EDITOR’s NOTE: A couple of weeks ago, a Congressional public meeting discussed the continuing situation in Northern Nigeria concerning the militant group Boko Haram.  We are all pretty much familiar with the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls and the public threats made against them by Boko Haram’s leader.  We have heard about the bombings, and the #BringBackOurGirls Campaign gained a lot of needed publicity when First Lady Michelle Obama promoted the effort.  Here, we will attempt to share some information (certainly not all there is to know), from three Internet sources and from audio of the Congressional public meeting of July 10, about the Boko Haram crisis, who Boko Haram is, where the group came from, how it has been able to pose such a threat to none other than the vaunted Nigerian military, and what measures are currently being undertaken to answer what some now see as a potential threat to all of North and West Africa.  We end with a very brief comment on how the concept of “unintended consequences” seems to draw a line that leads back to the NATO-led, US-backed war against Libya in 2011.

Some Background on Boko Haram

This is an excerpt of what the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia says about Boko Haram (edited for length):

Boko Haram (usually translated as “Western education is a sin”), is a militant Islamist sect based in northern Nigeria.  Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, the organization seeks to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria.  The group was designated by the U.S. Department of State as a terrorist organisation in 2013.

In the first half of 2014 Boko Haram killed more than 2000 civilians, in about 95 attacks; and, in the preceding three years, more than 3000.  In May 2014, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan claimed that Boko Haram attacks have left at least 12,000 people dead and 8,000 crippled.

The group exerts influence in the northeastern Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe and Kano. In this region, a state of emergency has been declared. The group does not have a clear structure or evident chain of command and has been called “diffuse” with a “cell-like structure” facilitating factions and splits.  It is reportedly divided into three factions with a splinter group known as Ansaru. The group’s main leader is Abubakar Shekau. Its weapons expert, second-in-command and arms manufacturer was Momodu Bama.

The Boko Haram leadership has international connections to Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al-Qa`ida core, Al-Shabab, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s factions, and other militant groups outside Nigeria.  Attacks by the group on international targets have so far been limited.  On November 13, 2013 the United States government designated the group a terrorist organization. On 22 May 2014, the United Nations Security Council added Boko Haram to its list of designated al-Qaeda entities, bringing “funding, travel and weapons sanctions” against the terrorist group.

Many of the group’s senior radicals were reportedly partially inspired by the late Islamic preacher known as Maitatsine.  Others believe that the group is motivated by inter-ethnic disputes as much as by religion, and that its founder Yusuf believed that a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” was being waged by Plateau State governor Jonah Jang against the Hausa and Fulani people.

Origin

In 1995, the group was said to be operating under the name Shabaab, Muslim Youth Organization with Mallam Lawal as the leader. When Lawal left to continue his education, Mohammed Yusuf took over leadership of the group. Yusuf’s leadership allegedly opened the group to political influence and popularity.

Yusuf officially founded the group in 2002 in the city of Maiduguri with the aim of establishing a Shari’a government in Borno State under then-Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.  He established a religious complex that included a mosque and a school where many poor families from across Nigeria and from neighbouring countries enrolled their children.

The center had ulterior political goals and soon it was also working as a recruiting ground for future jihadis to fight the state.  The group includes members who come from neighbouring Chad and Niger and speak only Arabic.

In 2004 the complex was relocated to Yusuf’s home state of Yobe in the village Kanamma near the Niger border.

Human Rights Watch researcher Eric Guttschuss told IRIN News that Yusuf successfully attracted followers from unemployed youth “by speaking out against police and political corruption”. Abdulkarim Mohammed, a researcher on Boko Harām, added that violent uprisings in Nigeria are ultimately due to “the fallout of frustration with corruption and the attendant social malaise of poverty and unemployment”. … Chris Kwaja, a Nigerian university lecturer and researcher, asserts that “religious dimensions of the conflict have been misconstrued as the primary driver of violence when, in fact, disenfranchisement and inequality are the root causes”. Nigeria, he points out, has laws giving regional political leaders the power to qualify people as ‘indigenes’ (original inhabitants) or not. It determines whether citizens can participate in politics, own land, obtain a job, or attend school. The system is abused widely to ensure political support and to exclude others. Muslims have been denied indigene-ship certificates disproportionately often.

