Boko haram is a radical islamist movement shaped by its nigerian context and reflecting nigeria s history of poor governance and extreme poverty in the north. In late 2018 crisis groups senior analyst for gender azadeh moaveni went to northeast nigeria, which has been the epicenter of the fight between boko haram and the nigerian military, to explore how effectively women formerly associated with the group have been rehabilitated and. Boko harams story begins with a preacher named mohammed marwa, born in 1927. According to liolio 20, the successful recruitment of the people into the group. Suspected members of the hardline islamist group boko haram attacked a school in damaturu, nigeria, early tuesday morning, burning or shooting. In late 2018 crisis groups senior analyst for gender azadeh moaveni went to northeast nigeria, which has been the epicenter of the fight between boko haram and the nigerian military, to explore how effectively women formerly associated with the group have been rehabilitated and reintegrated back into society. Nigeria has a history of islamist sects within its borders. D department of history, adeyemi federal university of education p. Department of history and international relations, faculty of arts, lagos.
The jamaaatu ahlussunnah liddawati wal jihad, popularly known as boko haram is a strong pseudoislamist terrorist group, which has its base in kanamma, northeastern nigeria. Pdf boko haram insurgency in nigeria as a symptom of poverty. History of boko haram founded in the muslimdominated northern nigeria in 2002 by mohammed yusuf, boko haram was originally labeled as the nigerian taliban because of its ideology and methods. The nickname boko haram was given by local communities to. Nigerias militant islamist group boko haram is fighting to overthrow the government and create an islamic state. In 2015 the group began calling itself islamic state in west africa. This brought about the recognition of boko haram as an international terrorist group. The research analysis revealed that the boko haram insurgency has.
Historical evoulution of boko haram the history and development of boko haram insurgents group in north eastern nigeria can be divided into two phase. Boko haram seeks the establishment of an islamic state in nigeria. Cameroon has become a hub for boko haram ideological infiltration, and other reports suggest that boko haram is using cameroon as a place of. After decades of vacillating between periods of military rule and democracy, punctuated by coups, the nigerian fourth republic began as general abdusalami abubakar peacefully handed over power to olusegun obasanjo after democratic elections. Spiraling violence boko haram attacks and security forces abuses in nigeria pdf. Boko haram crisis, chatham house, september 2014, s.
He is the author of several books including nigeria karthala, 1994 and cities and violence in black africa karthala, 2002 under the combined pressure of islamist sect boko haram s terrorist attacks and. He argues that the groups ideology is ultimately religiously focused, but draws on deep ethnic and cultural roots to recruit members and sustain its momentum. Boko haram and isiswa conducted numerous attacks targeting civilians. This study adopts poverty theory to examine the threat of boko haram insurgency on nigerian national security. Not all have been violent movements, some existing peacefully in parallel with the state. Below is the most comprehensive history of boko haram insurgency in nigeria starting from the first attack in 2009 till date. Nigerias history of poor governance and extreme poverty in the north. Boko haram recruited and forcefully conscripted child soldiers and carried out scores of suicide bombings, many by young women and girls forced into doing so and other attacks on population centers in the northeast and in cameroon, chad, and niger. His major fields of interest are the history of muslim. In september 2017, boko haram militants kidnapped about 40 young adults, women and children and killed 18 in the town of banki, km southeast of maiduguri, borno state, on the border of nigeria and cameroon. Based on years of research in northern nigeria as well as his knowledge of a vast number of primary sources in both arabic and hausa, thurston is able to. View cnn s fast facts on boko haram and learn more about the militant islamic group based in nigeria, whose purpose is to institute sharia, or islamic law.
Jun 06, 2014 boko harams story begins with a preacher named mohammed marwa, born in 1927. Pdf the ideological evolution of boko haram in nigeria. Secondly, freedom onuoha explores boko haram attacks on the telecommunication infrastructure in. The origins of boko haramand why it matters by audu. Despite the heavy handed tactics of the dictators, some. Boko haram in nigeria the latest news from al jazeera. Nigerias boko haram group explained in 60 seconds bbc news. Boko haram, cameroons similar characteristics to nigeria, such as a relatively poor majority muslim north and a wealthier majority christian south, make it an ideal recruiting ground for boko haram. Boko haram, a movement claiming to act in the name of islam, has killed tens of thousands of people in nigeria and the neighboring countries of niger, chad, and cameroon tens of thousands more have died amid the broader crisis that boko haram precipitated. Nigerias battle with boko haram council on foreign. Pdf the cost of boko haram activities in nigeria researchgate.
