http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1913796,00.html
Thursday, Jul. 30, 2009
'Nigeria's Taliban': How Big a Threat?
By Gilbert da Costa / Abuja
The immediate crisis may be over in Nigeria, but the threat of violence
remains. Government security forces today attacked a mosque filled with
Islamist militants, killing scores of fighters and forcing more to flee. The
militants, blamed for days of violence across the country's north, belong to a
group known as Boko Haram, which aims to overthrow the federal government in
Abuja and impose a strict version of Islamic law. The sect's leader Mohammed
Yusuf escaped the raid along with some 300 of his men, but was later arrested
and then died in custody according to police. Four days of clashes, sparked by
attacks on police stations and government buildings, have killed at least 300
people.
Also known as Nigeria's Taliban, Boko Haram formed about eight years ago. A
huge government operation against the group in 2004 ended with the police
claiming victory. But five years on and the militants are back, stronger and
more vicious. In the latest outbreak of violence, in Maiduguri, the capital of
northeastern Borno state, militant gunmen assaulted police stations and engaged
armored-personnel backed troops. (Read "Big Tobacco Sets Its Sights on Africa.")
Africa's most populous country sits on a religious fault line. Its 150 million
people are split almost evenly between Muslims in the north and Christians in
the south. For many years, the northern Muslim élite have dominated Nigerian
politics, using their positions to enrich themselves and their families. "We
have seen this country degenerate from a promising state to a dysfunctional
one. We have seen unmitigated corruption and insensitivity on the part of its
rulers," says Mohammed Ndume, a federal MP from Borno state. "We are seeing a
lack of opportunities and so much stress for its people. So what do you expect?
The people have to react, and that is what you are seeing and that is what the
current crisis is all about."
Over the past few years a new breed of young Muslim activists, most of them
educated and from the middle class, have aggressively embraced a stricter
version of Islam, rejecting anything Western and Christian. Boko Haram began
life as a peaceful group focused on the study of the Koran, according to
Abdulmumin Sa'ad, a Muslim scholar and professor of sociology at the University
of Maiduguri. "The idea was that there is a lot of sin in the larger society
and their parents had amassed a lot of ill-gotten wealth," says Sa'ad, who
taught some of the militants. "There is widespread immorality, and so the best
thing to do is to remove themselves and camp elsewhere, where they can
concentrate on their religion ... mediate, reach out and begin to form a
fellowship." Sa'ad claims that the group turned violent when authorities
harassed it. (Read "Spiritual Hearing Around the World.")
The Islamist group is not the only threat facing Nigeria. The country is one of
Africa's biggest oil exporters, and yet some 70% of its people live in abject
poverty. A string of devastating attacks by militants demanding a greater share
of the oil wealth in the Niger Delta, in the south, has reduced oil output by a
third, hitting government revenues. This week's fighting will add to the sense
that the government is losing control. "The government is no longer in control
of the security situation outside the main cities," says a senior U.S. diplomat
in Abuja. "You can't drive in the countryside at night and not get attacked,
and sometimes in the daytime as well."
Western diplomats worry that the security vacuum may allow foreign terrorist
groups such as al-Qaeda to move in. Osama bin Laden is widely admired in the
arid north. It has become fashionable for Muslims to name their sons after him,
while his picture adorns T-shirts and posters. In a speech in 2000, bin Laden
named Nigeria as among "the region[s] most qualified for liberation." "Clearly
there is a lot of concern in Washington with the idea that al-Qaeda can gain a
foothold within the 65 millionstrong Muslim population in northern Nigeria,"
says the U.S. official. Even if that doesn't happen, local extremist groups
could present a headache for years to come.
Read "Religious Violence Rages in Nigeria."
Read "Reclaiming Lagos Inner Workings of the World's Megacities."
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