Nigerian opposition leader Buba Galadima says: “What is really a group engaged in class warfare is being portrayed in government propaganda as terrorists in order to win counter-terrorism assistance from the West.”

Beginning of violence

The group conducted its operations more or less peacefully during the first seven years of its existence (with an exception of some skirmishes in Kannama in 2004).  That changed in 2009 when the Nigerian government launched an investigation into the group’s activities following reports that its members were arming themselves. …

In the wake of the 2009 crackdown on its members and its subsequent reemergence, the growing frequency and geographical range of attacks attributed to Boko Harām have led some political and religious leaders in the north to the conclusion that the group had now expanded beyond its original religious composition to include not only Islamic militants, but criminal elements and disgruntled politicians as well. …

When the government came into action, several members of the group were arrested in Bauchi, sparking deadly clashes with Nigerian security forces which led to the deaths of an estimated 700 people. … The group’s founder and then leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed during this time while in police custody. …

Reemergence

After the killing of Mohammed Yusuf, the group carried out its first attack in Borno in January 2011. It resulted in the killing of four people.  Abubakar Shekau, a former deputy to Yusuf, took control of the group after Yusuf’s death in 2009. … Since Shekau’s rise, the violence has only escalated in terms of both frequency and intensity.

State counter-offensive

According to Human Rights Watch, during the period between 2009 and beginning of 2012, Boko Harām was responsible for over 900 deaths.

On 14 May 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa in a bid to fight the activities of Boko Harām. He ordered the Nigerian Armed Forces to the three areas around Lake Chad.  As of 17 May, Nigerian armed forces’ shelling in Borno resulted in at least 21 deaths.  A curfew was imposed in Maiduguri as the military used air strikes and shellings to target Boko Harām strongholds.  The Nigerian state imposed a blockade on the group’s traditional base of Maiduguri in Borno in order to re-establish Nigeria’s “territorial integrity”.

On 21 May, the Defence Ministry issued a statement that read it had “secured the environs of New Marte, Hausari, Krenoa, Wulgo and Chikun Ngulalo after destroying all the terrorists’ camps”. …

On 29 May, Boko Harām’s leader Abubakar Shekau, following military claims that the group had been halted, released a video in which he said the group had not lost to the Nigerian armed forces. In the video he showed charred military vehicles and bodies dressed in military fatigues. …

[Shekau] has taken responsibility for the April 2014 kidnapping of over 200 school girls.  On 6 May 2014, eight more girls were kidnapped by suspected Boko Harām gunmen.  In a videotape, Shekau threatened to sell the kidnapped girls into slavery.  On May 12, 2014 Boko Harām released a video which shows the kidnapped girls and alleging that the girls had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed.  On May 17, 2014, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and the presidents of Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger met in Paris and agreed to combat Boko Harām on a coordinated basis, sharing in particular surveillance and intelligence gathering. Chad President Idriss Deby said after the meeting African nations were determined to launch a total war on Boko Harām. Westen nations, including Britain, France, Israel, and the United States had also pledged support.

On 22 May 2014 Boko Harām was officially declared a terrorist group affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb by the United Nations Security Council.  International sanctions including asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo were imposed against the group.

On May 2014, Nigerian soldiers shot at the car of their divisional commander whom they suspected of colluding with Boko Harām and it was reported that nine Nigerian generals were being investigated for suspected sale of weapons to Boko Harām.

Is Western Education a Sin?

The Wikipedia article cited above began by stating that the name “Boko Haram” is “usually translated as ‘Western education is a sin’”, but that translation of the name is not correct, according to a number of researchers into the Arabic and Hausa languages which are commonly spoken in Northern Nigeria among the Muslim population.  Two articles, which we reference below, clarify what has been a fair bit of confusion about the name and the initial inspiration for the organization.

