Introduction

This article, which is a revised version of what was originally published in French on 25th January 2016 in ‘Terre d’Afrique’ (SMA French Magazine) by its author, is intended to shed some light on 

Boko Haram: its origin, its claims, its development over the years. Special attention is paid to its negative impact on cohabitation between different ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria as well as the ways to restore religious harmony in the country.

A challenge for the Nigerian nation

The Islamic movement, Boko Haram attracted worldwide attention with the international mobilization ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ that followed the kidnapping of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls in April 2014. But the reality is that, well before this event, Boko Haram had already committed terrorist acts for about 10 years, first in Nigeria and then in Cameroon, Niger and Chad. The statistics released on 29th of May 2015 by the French TV channel, France 24, during the broadcast of the inauguration ceremony of President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja and the debate on Nigeria, show that since its appearance, 15 000 deaths by beheading, shooting, conflagration of entire villages and over 1.5 million people displaced or completely missing. These facts can be attributed to multiple deadly operations of the sect. At the example of the Islamic State Organization, the name of Boko Haram is now synonymous with terror.

Boko Haram poses multiple threats to the society. First and foremost, one can mention of security threat. The existence and activities of the movement dangerously jeopardizes social peace and social order. The threat can also be qualified as political. The aspiration of Boko Haram has evolved from the imposition of Shari’a in Nigeria. The group has succeeded in establishing itself as an autonomous entity, thus seriously weakening the national integrity of the countries that are affected. Lastly, the attacks on churches, and Christian populations in northern Nigeria by the terrorist movement have awakened the traditional tensions between Christians and Muslims in this country.

Ce papier se veut éclairage sur Boko Haram: son origine, ses revendications, son développement au cours des années, l’impact négatif des ses activités sur la cohabitation entre les différents groupes ethniques et religieux du Nigeria ainsi qu’aux moyens de restaurer l’harmonie religieuse dans ce pays.

The growth of Boko Haram

According to Farouk CHOTIA with BBC African Service, the official name of the movement popularly known as Boko Haram is “Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad”. An Arabic name that may be translated as “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad,” hence it is classified as a radical Sunni movement at the example of Al Qaeda. For Florence VITTE in ‘Le terrorisme islamiste, un enjeu sécuritaire majeur aux caractéristiques particulières’, the objective of Boko Haram is explicitly expressed in its determination to introduce a strict application of Muslim law as taught by the Prophet, not only in the north of the country, but to the whole of territory. The group is also determined to fight Western education, because, in its opinion, Western education or any other education that is not Islamic is considered a sin and inappropriate for Muslims. It is the inhabitants of Maiduguri, north-east of Nigeria, where the headquarters of the movement is located who latter on labeled the group Boko Haram, following the movements repeated slogan that (boko) meaning western education is (haram), that is to say, prohibited or sinful in English.

At the beginning, the call to boycott secular schools was not a shock to anyone because since the British occupation of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1903, traditional Muslim territory that covered northern Nigeria, some parts of Cameroon and Niger Republic had always resisted western education. However, unlike Boko Haram, the opposition was as a result of the concern about the preservation of cultural values rather than the promotion of a religious ideology very close to that of the Wahhabi movement, which is focused on the glorious return of the Islamic civilization of the caliphates.

It is in this historical context of certain nostalgia of traditional values that a charismatic preacher, Muhammad Yousuf, founded Boko Haram in Maiduguri in 2002. Very quickly, he succeeded in setting up a religious complex composed of a mosque and an Islamic school. This novelty attracted students from many parts of northern Nigeria its surroundings. Impressed by his eloquence, many families from neighboring towns and villages sent their children to his establishment for training into authentic Islam. It must be noted that many of those sending their children did not suspect that the Islamic renewal preached by Muhammad Yousuf and his disciples had political and military ambitions. Most parents sending their children to be trained in the wisdom of the Prophet never foresaw the birth of an ideology aiming at replacing the institutions of the country with a system of government based on Sharia and Islamic jurisprudence; for these devout Muslims of maraboutist tradition, the preaching of Muhammad Yousuf was a new version of those periodical Islamic Renewal Movements that include both brotherhoods and traditional Koranic schools. In ‘L’islam en Afrique de l’Ouest: les méridiens et les parallèles,’ it is explained that in fact, “during the agricultural season, students learnt the Quran from an old teacher whose fields they cultivated. During the dry season, the students moved to the city where they begged for alms to support their education. It is important to note that a number of Islamic radical renewal movements existed decades before Boko Haram. A famous example of such movements in the 80s, is that of Maitatsine movements which was responsible for a bloody insurrection in five states in northern Nigeria. ¹

