox News, “Nigerian President Declares State of Emergency.”
Ibid.
Ibid.
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Besides Quaddiriya and Tijjaniya, there are different Islamic sects in Nigeria among which are Derika, the Izala, the Kaulu (Kablu), the Muslim Brotherhood, and several other splinter groups. Once in a while, there are skirmishes between and among some of the sects. See N. D. Danjibo, “Islamic Fundamentialism and Sectarian Violence: The ‘Maitatisine’ and ‘Boko Haram’ Crisis in Nigeria,” Paper presented at the 2009 IFRA Conference on Conflict and Violence in Zaria, Nigeria. Available at http://www.ifra-nigeria.org/spip.php?article156, pp. 1–21.
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Raymond Hickey, “The 1982 Maitatsine Uprisings in Nigeria: A Note,” African Affairs 83(331) (1984), pp. 251–256, at p. 251.
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M. Hiskett, The Sword of Truth: The Life and Times of the Shehu Usman Dan Fodio (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973).
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James Forest, Confronting the Terrorism of Boko Haram in Nigeria (Tampa, FL: The JSOU Press, 2012).
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J. Kenny, “Sharia and Christianity in Nigeria: Islam and a Secular State,” Journal of Religion in Africa XXVI (1996), pp. 339–364.
Ekot, “Conflict, Security and Ethnicity,” p. 52.
The Post Express, “Nigeria: Sharia, So Far,” 15 July 200. Available at http://allafrica.ccom/stories/2000007170038.html
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M. M. Duruji, “Democracy and the Challenge of Ethno-Nationalism in Nigeria's Fourth Republic: Interrogating Institutional Mechanics” (2010). Available at http://www.peacestudiesjournal.org.uk
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HRW, Human Rights Watch, “Nigeria: Post-Election Violence Killed 800.” Available at http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/05/16/nigeria-post-election-violence-killed-800
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Forest, “Confronting the Terrorism of Boko Haram in Nigeria,” p. 15.
F. C. Onuoha, “Boko Haram: Nigeria's Extremist Islamic Sect,” Al Jazeera, 29 February 2012, pp. 1–2.
Umar, The Discourses of Salafi Radicalism.
Danjibo, “Islamic Fundamentalism and Sectarian Violence,” p. 6.
Agbiboa, “No Retreat, No Surrender.”
Forest, “Confronting the Terrorism of Boko Haram in Nigeria.”
The Atlantic, “Nigeria's Challenge.” 24 June 2012. Available at http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/06/nigerias-challenge/240961/
Alex Thurston, “Threat of Militancy in Nigeria,” Commentary for Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 1 September 2011. Available at http://carnegieendowment.org/2011/09/01threat-of-military-in-nigera/4yk8
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Agbiboa, “The Nigerian Burden,” p. 19.
Thurston, “Threat of Militancy in Nigeria.”
Agbiboa, “Why Boko Haram Exists.”
Danjibo, “Islamic Fundamentalism and Sectarian Violence.”
Reuters, “Islamist Sect Boko Haram Claims U.N. Bombing.” 29 August 2011. Available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/29/us-nigeria-bombing-claim-idUSTRE77S3ZO20110829
Agbiboa, “No Retreat, No Surrender,” p. 65.
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Kukah, “Boko Haram: Some Reflections on Causes and Effects,” p. 6.
Daily Trust, “Boko Haram Statement.” 25 April 2011.
Agbiboa, “Why Boko Haram Exists.”
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Karen Leigh, “Nigeria's Boko Haram: Al-Qaeda's New Friend in Africa?” 31 August 2011. Available at http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2091137,00.html
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H. Onapajo, U. O. Uzodike, and A. Wetho, “Boko Haram Terrorism in Nigeria: The International Dimension,” South African Journal of International Affairs 19(3) (2012), pp. 337–357.
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Forest, “Confronting the Terrorism of Boko Haram.”
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Al Arabiya News, “New Islamic Group Emerges in Nigeria: Claims Different ‘Understanding’ of Jihad.” 27 May 2013. Available at http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/03/218371.html
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Bill Rogio, “Nigerian Jihadist Group Executes Seven Foreigners,” The Long War Journal, 9 March 2013. Available at http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/03/nigerian_jihadist_gr.php
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IRIN, “Hurdles to Nigerian Government-Boko Haram Dialogue.”
Cited in ibid.
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Alex Thurston, “Amnesty For Boko Haram: Lessons from the Past.” Africa Futures 20 May 2013. Available at http://forums.ssrc.org/african-futures/2013/05/20/amnesty-for-boko-haram-lessons-from-the-past/
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Sahara Reporters, “Nigerian Troops Rescue Women and Children Kidnapped by Boko Haram.” Available at http://saharareporters.com/news-page/nigerian-troops-rescue-women-and-children-kidnapped-boko-haram
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Ibid.
Thurston, “Amnesty for Boko Haram.”
BBC News, “Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan: Officials Back Boko Haram.” 8 January 2012. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16462891
Thurston, “Amnesty for Boko Haram.”