From the article Who, What, Why: Exactly what does the phrase Boko Haram mean?, BBC News Magazine Monitor, 13 May 2014:

The official name of the Boko Haram group is actually “Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad”, which in Arabic means “People of the Sunnah (the practice and examples of the Prophet Muhammad’s life) for Preaching and Jihad Group”. (Emphasis added by the Editor)

But the Hausa-speaking residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters, dubbed it Boko Haram …

… and the name stuck in the media.

The word “haram” does mean “prohibited” or “sin” in Arabic.  But “boko” not only does not mean “western education”, it also is not an Arabic word.  It means “inauthentic” or “fake” in Hausa, according to Mohammed Kabir of the BBC’s Hausa Service (continuing from the BBC article):

The word’s evolution is bound up with colonialism. In 1903 the Sokoto caliphate, which ruled parts of what is now northern Nigeria, Niger and southern Cameroon, fell under British control. It led to anger among Muslims at the imposition of a non-Islamic education system.

The term “ilimin boko” was used to describe the kind of schooling the colonialists brought with them. Literally ilimi is education (an n is added when it appears as part of a phrase). So ilimin boko is fake education. The fakeness described the foreign form of education being imposed. And the foreigners involved were Western. So it can mean “Western education” in a pejorative sense. Over time the phrase ilimin boko became shortened to just boko. But everybody knows that it is shorthand, Kabir says. (from the article Who, What, Why: Exactly what does the phrase Boko Haram mean?, BBC News Magazine Monitor, 13 May 2014.)

Another article, titled “Boko Haram” doesn’t really mean “Western education is a sin”, by Christian Science Monitor staff writer Dan Murphy (http://www.csmonitor.com), concurs, referencing the research of Paul Newman, professor emeritus in linguistics at Indiana University and one of the world’s leading authorities on the Hausa language:

It turns out the Hausa language doesn’t have a four-letter word that means “Western education.”  It isn’t a mash-up or an acronym.  What it has is a word that came to be applied to a century-old British colonial education policy that many Hausa-speakers saw as an attempt, more-or-less, to colonize their minds.

Newman writes that “boko” has a variety of meanings focused around denoting “things or actions having to do with fraudulence, sham, or inauthenticity” or deception. He says [a] false linkage to the English word “book” was first made in a 1934 Hausa dictionary by a Western scholar that listed 11 meanings for the word – ten of them about fraudulent things and the final one asserting the connection to “book.”  An incorrect assertion, says Newman. …

Newman explains that when Britain’s colonial government began introducing its education system into Nigeria, seeking to replace traditional Islamic education (including replacing the Arabic script traditionally used to write Hausa with a Roman-based script that they also quickly called “boko”) , this was seen as a “fraudulent deception being imposed upon the Hausa by a conquering European force.”

Newman accepts (as can been in the passage above) that “boko” is reasonably associated with “Western education” in English translation today. But the actual resistance was to something being imposed by triumphant foreigners.  (from “Boko Haram” doesn’t really mean “Western education is a sin”, by staff writer Dan Murphy, http://www.csmonitor.com)

The Policy Breakfast and Panel on Boko Haram

 

This brings us to a Policy Breakfast that was held in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC on Wednesday, July 10, 2014.  Congressmember Karen Bass (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Africa Subcommittee in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been holding a serried of “Policy Breakfast” sessions in which Members of Congress, Senators, Ambassadors and other experts have discussed issues of importance to United States foreign policy relating to the Continent of Africa.  Congressmember Bass has been quite active in seeking to make information on current events in Africa known and understood to the concerned public, specifically human rights organizations and advocates for Africa.  Of course, any panel discussion or hearing on Africa that is sponsored in the halls of the US government will be heavily influenced by US foreign policy objectives and not necessarily on the struggle for the liberation, independence and empowerment of African people, but these Policy Breakfast events are useful in that they allow one to learn more about what is happening on the ground on the Continent as well as what the plans are of the United States and its allies in Africa.  Even if one sees the entire perspective of the United States as dedicated to the exploitation of the Mother Continent, sessions such as this one allow us to better understand what the US plans to do in Africa, what other actors are doing positively or negatively, and what the various organizations in the NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) community think, feel and are planning in response.

