Boko Haram: Something Has To Give

The polity in the northern part of this country has been inexorably heating up in recent times. Insecurity in this region used to be confined mainly to robbery and political assassination, as well as occasional bursts of sectarian violence defined as religious and ethnic crises, most of which the police have failed to solve. The biggest threat to life and property today, however, is the spiralling increase in bombings and the scare they inspire in our communities. Of particular concern are the activities of the now famous religious sect, Boko Haram.

This sect used to be based only in Maiduguri, Borno State, as well as parts of Yobe and Bauchi states, but it appears that it is now festering in Kaduna. Indeed, security analysts fear that the phenomenon may extend to other states.

Clearly, the problem is refusing to be contained; it is rather worsening, with bombs going off in Maiduguri any time the sect wants. Presently, a bomb scare in Kaduna and environs is threatening the peace and stability of the whole state. Wherever the bombs went off – in Maiduguri, Bauchi, Kaduna, Suleja, and even in Abuja – they left in their wake the death of innocent people, destruction of property and a huge cloud of fear.

A great deal of damage has already been done on both sides: from the massacre of religious militants by the security forces and revenge killings of policemen, soldiers, politicians and civil servants to the destruction of property owned by individuals and government.

The damage done to the national psyche by this scary development is unquantifiable. The society has been divided into bits and pieces – among the Muslims and between Christians and Muslims. There is a worsening crisis of confidence among the populace, a crisis which has since redefined the meaning of the word ‘North.’ If this pervasive cloud of fear and uncertainty continues unchecked, as it seems to be doing right now, only God knows what will become of this region (and by extension the whole country) in the next few years.

What are the nation’s leaders doing about the problem? So much on the surface, but virtually nothing in concrete terms. Nothing exemplifies this disturbing reality more than the high-level security meeting headed last week by Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo in his office in Abuja. The meeting, attended by top security chiefs and the Borno State governor, portrayed the leaders’ dilemma and helplessness over the Boko Haram challenge. Their hair-brained solution to the problem, in summary, is the carrot-and-stick approach. It means, as Governor Kashim Shettima revealed after the meeting, that the federal and the state governments are going to try to cajole the Boko Haram to a peace meeting, the failure of which would lead to a vociferous crackdown on the sect, using all the firepower at government’s disposal. Government cannot afford to appear weak, he said.

A similar threat, it should be remembered, did not succeed with the Niger Delta militants. What succeeded eventually was a political solution, whereby President Umaru Yar’Adua announced an unconditional amnesty for all the anti-oil exploration insurgents. This came after a massive bombardment of the militants’ camps failed to bear fruits. It was the amnesty deal, rather than the military action, which drew the militants out of their riverine hideouts to presidential red carpet in Abuja.

Now, while the Niger Delta militants had identifiable political and military leaders, Boko Haram’s are completely unknown. To draw them out, the government must abandon all threats of a military crackdown and insist on a political solution. The new Borno governor has wisely offered an olive branch, which the insurgents rejected; he should follow that up with a cessation of security onslaught. President Goodluck Jonathan should also announce an unconditional amnesty and begin to implement developmental programmes that will address the perceived injustices done to a great number of interest groups in the North. He should remember that it was police action, followed by a massive military onslaught, which instigated the insurgency. Former governor Ali Modu Sheriff exacerbated it by continuing with the crackdown. Now something has to give. The bloodshed is enough, please.

Published in my column in BLUEPRINT newspaper on Monday, June 13, 2011

Taliban Leader Mohammed Yusuf - Portrait

By Ibrahim Sheme

The leader of the Boko Haram sect, Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, was born on January 29, 1970 in Girgir village, Jakusko Local Government Area of Yobe State.

Not much is known about his educational pursuit.

In 2002, the 39-year-old self-proclaimed Islamic scholar founded the group that would eventually become known as Boko Haram, meaning "Western education is sinful" in the Hausa language; the group operated from its Maiduguri base under various sobriquets. It consistently showed aversion to 'boko' or western education.

Yusuf made a name for himself preaching against western education and consistently argued that the current system in Nigeria, symbolised by government, needed to be overthrown and replaced with an extreme version of Islamic law. Yusuf was also averse to other Muslims who disagreed with his methods and beliefs. He was soon regarded as an oddity by the rest of Muslims.

Nonetheless, he was able to attract huge numbers of followers from among the youths in many states of northern Nigeria, including Yobe, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna.

Contrary to the widely-held belief that Yusuf did not believe in Prophet Muhammad (SAW), he demonstrated that belief in his preaching, where he quoted from the sayings of the prophet to support his points.

And contrary to the thinking that he was a university graduate or drop-out, Mohammed Yusuf admitted, during a 2006 canonical debate with a Bauchi-based cleric and university lecturer, Malam Isah Aliyu Fantami, that he had never attended a western-type school.

In the debate, a DVD of which I obtained yesterday, the late Yusuf defended his group's position hotly, citing sources from Islamic history and jurisprudence, as well as from western science, making reference to the theory of evolution and giving off-hand examples from the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

But it was obvious from the debate that his theories were faulty and easily debunked by his opponent.

En-route Brazil on a state visit early this week, President Umaru Yar'Adua revealed, to the surprise of many, that the Nigerian security agencies had been tracking the Boko Haram sect for several years, describing its members as a "potentially dangerous group" who have been gathering weapons and intelligence to try to force their views on Nigerians.

On November 13, 2008, Yusuf and some of his followers were arrested by the police for public incitement through preaching and were brought to Abuja for trial. A High Court judge in the federal capital granted them bail on January 20, this year, after they were handed over to the police for prosecution.

The stage, it seemed, was set for a showdown between Yusuf's group and security forces, especially on June 11, when police officers in Maiduguri fired on a funeral procession by Boko Haram, shooting 17. Yusuf, denouncing the shootings, vowed to take revenge.

During a joint press conference in Abuja yesterday, defence spokesman Colonel Mohammed Yarima described the Boko Haram leader as a motivational character who had four wives and 12 children.

He said the operation to catch Yusuf was already well under way. "We have his picture, we have his details and the long arm of the law will catch up with him," he vowed.

That promise was fulfilled last night when security forces captured and killed Mohammed Yusuf in Maiduguri, thus ending an era in the short but bloody history of the sect he commanded.

Published in LEADERSHIP today

Mohammed Yusuf - Nigerian Taliban Leader

This is a photograph of Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the pro-Taliban group called Boko Haram, based in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Yusuf, 39, was killed today by Nigerian security forces after days of bloodshed. I got it from a video of a debate between Yusuf and another cleric on the pros and cons of western-type education, which Yusuf opposed.

Expect a profile of Yusuf later.