Boko Haram in North-west Nigeria

The recent spate of attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria barely a month after the signing of a cease-fire with the Nigerian government cast doubt on the Nigerian government’s ability to put an end to the Islamist terrorist group’s reign of terror. The attack on the Grand Mosque of Kano, the seizure of the town of Damasak, and yesterday’s attacks in state capitals of northeastern Nigeria prove that Boko Haram remains an existential threat to Nigeria and many other west African nations. Such has been the threat presented by Boko Haram that the nations of the Sahel region have made an agreement with France to provide security and aid in fighting jihadist organizations in the region.

While Nigeria has become an energy exporting powerhouse in recent years, much of the wealth has gone to the Christian southern part of the country, whilst the Muslim north remains impoverished due to poor education. Boko Haram’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, blamed Western influences for continued poverty in northern Nigeria, and founded Boko Haram (quite literally; “Western influence is sacrilegious”) in order to create a Salafist Islamic state in West Africa.

With Mohammed Yusuf’s death in 2009, he was succeeded by Abubakar Shekau, his second in command. Unfortunately, Shekau has proven to be a capable leader, increasing Boko Haram’s bombing campaign enough to strike the UN building in Abuja. Prior to 2009, Boko Haram was an ineffectual organization that was non-militant, but Shekau was able to transform the organization into an effective armed insurgency group. Since 2011, Boko Haram has waged an increasingly more effective insurgency campaign against the Nigerian government, even going so far in the past few months to launch a strategy of land occupation in northeast Nigeria, causing mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians attempting to escape Boko Haram. Thus far, the Nigerian military has been unable to oust them from the occupied territory, going so far as to officially deny claims from local authorities and Boko Haram themselves that the Nigerian federal and state governments have lost control of the area. Boko Haram has also been able to launch limited operations in the neighboring countries of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.

Boko Haram’s main sources of funding are from bank robberies, extortion, and ransom from hostages, though Boko Haram has received significant aid from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in addition to funding from several Nigerian politicians. In addition to the significant funding, al-Shabaab and AQIM are suspected to be training Boko Haram operatives. Whatever equipment Boko Haram cannot purchase, they steal or loot from government forces. The governor of Borno (one of the states with significant Boko Haram activity), Kashim Shettima, has stated that “Boko Haram are better armed and are better motivated than our own troops. Given the present state of affairs, it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram.”

Though current Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly negotiated for a cease-fire with Boko Haram back in October, hostilities continue apace and the Nigerian House of Representatives has approved President Jonathan’s request for a $1 billion loan in order to combat Boko Haram further. Thus far, France has deployed some assets to western Africa in order to help its former colonies in the area combat Boko Haram activity.