By Adam Alqali
Last Tuesday, in Abuja, the Africa programme of the London-based Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House); an independent policy institute launched a report on the violent Jihadist sect: Boko Haram
The seemingly endless and complicated Boko Haram insurrection continues to attract the attention of leading research institutes and think-tanks globally including the Chatham House – the world’s second most influential think tank after the Brookings Institution in the US; thus, as part of its contribution towards unraveling the genesis, various complexities and conspiracy theories around Nigeria’s Boko Haram sect – whose campaign of violence has consumed the lives of thousands of citizens of Africa’s top economy – the Institute commissioned a research titled: Nigeria’s Interminable Insurgency? Addressing the Boko Haram insurgency
“This report is aimed at understanding the historical evolution of Boko Haram,” says Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Simon Shercliff who chaired the panel discussion on the report which was presented to an audience comprising of journalists, representatives of NGOs, government officials and members of the diplomatic corps at Abuja’s Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
Since its establishment in 2002, the Africa Porgramme of Chatham House has become a world-leading center for independent policy research and debate on Africa’s politics. And the gap in terms of research on the protracted Boko Haram insurrection was the prime motivation for Chatham House’s report on the insurgency. “We have been tracking Nigeria,” said Elizabeth Donnely, assistant head of Chatham House’s Africa Programme. “And by 2012, it became obvious that there was a lot of research gap on Boko Haram. This research tests assumptions about Boko Haram; brings clarity to issues for the Nigerian government and is funded by the UK’s Africa Conflict Prevention Programme (ACPP).”
Presenting his findings, the report’s author, Dr Marc Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, an associate fellow at Chatham House described the ongoing war in Nigeria as ‘dirty’ and ‘asymmetric’ in which “atrocities are committed by both sides”. “There is internal fighting within Boko Haram and within the Nigerian security forces. There are conflicting narratives that make it difficult to analyse the Boko Haram crisis. Boko Haram isn’t just a terrorist group but also a social body; and when you cut a finger off a body, the whole body will react,” he said.
Speaking on the various theories about the internationalization of the Boko Haram crisis as well as the sect’s possible link with global jihadist organizations like Al-Qaida, Dr Pérouse de Montclos said: “Boko Haram has globalized its capacity to create fears yet; it is a Nigerian problem that requires a Nigerian solution. Military option is not enough: we need a soft approach. And the Nigerian military can of course improve their performance by avoiding antagonizing the people of Borno.”
Reviewing the work of the researcher, Prof Kyari Mohammed , the Vice Chancellor, Moddibo Adama University of Technology, (MAUTECH) Yola said Boko Haram group had overtime acquired various aliases including insurgents; terrorists, militant gang, Islamist and cultist. “It is a bit of all,” he said.
“Boko Haram is a local organization, its grievances are local; the conditions that produced it are local. It aspires to be a global group; attempts to internationalize are just attempts. However, the military must move away from human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings etc.”
Professor Mohammed said conspiracy theories about the Boko Haram insurgency were being fuelled by, amongst others, lack of transparency and accountability, corruption, and lack of openness in managing the insurgency. “If we don’t get to hear the true stories, these (conspiracy) theories will continue to emerge,” he said.
Speaking from the Nigerian government’s perspective, Dr Ralph Bello-Fadile of the office of National Security Adviser (NSA) argued that Nigeria’s terrorism was local and international, as well. He stated that the Nigerian government was training the military on the provisions of International Humanitarian Laws (IHLs) towards reducing human rights violations. “Boko Haram is in Nigeria and though it is a local thing it is also international. Thus, we have established a regional fusion center with Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin to coordinate the war against the group, and unless the US helps us to fight Boko Haram, human rights abuses will not end,” he said.