Instability in Northern Nigeria and the Ongoing Threat of Boko Haram House Subcommittee on Africa Policy Breakfast

Hosted by the Office of Ranking Member Karen Bass, House Africa Subcommittee

With co-hosts Rep. Eliot Engel, Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee; Sen. Chris Coons, Chairman of Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs; Rep. Chris Smith, Chairman of House Africa Subcommittee 

The Politicians Speak

First was perhaps the most senior current member and the “Dean” of the House of Representatives, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY).  “When sometimes I’m so disappointed in the way the world has treated Africa, and I look and see the progress that’s been made, and I think that only a few hundred years ago, where Africa was in the world, and to see what is happening now, I think all of you, all, of us, certainly in the broad term of history, can say that we were pioneers almost, in bringing about the changes in a situation that should never have existed.  And so Karen, I take great pride in the fact that, even though at my age I think it’s really late that we got started, in terms of how old we are as a nation and how great Africa has and will continue to be, that we may even consider ourselves a pioneers in restoring the justice and equity that the countries in Africa deserve.”

Congressmember Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) also spoke.  “Nigeria is such an important country.  It has the strongest economy in all of Africa.  Its population is over half that of the United States and its resources are tremendously rich in oil and other natural resources.  And I’m so distressed about what is happening with the 200 girls and the violence with Boko Haram.  And I really feel that we should be doing a Marshall Plan for Nigeria.  I think that one of the best ways we’ve ever spent money was the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe which is now a strong trading partner and a strong, strong democracies throughout Europe.  We need the same attention to Africa and a good place to start would be Nigeria, the most successful economy.  To me it’s troubling beyond belief that a terrorist organization has such sway there that 200 innocent young girls, although some were able to escape, are bring held in captivity.  That the president has said ‘we know where they are, but we can’t get them out because of Boko Haram.’  We have Special Forces over there, but every single nation in this world should be showing their concern to give stability to Nigeria; a country that cannot support and protect innocent little girls needs a lot of help.  And I think that not only America but all of us should be there and I think we should be calling for a Marshall Plan for Nigeria, starting with getting the girls out, and back home.

Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-CA, recently appointed by Congress and President Obama to represent the house in the United Nations): “Congressmember Bass is doing a fantastic job as our Ranking Member on the Subcommittee for Africa. … taken this Subcommittee to the next level and really has made Africa a very central focus of our foreign policy, and that is extremely important in this day and time, given what has taken place, not only in Nigeria but throughout the continent. … We have got to keep a focus… on these girls and bring these girls back. … Who knows how they’re being treated. … We know that they are at risk of violence and we need to insist that … the government of Nigeria along with our government and the entire world community keep a focus and do everything within our power to find these girls and to being them home.  This is the least we can do.  We know that Boko Haram is an organization that has killed thousands of people over the last few years and we’ve not had a real priority and focus on going after them like we do other groups, and I think we have to rev this up a bit.  Insist that the press continue to focus on it.  Insist that we here on the Hill continue to focus on these young girls and the families. … I think we really need to figure out a way to help these girls and the families. … There’s so much work that we need to do.  Finally … as we move … into this century, we need to remember that the continent of Africa is an equal partner with the United States.  Whether it be trade, aid, addressing HIV and AIDS, poverty elimination, whatever the issues are, we have to make sure that this partnership not only comes together in a respectful way, but that it grows.  And that it develops so that the continent of Africa and the people of Africa can really achieve the great, great, great potential that we know that it has. 

Congressmember Mark Meadows (R-NC) of the Africa Subcommittee: “I’ve traveled to the Continent of Africa a number of times and until you see up close and personal, the issues and struggles that many communities face, it really doesn’t touch you personally. … my objective is to take the issues that so many of us deal with in Africa, bring them back to the United States where people, whether it’s in California, or New York, or North Carolina, can feel that. …”

Congressmember David Cicilline (D-RI): “Karen has used this Breakfast Series to really elevate the importance of Africa in our foreign policy, the importance of Africa to the world … really leading the effort to be sure that that information is shared not only with her colleagues but with the broader public and particularly here in Washington through this series.