Timeline of boko haram insurgency in nigeria from 2009. Nigeria s militant islamist group boko haram is fighting to overthrow the government and create an islamic state. Boko haram formed in 2002 when mohammed yusuf, a wellknown preacher and proselytizer of the izala sect of islam in the maiduguri region of nigeria, began to radicalize his discourse to reject all secular aspects of nigerian society. As boko haram continues its fight in northern nigeria, atta barkindo examines the cultural and ethnic ties of the insurgency. The history of an african jihadist movement on jstor. Boko haram and the islamic states west africa province boko haram emerged in the early 2000s as a small sunni islamic sect in nigeria advocating a strict interpretation and implementation of islamic law, and has evolved since 2009 to become one of the worlds deadliest terrorist groups. In 2002, an offshoot of this youth group not yet known as boko haram declared the city and the islamic establishment to be intolerably corrupt and irredeemable. Nigerias population of an estimated 200 million people is plagued by an alarming level of violence, which is driven by a toxic mix of brutal extremist groups, criminal gangs and a cropland crisis.
This is the original name that this fundamentalist. Boko haram messaging has ebbed and flowed throughout its history, while the types of. Boko haram in context the roots of boko haram lie in the islamic history of northern nigeria, in which for some 800 years powerful sultanates centered around the hausa cities close to kano and the sultanate of borno roughly the region of the states of borno and yobe together with parts of chad constituted high muslim civilizations. Boko haram and islamic fundamentalism in nigeria 53 the christian south seems to have been broken. On 24 march 2015, residents of damasak, nigeria said that boko haram had taken more than 400 women and children from the town as they fled from coalition forces. On 27 march, the nigerian army captured gwoza, which was believed to be the location of boko haram headquarters. This is the original name that this fundamentalist are known with but cane to be christened as boko haram. Nigerian government to combat the group, boko harams activities continue to spread across the region.
Nigerias battle with boko haram council on foreign relations. This is against the backdrop of the rising spate of violent attacks. Nelson mandela once said, education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. After years of tension and a series of minor incidents, things finally exploded in july 2009 when a prominent member of boko haram died, and a large number of them were on the way to bury him. Boko haram, the islamist terrorist group originating from nigeria is frightened by this. Boko haram and the islamic states west africa province. To understand what led to the abductions one must first look backward, not only at the formation of boko haram itself, but also at the complex history of nigeria, islam in west africa and the deep corruption that has robbed the continents biggest oil producer, largest economy and most populous nation of even basic development, keeping the. Nigeria has a long history of communal conflicts, many of which were only suppressed under military rule. It has been a growing force in nigeria for over a decade and has deep roots in the countrys social development going back even further. The boko haram sect, though has been existence since 2001, did not become popular in nigeria until 2009, when it participated actively in the sectarian violence, which occurred then in northern nigeria mohammed yusuf, who remained the groups leader until men of the nigerian armed forces killed him in 2009, founded the boko haram sect. In 20, the nigerian military intensified its campaign against boko haram. The impact of boko haram insurgency on nigerian national. Their activities negatively affected the economy of those parts of northern nigeria. To address the boko haram crisis in nigeria, this study looked at maos theory of revolutionary war as a guide to understand the group.
Since may 20, the federal government of nigeria has been trying to address the threat of boko haram by military means. Stabilizing northeast nigeria after boko haram carnegie. For example, in plateau state, in nigerias middle belt, there. The historical background of boko haram boko haram literally translated as western education is a sin is a genocidal criminal movement led by an islamist extremist, abubakar shekau, who has vowed to destroy every christian school in nigeria, and to carry out terrorist attacks on nigerian government police and government officials. Read about nigerias ongoing battle with insurgent group boko haram and keep track of the latest developments using the global conflict tracker from the council on foreign relations. Nigeria has had a long and unfortunate history of communal conflicts and ethnoreligious violence. The most bizarre of all the activities of boko haram was the kidnapping of almost 300 schoolgirls by the boko haram terrorists between 14 th and 15 th of april, 2014. President umaru yaradua, a muslim, died in office and his christian vice president, goodluck jonathon, finished out that term and proceeded to run for a second term, and won onwudiwe and berwinddart, 2010. The hausa applied the term boko to western forms of education so when the term haram is appended to it the intent is.
Therefore, this study aims to examine the threat of boko haram insurgency on nigerian national security system. The group has caused havoc in africas most populous country through a campaign of. Boko haram, jideofor adibe, contributes the first article in the collection. These operations are ongoing and its details are shrouded in secrecy, but judging by the results, they have so far failed to root. Boko haram emerged in maiduguri and not in kano or sokoto, or in any of the other numerous nigerian and sahelian cities where one can find poverty, corruption, and radical preachers. Timeline of boko haram insurgency in nigeria from 2009 till. Relations with the islamic world analysis paper no. The anatomy of a crisis 10 since 2009 boko haram has become a metaphor for insecurity in nigeria after the government launched a clampdown on the group, which resulted in some 800 deaths, mostly of the sect members. Since 2009, the radical muslim movement in northern nigeria known as boko haram has become widely known in western media for both its militant actions and its ultrafundamentalist programme. Nigeria has also entered into pacts with foreign nations like the united states of america, france, united kingdom, israel and other countries in the fight against terrorism. The rise of boko haram in nigeria combating terrorism. He states that boko haram and similar groups represent a retreat from the nigeria project, with the state increasingly unable to fulfill its part of the social contract.
