Boko Haram: How an extremist group thrives under an unstable government
The growth of Boko Haram, an Islamic extremist group, appears to have occurred under a
corrupt Nigerian government’s regime.
Of the 177 nations surveyed by Transparency
International (organization), a non-profit organization that monitors global corruption, Nigeria
ranked 144th.1 Nigeria’s corruption has led to the success of Boko Haram, whose main goal is to
overthrow the Nigerian government. It is plausible that this is the organization’s goal because
the government seems to have created an environment of fear and distrust amongst its citizens
that has led to the growth of an extremist organization like Boko Haram.
The corruption of the Nigerian government has empowered the militant group Boko
Haram because the Nigerian people do not trust their current government. 2 When citizens do not
trust their government, for instance in corrupt countries such as Nigeria, citizens may be less
likely to report extremist groups to government-controlled authorities designed to protect them.
For example, in the U.S., a group that denounces the government and makes claims to overthrow
it would likely be reported to authorities that would then monitor the situation.3
In Nigeria, a
citizen may face death by speaking out against popular movements if there appears to be no
protections or forces policing these movements. For example, a Nigerian citizen warned the
police of a “booby-trapped” car in a neighborhood and he was shot by members of Boko Haram
after notifying the police.4 A source within the Nigerian police or close affiliate probably
informed the Boko Haram of the Nigerian citizen’s actions which led to his death.5 If the
authorities designated to protect its citizens are corrupt and possibly bought by the uprising
1
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL (last visited May 18, 2014), http://www.transparency.org/cpi2013/results
Adam Nossiter, In Nigeria, a Deadly Group’s Rage has Local Roots, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 25, 2012,
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/world/africa/in-northern-nigeria-boko-haram-stirs-fear-andsympathy.html?pagewanted=all.
3
See Ogheneovo Opharomavua, An Insight to Boko Haram, DAILY INDEPENDENT, June 13, 2014.
4
Nossiter, supra note 2.
5
Nossiter, supra note 2.
2
organization, the citizen may find him or herself in further trouble by speaking out against the
group. In another example of lost faith in government resources, the Nigerian security and
military forces are abandoning the citizens they are supposed to protect, including an entire
battalion fleeing into neighboring Cameroon.6 The distrust of the current government regime in
protecting its citizens leads to the success of groups like Boko Haram because the citizens are
afraid and fear the uprising group. Citizens do not report the activity because of uncertainty in
their government’s ability to sanction itself.
While extremist groups such as Boko Haram gain a following based of their beliefs,7
other followers are pressured to join for their safety and the safety of their families. If faced with
death or joining a popular radical movement, some of these individuals choose joining the
movement for survival. For example, most Nazis in the World War II era were not firm
believers in the Nazi propaganda, but rather chose to support the Nazi party because the
alternative was surely a concentration camp or death. Clearly, fear was an effective recruiting
tool for the Nazis. Similarly, when Boko Haram conquers a region of Nigeria, they give citizens
the choice of following Boko Haram or execution.8 Given the choice of life or death, it would be
fair to assume that a reasonable person would choose life, therefore resulting in more followers
of the extremist group.
Extremist groups have also gained followings due to the contempt of citizens towards
their national government officials.9 Government officials in Nigeria have been taking money
from social reform program budgets such as health and education and oil revenue in upwards of
Nigeria’s Jihadists: The Other Caliphate, The Economist, (Sep. 6, 2014),
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21615642-boko-haram-now-taking-territory-and-threatensstate-capital-other.
7
Opharomavua, supra note 3.
8
Nigeria’s Jihadists: The Other Caliphate, supra note 5
9
Nossiter, supra note 2.
6
$20 billion,10 which creates contempt towards the government and stems support for extremist
groups who seek governmental reform.11
The Nigerian government’s misappropriation of
money from its citizens deprives them of improvements in education and health and stems the
extremist growth; as the people are increasingly oppressed, they are more willing to overthrow
their government.12 It would be easier for a government to take steps to battle corruption than to
have a violent extremist group intent on overthrowing the current regime.
The government must also take measures to ensure education is provided for its citizens.
Boko Haram gained its initial following by teaching the group’s views on Islam to poor Muslim
families.13 Education in Nigeria is another area that has become corrupt in the country. Students
have to fund their education by buying their way into school and paying bribes to pass particular
examinations.14 If students have to finance their own education, poor families are left to seek
alternate means of education. Boko Haram developed its fellowship in 2002 when they founded
an “educational complex” for many poor Muslims to study their teachings.15 Nigeria needs to
enact legislation that funds and reforms the current educational system model so that education is
available to all citizens.
Finally, the government needs to decrease radicalization rather than encouraging it. Boko
Haram is believed to have begun its violent extremist path when police and military officials
assaulted and killed Boko Haram members.16 Boko Haram members are suspected to have
initially adopted weapons as a means of protection against the government, but the weapon use
10
Mark Gollum, Boko Haram Formed Amid Nigerian Government Corruption, CBC NEWS, May 9, 2014,
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/boko-haram-formed-amid-nigerian-government-corruption-1.2636547.
11
Opharomavua, supra note 3.
12
Opharomavua, supra note 3.
13
Opharomavua, supra note 3.
14
Nossiter, supra note 2.
15
Opharomavua, supra note 3.
16
Id.
later became a staple of their violent paths.17 If the government had taken more peaceful
measures and not been so forceful in dealing with Boko Haram in its early stages, the group may
not have resorted to extreme violence.