Congressmember Gregory Meeks (D-NY) was introduced but did not make a statement.

Also present were a group referred to as the Young African Leaders at Howard University.  They were briefly recognized.

PANEL DISCUSSION

 

The Moderator of the Panel Discussion was Ambassador (Retired) Robin Sanders, former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Founder and CEO of the FEEEDS Advocacy Initiative and owns FE3DS, LLC, both of which work on economic development, human rights and business strategies for Africa.  Prior to that, she served as the US Ambassador to Nigeria (2007-2010), Republic of Congo (2002-2005), and US Permanent Representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).  (from the event Program)

Before starting the panel discussion featuring her two guests, Ms. Sanders recognized the African Diplomatic Corps, which included Ambassadors from Rwanda, Chad and Niger, as well as the Charge d’Affaires from Zimbabwe.  She then introduced the two guest panelists: Ambassador Adebowale Adefuye of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Ambassador Robert P. Jackson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, US Department of State.

Ambassador Adebowale Adefuye has served as Nigeria’s representative to the United States since March of 2010.  He previously served as envoy to both Jamaica and the United Kingdom.  He has also worked as an advisor to ECOWAS from 2008 to 2010.  He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Ibadan.  (from the event Program)

Ambassador Robert P. Jackson became Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs in October of 2013.  He most recently served as Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon.  His previous assignments include posting s as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires in Dakar, Senegal, and Director of the Office for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy at the Department of State in Washington, DC.

Ms. Sanders started with what she described as a  a “scene setter”: “We all know that Boko Haram has reached about 60,000 square kilometers of territory in Nigeria.  To give you a US analogy, it’s about the size of the state of Georgia or the size of the state of Wisconsin.  So when you think about it, that’s a lot of territory.  We’re looking at a lot of internally displaced people … about 3.3 million in that 60,000 square kilometer area, or those that have moved out of the area completely.  If you’re following the news, of course you’ve heard about the missing 247 girls, but prior to that even, there were horrendous attacks on villages throughout northeastern Nigeria and in other places.  I know you’ve heard about the bombings that have happened in Abuja, Kano, and Kaduna, with the most recent one in the heart of the capital … so we know that they not only have influence in the northeast but they have reached, either through sleeper cells or direct contact in the heart of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.  The kidnapping of young girls is not limited to that.  We also know that they burn and rout villages.  They kidnap young boys for recruitment and for training.  And so what they’re doing, really, is devastating the North.  There are food security issues because villages and commercial areas have dried up.  So we’re looking at a number of challenges here.  Security as well as humanitarian issues that we all need to take into account.  One of the things I want to ensure that we talk about today is the human factor.  What’s happening to the girls that have returned.  How they’re being supported through training and grief counseling, particularly for their families and for those who have returned.  We’re also going to hear a little this morning about the rise of the vigilante groups.  There were groups that have come up in villages that have filled in the security vacuum there in some of the areas of northeastern Nigeria.  We know that recently one of the leaders of the vigilante groups has been captured and claims that one of the things he did was actually to be a scout for Boko Haram as opposed to protecting village areas … so we’re going to be looking at a range of issues this morning.”

Ms. Sanders asked her first question to Ambassador Adefuye: “Looking at the area where Boko Haram’s current reach is, what is the perspective of the Nigerian government on what is being done to draw back Boko Haram?”