Once established, the center of Maiduguri quickly became a place of recruitment which was used to train and indoctrinate young people against the Nigerian civil society, the West and other religions. Young people attending Boko Haram establishment were radicalized and turned into zealous suicide bombers, ready to kill and become glorious martyrs for the Islamic Jihad which many of them did not really understand. The establishment of the new religious state must be achieved through what Arnaud BLIN, in ‘Al-Qaïda – Manuel pratique du terrorisme, called “the anti-war whose ultimate goal is to cut off the foundations and the social, economic and political points of reference of a society by attacking its symbols, since it is a weapon that aims at the very heart of the individual within the community, in other words its freedom, its security, its property, or anything that traditionally the government – at the very least democratic – is supposed to guarantee for it.”

The terror and the riposte

Armed with the above ideological conviction and young militants to execute its jihad, Boko Haram became capable of committing such violence that was unprecedented in the history of militancy in Nigeria. Thus, between 2002 and 2011, the record of the terrorist attacks of the sect is as follows:

• In 2009, attack on a police station in Maiduguri killing more than 100 people
• In September 2009, attack on Maiduguri prison freeing hundreds of prisoners
• In December 2010, a bomb attack killed over 80 people in Jos; Boko Haram is also singled out for an attack on a barracks the night of 31st in Abuja;
• In 2010-2011, the group laid claim to a shooting that caused dozens of deaths;
• In May 2011, bombings in several States in Nigeria;
• In June 2011, bombing of the Police Headquarters in Abuja;
• In August 2011, deadly bombing of UN Headquarters in Abuja.

As it is seen, the initial targets were mainly police stations, and occasionally banks were looted. While denouncing the violent character of Boko Haram attacks in its early operations when the group focused on political institutions and had not attacked churches and mosques, a good number of Nigerians more or less understood the anger of the movement against Police that had somehow loss credibility among the Nigerian populace. For some, these actions, though unpleasant, would help to bring order in the corrupt police. Others saw in Boko Haram insurgence a social uprising with a religious character, something the north of the country was used to.

In response to this threat, and particularly in view of restoring its tarnished image, the Nigerian Police attacked the positions of the sect. It proceeded to the execution of many of its leader and militants in 2009. After his public humiliation in front of the cameras of Nigerian and international media, Muhammad Yousuf himself was mercilessly executed. For most observers and analysts of the Islamic militancy, the rapid and publicized execution of Muhammad Youssuf was a grave error. It broke a known link of communication and negotiation with the group, it introduced a climate of total mistrust between government establishment and the group and worse it created a vacuum in the leadership of the militant group that was to be filled by an unknown terrorist. Hence, contrary to the expectations of the Police, the execution of Muhammad Youssuf far from weakening the group, acted a stimulus to other potential, more radical savage militants who succeeded the martyred leader whose blood must be avenged. Far from withdrawing on themselves, the survivors of police riposte concluded new alliance. The first among other alliances made within the African continent, with other jihadist movements of same ideology like the katiba (brigade) of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which evolve around the Sahara ² . A more recent important frightening and regrettable alliance, according to the French TV channel, France 24 on 13th July 2014, is the accord with the Islamic State (IS) which allowed Boko Haram to become a partner of the international jihad with a new name, ISIS in West Africa.

The Islamist Caliphate

At this level, it is important to highlight a more recent factor that seems to have played in favour of Boko Haram in its jihadist campaign. The project of caving out an Islamic Caliphate in the territories under the control of the group, at the example of the Organization of the Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East seems to be a turning point in the strategy of the group. According to Mette BOVIN, in ‘Relations interethniques au Borno : Culture matérielle et dichotomie Homme-Femme’, the jihadist campaign and its call for an autonomous Califate seems to respond to the geopolitical aspiration of the former Kanem-Bornu Empire, who can see in Boko Haram the renaissance of the cultural identity of a people whose boundaries cut across the borders of Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad and extend itself to some parts of Libya. With this kind of promise it is possible to imagine that Boko Haram will enjoy favor among Kanuri population. It is thought that this phenomenon can be partly explained by the weakness of the Nigerian army to fight the 30,000 Boko Haram militants. A possible question might be, is it possible that some Kanuri officers have discreetly joined in the course of an independent Caliphate in the North East of the country? One thing is certain, the erection of a Kanuri geopolitical identity would liberate the north-east from the Hausa-Fulani domination which, with the Sultan of Sokoto and the Emir of Kano, occupy till now front of the political stage in the north of Nigeria. The Kanuri is a people that live around Lake Chad (north-east Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon) and are traditionally opposed to the Fulani; they practice an Islam mixed with animism. Their famous horse riders fought alongside of Rabah against the advance of European colonists.