The name boko haram is a hausa name which only the hausa peoples understood and is a compound name comprised of hausa and arabic. Boko harams campaign against education and enlightenment. Pdf it is almost three years ago that a group of northern nigerian militants that. Awoyemi 2012 examines the nexus that existed between poverty and the emergence of boko haram in northern nigeria, while danjibo 2009 attempts a comparative evaluation of the maitatsine and boko haram crises in northern nigeria as manifestations of islamic fundamentalism and sectarian violence in nigeria. Boko haram, a militant group based in nigerias northwestern states of yobe and borno, claimed responsibility. The attack, one of the deadliest recently, came as.
The history of boko haram boko harams origins lie in a group of radical islamist youth who worshipped at the alhaji muhammadu ndimi mosque in maiduguri a decade ago. Boko haram, known for mass kidnappings, bombings, and other acts of terrorism, remains an enduring threat to northern nigeria and the lake chad basin. The ideological evolution of boko haram in nigeria. The attack, one of the deadliest recently, came as the military tried to launch an offensive against.
At about age eighteen, he moved to kano, in what is today northern nigeria, and began a career as a preacher. The united nation listing entry describes boko haram as an affiliate of alqaeda and also one of the organisations of alqaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim reuters, 2014. The state of insecurity engendered by boko haram insurgency in nigeria. Boko haram is a radical islamist movement shaped by its nigerian context and reflecting. Federal university lafia, nigeria abstract this paper explores the humanitarian impact of terrorism in nigeria from the standpoint of boko haram insurgency. Boko haram appeared in the consciousness of most westerners for the first time in april of this year.
Information service nigeria country of origin information report pdf. The best articles from christianity today on boko haram nigeria. The impact of boko haram insurgency on nigerian national security. Jan 25, 2018 below is the most comprehensive history of boko haram insurgency in nigeria starting from the first attack in 2009 till date. Boko haram, islamic sectarian movement founded in 2002 in northeastern nigeria. Boko haram but other conflicts that have threatened sustained peace in nigeria.
The islamic state in west africa or the islamic states west africa province formerly known as. At least 50 nigerian soldiers killed in boko haram ambush. Mar 30, 2016 to understand what led to the abductions one must first look backward, not only at the formation of boko haram itself, but also at the complex history of nigeria, islam in west africa and the deep corruption that has robbed the continents biggest oil producer, largest economy and most populous nation of even basic development, keeping the. Examining the boko haram insurgency in northern nigeria and the quest for a permanent resolution of the crisis joseph olukayode akinbi ph. Pdf since its terror campaign began, boko harams targets had been security. At about age eighteen, he moved to kano, in what is today northern nigeria, and. The development of a militant religious movement in nigeria roman loimeier abstract. The history of boko haram cannot be disentangled from the immense political change nigeria underwent during the 1999 transition to democracy. Nigerias boko haram group explained in 60 seconds bbc.
Boko haram, a movement claiming to act in the name of islam, has killed tens of thousands of people in nigeria and the neighboring countries of niger, chad, and cameroon. Boko haram, a movement claiming to act in the name of is lam, has killed tens of thousands of people in nigeria and the neighboring countries of niger, chad, and cameroon. Name, founder and influence boko haram is a short hand name for jamaatu ahlis sunna liddawati wa jihad, meaning people committed to the propagation of the prophets teaching and jihad. Jun 09, 2014 view cnn s fast facts on boko haram and learn more about the militant islamic group based in nigeria, whose purpose is to institute sharia, or islamic law. Africa, lived for several years in nigeria and carries out study assignments in africa. The history of an african jihadist movement supersedes everything that has been written so far on the development of this enigmatic jihadist movement in northeastern nigeria. Only by closely examining boko harams history in northeast ern nigeria does it become possible to identify critical junc tures in the movements trajectory. The historical background of boko haram genocide watch. Since 2009 the group has carried out largescale acts of violence. Boko haram was reported to have killed 380 people between april and september 2017 in the lake chad area. Mar 14, 2017 this feature is not available right now. Boko haram insurgency in nigeria as a symptom of poverty and.
316 538 506 929 821 800 1184 540 1080 880 1394 590 44 16 699 598 455 88 1103 1559 435 1553 716 875 700 1322 1461 287 924 567 1154 632 814 290 37 1367 233 614 1326 1263 960 870 187 236 936 332