According to Ambassador Adefuye, the Nigerian government feels “excessively unfairly treated by the media” in the US, which insists on emphasizing the negatives of what is happening there.  Yes, the situation with the abduction of the girls from Chibok is bad, he said, but there is more to Nigeria than that.  “Every single thing a responsible government should have done, we have done it.  Either to contain Boko Haram or to prevent them from getting to the capital.  They have been confined to three states of the six where they have been found.  Acts of violence are being contained.  We know where the girls are, but we need to get them out safely.  These things are complicated.”  He noted the complications for the US in rescuing the hostages in Iran in the late 1970’s.  Boko Haram started as a local group pressing local demands.  The global Al Qaida movement brought them in and gave them support.  “90% are not Nigerian nationals.  They are people who came from outside.”  Because of ECOWAS protocols, there is free movement from Chad, Niger and Cameroon.  “As far as we are concerned, we are doing the best we can.  I challenge anyone to say … what ought to have been done by Nigeria that we did not do.”

Ms. Sanders then asked Ambassador Jackson, “What things should we be doing more of to stem the tide of Boko Haram, in terms of freeing the girls and protecting civilians more?”

Ambassador Jackson replied, “The problem of Boko Haram is not new and the roots run deep.”  The group became violent in 2009 but originally lodged “legitimate complaints about corruption and a feeling of political disenfranchisement, and when it turned violent it built off those complaints.  But let’s be clear, its philosophy is abhorrent and its methods are even more abhorrent.  It has killed Muslims and Christians.  It has kidnapped Muslims and Christians.  Soldiers and civilians.  Africans and non Africans.  This year the conflict has claimed thousands of lives on top of the thousands who perished in prior years.  Among other crimes, Boko Haram has conducted deadly assaults on villages in Northeastern Nigeria, and that happens on a regular basis, and we have seen some villages repeatedly victimized like the area around Chibok where the school girls were taken prisoner.  We are also seeing bombings in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguri and elsewhere, and attacks have now spread into neighboring Cameroon.  We see Boko Haram seeking support and refuge inn neighboring countries.”  After the schoolgirls were captured, the United States deployed an interagency team to Abuja to help with recovery efforts, including unmanned aerial surveillance on the girls’ whereabouts, and it is regularly refining that information.  The girls are currently being held in the Sambisi Forest, but that forest is about the size of the state of Maryland.  Also, hundreds of other women & children have been kidnapped.  They are trying to help returned kidnappees to re-integrate into their communities.  And there have been more kidnappings of Muslims, Christians and foreigners.  The US is working to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and economy, which is an economic powerhouse in Africa, to promote free, fair and peaceful elections next year, and to assist it in defeating Boko Haram, but that it also addresses the issues of corruption and “political disenfranchisement complaints that Boko Haram feeds on.  We are doing what we can, but … even our own country would have great difficulty launching an operation to rescue over 200 girls.  We need to be realistic about what can be done in the short term.  This is going to require a lot of intelligence, a lot of planning, and we are cooperating with the Nigerian government to make that happen.”

Ms. Sanders followed up: “What is happening on the regional side?  Are some of the girls in neighboring countries now?”

Ambassador Jackson: In may France hosted a summit with Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria and they agreed on a set of principles with regard to enhancing cooperation on the borders, an intelligence center in Abuja and military cooperation in border regions.  “We don’t think the girls have left Nigeria. Cameroon has deployed 3000 troops on its border and has engaged and killed scores if not hundreds of Boko Haram over the last several weeks. Niger and Chad (working through the Lake Chad Basin Commission) are partnering with Nigeria to exchange real time information about movements they are seeing and we are working with them to coordinate more effectively.  What we are doing, we provide US $700 million in assistance to Nigeria this year, the largest assistance budget to any country in Sub Saharan Africa.  It’s multi faceted.  It includes food aid, counseling, military training and assistance, screening Nigerian military units we work with” to make sure they are not human rights violators.  The assistance includes “counter-terrorist activities, education for girls in Northern Nigeria because we see this as a need that Boko Haram has fed upon, a health program that includes a vaccination program, and help to displaced people, including those in the area, like from Northern Cameroon.”

There have also been questions about the activities of the Nigerian military forces, as well as antiquated bomb detection equipment.  Ms. Sanders asked Ambassador Adefuye, “What are you doing to address those challenges?”