New wave of terror

With the re-enforcement in its armaments to update logistics and efficient media propaganda that show its might, Boko Haram seems successful in attracting more candidates for jihad. Since after 2009 and its affiliation to ISIS the sect has added to its target all the religious, socio-cultural, political or economic institutions that it considers opposed to its Ummah, that is the community of believers who are entirely guided by the tradition of the Prophet himself and the Shari’a. From then on, the bloody attacks against Christians have increased and this has reinforced a climate of terror in Nigeria, a nation already threatened by what J. Peter PHAM called a real “war of religion”.

For a long time, the population of the southern and eastern Nigeria displayed an almost total indifference to the exploits of Boko Haram. But with these new attacks, especially against Christians in churches and universities, the sect has become a threat to the entire population. According to Mathilde Damgbé, in ‘Les chrétiens victimes d’attaques islamistes dans plus de dix pays’, Boko Haram “attacks more schools than places of worship [and] in two years, we have registered five attacks explicitly directed against Christians in villages in Kano (5 dead), and Tanjol Tashek (8 dead), Shuwa (25 dead), Gumsuri (32 dead) and Izghe (over 100 dead) … ” It is necessary to acknowledge that in the World Watch List of persecutions in 2015, Nigeria is ranked 10th, with Syria and Saudi Arabia.

What solution?

Faced with these killings, the whole country is concerned with the search for adequate riposte to the actions of Boko Haram. Possible solutions are both short and long termed.

For the government, the immediate response has been military. Thus, recognizing that this organization represents a threat still greater than the Biafran war for the unity of the country, President Goodluck Jonathan declared war on the terrorist group. The Nigerian army seemingly, weakened by all kinds of factors, that include unusually poor or lack of morale, misunderstandings along ethnic and religious lines was unable to free the country from the Boko Haram under the government of President Good Luck Jonathan. All hopes have since been president Muhammadu Buhari. This former army general, in fact, made the immediate eradication of Boko Haram and the establishment of national security the key point of his electoral campaign. Nicolas CHAMPEAUX, a journalist of Radio France International reported that Muhammadu Buhari reiterated his determination to liberate Nigeria and the world in his inauguration speech on Friday 29th of May 2015.

For some people in Southern and Western Nigeria, another way out would be to divide Nigeria into two: a Muslim country in the North and a Christian country in the South. This solution that was one time expressed by President Muhammad Khadafy of Libya seems to ignore the existence of large populations of Christians in the North and large populations of Muslims in the South West. Such a solution would amount to sacrifice the Christians from the North and the “Middle Belt”, a geopolitical region between North and South which is populated by various ethnic groups that had suffered many massacres linked to religious wars.

Confronted with these new attacks on life and property of their faithful, the Christian churches of Nigeria found themselves divided on how to respond to the menace of Boko Haram. For many non-Catholic Christian churches, Boko Haram attacks require a firm response. According to the Reverend Ayo Oritsejafor, President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), “the consensus is that the Christian community nationwide will be left with no other option than to respond appropriately if there are any further attacks on our members, churches and property.” Some people have interpreted his remark as a warning: Christians will no longer hesitate to take up arms if they continue to be attacked by jihadists.

• The dialogue

Other churches, including the Catholic Church, adopt a different view. They see in Boko Haram the call for a revival in all Nigerian political, socio-cultural, economic and religious institutions. According to the Catholic Church and its allies, this threat, far from leading the country to a war that could tear it apart, must bring the whole nation to a national dialogue. According to Matthieu MÉGEVAND in his article in ‘Le Monde’, entitled ‘Nigeria : montée des tensions entre chrétiens et musulmans’, the fight against the sect must start with the fight against “absence of treatment of some key problems notably those about poverty, highly present in the north where the dividends of democracy and oil only benefit the elites; the brutal and predatory behavior of the police and armed forces which the population experienced as a source of insecurity”; the lack of literacy which makes young people vulnerable and pushes them to take side with the jihadists.

The Catholic Church strongly condemns the activities of Boko Haram and the government’s inaction. According to Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, representative of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, “the ongoing violence, persecution and murder at the hands of the Boko Haram group especially in Nigeria, but also in Cameroon, Benin, Chad and Niger, present serious transgressions under international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity which require an urgent and effective response from the involved States, together with the solidarity of the international community.”