Eliminating or controlling extremist groups in countries such as Nigeria is not
impossible. Morocco has been able to abate extremist groups by increasing enforcement of
terrorist groups and stifling extremist group development.18 Similar to Nigeria, Morocco is a
North African nation that faces growing insurgency groups within its borders. Morocco has been
able to combat these extremist groups through its law enforcement measures, investing in the
countries educational system, and by attempting to de-radicalize extremists. Morocco has used
its resources to prevent attacks by arresting terrorists and confiscating weapons and ammunition
at its borders.19 Individuals have been arrested for their crimes in an extremist group, while
others have been arrested for their plans to commit terrorist activities.20 This helps to ease the
fears in Nigeria where citizens are not seeing an active role played by the authorities in
attempting to stem the activities of Boko Haram. Because the Moroccan interventions do not
occur within Nigerian borders, the citizens do not see the efforts by their own security forces
and, therefore, do not trust their government and policing powers. In addition, Nigerians do not
see Boko Haram members being justly punished for their actions, unlike the Moroccan response,
and are therefore not dissuaded from participating in extremist activities.
Additionally, if Nigeria were to invest in their country and not embezzle government
funds, the government could help eliminate extremist groups such as Boko Haram. Morocco
17
Id.
Mohamed Salah Tamek, Morocco’s Approach to Countering Violent Extremism, THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE,
May 16, 2014, http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/moroccos-approach-to-countering-violentextremism.
19
Id,
20
Id.
18
chose to invest in the country and reformed its educational policy to combat the effects of
radicalization.21 Morocco expanded their educational policies to focus on critical thinking,
moderation, and cultural relativism.22
By promoting critical thinking in education, the
Moroccans promote an individual’s ability to think for themselves and understand the
repercussions. Conversely, in Nigeria, many residents favor Boko Haram over the Nigerian
government because they feel cheated by the current regime. However, these individuals are not
thinking about the repercussions if Boko Haram is successful in overthrowing the government.
Depending on Boko Haram’s success, Nigeria could ultimately not be a democracy, but rather a
dictatorship where Nigerians will not have the same freedoms and liberties as before. The
people will would more than likely be forced in to Islamic religious laws and beliefs.
The Moroccans’ attempt to promote cultural relativism also helps to eliminate extremist
views because people will become more accepting of cultural norms. In addition to its attempt to
overthrow the Nigerian government, Boko Haram has burned more than 180 Catholic and
Christian churches in furtherance of their view that Islam is the only true religion.23 Cultural
relativism could help stem this extremist Islamic activity in Nigeria because cultural relativism
promotes the idea that all culture’s beliefs and views are of equal value to another.24
Moroccans have also adopted the idea of de-radicalizing extremists. The idea is that by
de-radicalizing extremists, they will be more rational and serve as productive members of
society. Morocco adopted an amendment to its constitution that raises awareness of the human
21
Id.
Id.
23
Jack Moore, Nigeria: Boko Haram Torch 185 Churches in Captured Towns of Borno and Adamawa, INT’L BUS.
TIMES, October 6, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nigeria-boko-haram-torch-185-churches-captured-towns-bornoadamawa-1468763.
24
Cultural Relativism, PRINCETON UNIV.,
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Cultural_relativism.html.
22
rights of its citizens.25 Members of the Islamic faith help to reform these extremists to be
productive members to society by helping the extremists gain an education in prison and
developing a work release program for the extremists. In one particular case, Morocco deradicalized a popular extremist group, the Salafists, by offering them an opportunity to enter
Moroccan politics.26 In Nigeria, it does not appear that the government is making efforts to
reform the radical Boko Haram. As the popularity and violence of Boko Haram increased,
leading to thousands of people killed, there appears to be minimum effort by the Nigerian
government to work with the group. In 2012, conflicting stories came out about whether the
Nigerian government was meeting with Boko Haram leaders.27 Since that time frame, the
violence in Nigeria caused by Boko Haram has only increased, gaining world attention with the
kidnapping of 200 girls from a private school.28 At this point, efforts to de-radicalize Boko
Haram may go in vain, but the Nigerian government needs to make efforts to abate this extremist
group through governmental reform or increased legislative reform to calm the growing tensions
in Nigeria.
Though Boko Haram may be too radical for the Nigerian government to deal with, they
need to take more actions in improving the country of Nigeria to prevent the spread of Boko
Haram, which garners popularity with the continuance of an unpopular Nigerian government. If
this cannot be done, Nigeria may be another extreme Islamic controlled state, akin to when the
Taliban controlled Afghanistan. If Nigeria is lost to an extremist group such as Boko Haram, it
could have an effect on not only creating an unstable region in Africa but also in the international
oil industry as Nigeria is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
25
Id.
Id.
27
Analysis: Hurdles to Nigerian Government-Boko Haram Dialogue, IRIN NEWS, Nov. 28, 2012,
http://www.irinnews.org/report/96915/analysis-hurdles-to-nigerian-government-boko-haram-dialogue.
28
Opharomavua, supra note 3.
26
(OPEC), an organization that helps control the market for oil. The lack of regulation within the
Nigerian government, plagued with corruption, and its inability to regulate must be dealt with to
ensure a stable democracy within the country. The government should look to its neighbor,
Morocco for regime changes that can impact the region of Northern Nigeria where Boko Haram
has its foothold.