Ambassador Adefuye repeated his expression of gratitude to a number of US officials.  He continued, “Our armed forces are not perfect.  We are not familiar with the issue of terrorism.  Our security forces have been very influential in getting democracy restored in various theaters in Africa, but we were not prepared for the extent of the challenges” from what was a local group pressing local demands but is now a West African branch of Al Qaida.  “We have 170 million people.  1 of 6 Africans is a Nigerian.  One of 10 Africans in the world is a Nigerian.  This is a very complex issue.  We appreciate the help from the US.  If Boko Haram succeeds, the rest of Africa is in danger.”  This is a “part of a worldwide Al Qaida movement.  We cannot solve that problem within such a short time.  We have done much, from homekeeping to removing incompetent officials.”  One thing has been overlooked—the domestic factor in the Boko Haram crisis.  Elections will be held next year.  The 2011 elections were called the most peaceful, best organized by the US.  “Some of those who lost said they would make Nigeria difficult to govern for [Nigerian President] Goodluck Jonathan. … these people are very happy and are using this as leverage against Jonathan.”  As for what has been perceived as a lack of transparency about Nigerian government actions, “You cannot launch covert action and rush to the press to announce it.  We are doing the best we can (to deal with Boko Haram), to reform our country, to organize our forces.” … Because of the Boko Haram threat, “Nigeria is in danger, the whole of Africa is in danger, the Western World is in danger.  And so we will join hands together to deal with this problem, and we are going to be successful.”

On the question of the vigilante groups who have occasionally turned aggressive against their own people as the Anti-Balaka (a vigilante group that was supposed to protect villages from the attacks of Seleka militias) did in Central African Republic, and the status of cooperation between Nigeria and its neighbors?

Ambassador Jackson: The State Department has created a stand alone Nigeria unit, the Nigeria Policy and Operations Group for the next year, to concentrate on Boko Haram and the Nigerian elections, also to deal with corruption in Nigeria as well.  The Leahy Amendment is designed to make sure the US does not train units that are violating human rights.  There are many Nigerian units that we can work well with.  Those who are violators are entered in a database.  This enhances the partnership.  “We’ve talked about the vigilante groups.  They are mainly village groups as far as we can tell.  They are still getting organized.  It’s important that they do not try to take on the broad mission that the security forces are pursuing.” 

Ambassador Adefuye: “On the issue of human rights, my problem with the Western based human rights groups is the source of the information and the nature of the activities.  There is too much advocacy for the human rights of Boko Haram and not enough for the victims of Boko Haram.  It is very difficult to deal with human rights violations in a state of emergency.  We did not remove democracy or create any extrajudicial institutions in dealing with Boko Haram.  We deal with them according to our laws which respect human rights.  The national newspapers are also owned by the main opposition to Goodluck Jonathan.  Meanwhile, those who were jailed for being related in some way to Boko Haram suspects were released.  We are not perfect; just that there is too much emphasis on the negative and ignoring the positive.  As for cooperation with our neighbors, we virtually founded ECOWAS. Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad meet to patrol and secure the borders.  Vigilante groups are arising when the villagers get together to protect themselves as opposed to waiting for the national police.  They are being trained and act as a local arm of the police; we are working to make sure that their activities are structured so that they are not a source of human rights violations.”