For some prelates of the Church the massacres of Boko Haram should not be considered as a war between Christianity and Islam – Matthew Hassan KUKAH, the bishop of Sokoto in his ‘Boko Haram : Some Reflections on causes and effects. – In the first place, they are bombings by some members of the fundamentalist Muslims against the secularism of the Nigerian State. Far from discouragement at the level of faith, the Church sees from this violence, the reason to intensify interfaith dialogue between Christians, Muslims and followers of Traditional African Religions. A dialogue that the Catholic Church initiated several years ago, right from time of the first conflicts with ethnic and religious character. A typical example is the violence that cost the lives of more than 500 Jos villagers in March 2010 as reported by ‘Le Parisien’ of 8th March 2010.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran pleads for the Pursuit of Interreligious Dialogue Regardless “of the violence that takes the life of one Christian in the world every five minutes because of his faith.” Consequently, it is necessary to note that the initiatives of meetings among men and women of faith have increased at all levels in churches and mosques. One of the objectives of these meetings and dialogue is to deepen the knowledge about the religion of the other in order to foster mutual respect. Also, whenever it is possible, it is the opportunity for participants to propose joint action to promote peace among Nigerians.

Among the concrete resolutions that contribute to working for dialogue, justice, reconciliation and peace between Islam and Christianity, we can evoke among the non Catholics, the efforts of Imam Mustapha Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye Movel two former enemies who today, manage together a mediation center for peace in Kaduna State of Nigeria.

Within the Catholic Church, an initiative that can be mentioned is the Women For Faith Council. This initiative is inspired by the Church’s teaching, especially Vatican II, “Notra Aetate” and the various efforts of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. This gathering of Muslim and Christian women, supported by the Irish sister Kathleen McGarvey, a missionary sister of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) in Kaduna, works for coexistence between Muslims and Christians. The group has sponsored several actions of reconciliation during the recent religious violence in Kaduna State.

In this same logic of dialogue, it is important to mention an International Seminar on Initiation to Christian – Muslim Dialogue, organized by the Society of African Missions (SMA) in Abuja in 2011. For two weeks, SMA missionaries representing the Benin-Niger, Ivory Coast, Togo, Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa, gathered to reflect on an effective approach to facilitate the interreligious dialogue which is severely undermined by the actions of fanatical groups such as Boko Haram. With the help of Protestants, Muslims and Catholics scholars, the group committed itself to live, witness and spread the message of dialogue with other believers, especially with Muslims in their places of apostolate. Particular attention was given to the education of youths to understand, appreciate, respect and uphold the secular nature of the nation, other religions so as to foster peaceful coexistence through activities like sports, leisure, cultural activities and voluntary engagement in charitable actions irrespective of religious creeds. Everything should be done to save future generations of prejudices that are the breeding ground for vengeance.

• To act with the youth

In assessing the foundation and the development of Boko Haram, its policy and recruitment among vulnerable youths, it becomes evident that, contrary to what is said, the strength of this movement is primarily its ability to disorient young people with intellectual and religious manipulation. Once convinced that any civilization, institution, religion that is different from Islam is against the will of Allah, and consequently diabolical, young militants of Boko Haram become able to sacrifice everything, even their own lives, for the glorious paradise promised to all those who dedicate themselves to the cause of God: and this explains the fact that 30,000 militants of the sect succeed in resisting an army like that of Nigeria. The paradox in the fight against terrorist movements of this kind is that jihadists seek death and embrace it with joy, while conventional military fighters like the Nigerian troops seek to avoid it as much as possible. Then, one understands better the view of J. Peter Pham, who affirms that to defeat Boko Haram, “safety measures will not be enough.”

Facing this fundamentally ideological phenomenon, the safest approach will be to fight the manipulation mechanism of the Nigerian youth: to empower Nigerian youths throughout the country, how to distinguish truth from all sorts of lies that is instilled by the sect, is the indispensable weapon that will come as a serious indispensable complement to military approach and will support the establishment of functional social infrastructure in the Northern Nigeria. This can be done through schools, crafts training centers, sports and cultural activities. Opened to the liberating truth, young admirers of Boko Haram will then be able to judge for themselves the danger that their allegiance to the sect constitutes to their future. In that way, they will be able to live with others in dialogue and mutual respect.

Conclusion

The response of the Catholic Church, although is in the long term, is the most effective remedy, probably the best way to win the battle against religious obscurantism and barbarism that Boko Haram represents. Catholic leaders, drawing from its experience of providing quality training to young people, in partnership with people of goodwill offering a comprehensive approach: to promote dialogue, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence with the government and civil society as a whole is a sustainable solution to the Boko Haram threat.

 

Basil SOYOYE

 

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Footnote

<sup>1. Cf. An article entitled ‘Boko Haram : La menace évolue’ written by J. Peter PHAM, in the French 20th apparition of ‘Bulletin de la Sécurité africaine’ of April 2012.↩
2. Cf. Jean-Philippe RÉMY in ‘Le Monde’, an article entitled ‘Le Nigeria face au spectre d’une guerre de religion’↩</sup>