At this point, Congresswoman Fredericka Wilson (D-FL) from Miami, Florida was recognized and given a few moments top speak about her experience during her recent visit to Nigeria.  “When I began to read about Boko Haram in the paper, I was astonished because no one was saying anything.  I called Rep. Bass.  I authored a resolution condemning Boko Haram.  Ultimately … it went to the floor [of the House of Representatives] … where it passed 411-2.  Within days the Foreign Affairs Committee asked me if I wanted to go to Nigeria. … I went to Nigeria with 3 other Congresspeople, Steve Stockman (R-TX), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and Lois Frankel (D-FL).  What we saw was unbelievable.  I had the opportunity to meet victims who had escaped and their parents.  The first victim I met had a deep cut in her throat where Boko Haram had tried to decapitate her.  Her husband, who was a police officer, had been decapitated and they had placed his head next to her.  As she screamed with these wounds on her neck, they cut up her arms and ran. … When Boko Haram had kidnapped the girls, they had been looking for the boys to kidnap them and train them to be Boko Haram members. … Since there were no boys there they took the girls, who had been studying.  These girls were very smart; some were able to trick Boko Haram and sneak away.”  One Boko Haram man who attempted to rape one of the girls stopped when she screamed that she was on her period.  This shocked him “and she said ‘I ran and I ran and I ran until I had no life in me’. … The fathers were crying because people in the meeting were saying ‘we will probably never find these girls’,” which only traumatized the parents even more.  “I met with the Bring Back Our Girls coalition which tweeted every day and met every day across the street from our hotel; lawyers, all kinds of people who are leaders in Nigeria.”  As they met sometimes they were harassed by police and beaten.  “The next day they were back.  They asked me to help them keep this in the news and the headlines. … We’re asking you today to become members in our Tweet War. … And I don’t even want to hear that they can’t find these girls.  They can do anything they want to do.  And if you can put a man on the moon and you find bin Laden, you can find these girls and bring them out. … We cannot let these girls down, and we cannot let this leave the headlines and we cannot let these parents down.”

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) started the next round of questions, which now came from the audience.  “What is Nigeria doing to reach out to the tribal leaders and the population in the North that has some sympathy for Boko Haram?  What about the Muslim countries in Africa and the other leaders in Africa to protect the people of their country and their continent?  Boko Haram is likelier to listen to African leaders who have supported them in the past.”

Ambassador Adefuye: “The leaders of authentic Islam have disassociated themselves from Boko Haram. … The leaders of the Muslim community in Nigeria have said that Boko Haram is not Islam.  There is hardly any authentic Muslim who [supports] what Boko Haram is doing. … They kill Muslims, they kill Christians.  There have been meetings at ECOWAS and the AU that have condemned Boko Haram. … Every African country has condemned Boko Haram.  Boko Haram is an international nuisance, West African branch of Al Qaida.  No authentic Muslim would support Boko Haram.”

Comments from the audience included statements that African countries have assisted with the effort and not just the West; several people who agreed with Rep. Maloney that a Marshall Plan for Nigeria is needed but one is also needed for Africa and to concentrate on Boko Haram; and a query as to what steps have been taken to engage Nigerian Muslim scholars and to protect Muslim scholars.

Ambassador Adefuye: “We have made it a point to include Muslims and Muslim scholars especially.  Most of those in the lead of the struggle against Boko Haram are Muslims.  Boko Haram kills Muslims who resist them as well as non-Muslims.”

More questions included: Does Nigeria feel that it is in a precarious position being accused of human tights violations when dealing with terrorists who violate human rights? and, How can the Nigerian government be intolerant toward gays and lesbians and then want Boko Haram to be tolerant toward others?

Ambassador Adefuye: On the human rights tightrope they must walk, “Yes, we feel we are between a rock and a hard place when we use necessary force to  attack Boko Haram and then we are accused of violating human rights.  There is a Nigerian proverb, When the fly bites the man, there is no issue.  When the man bites the fly, people start talking. … On gay rights, this is not an issue.  Some want an opportunity to be seen as martyrs.  It is not an issue!  Homosexuality is a way of life in Nigeria.  It’s a part of the culture.  It may be an issue here, but in Nigeria it’s not an issue.”

Still more questions included: How would you suggest sorting out rumors from fact and what measures are in place to help do this?  Also, one audience member questioned the Nigerian government’s inaction on several initiatives and intelligence geared toward fighting Boko Haram.

Ambassador Jackson answered the first comment: “We make every effort to use the best information.  There are opportunities to give feedback on the information.  The Leahy Amendment [reviews] and approves Nigerian military units and police units to receive US military training and equipment.  In 2012, the last year for which we have figures, over 85% were approved.  That does not mean the other 15% had committed violations; only that we still had some questions regarding their eligibility to receive the training and assistance.”

Ambassador Adefuye: “On the information that was or was not acted on–give me evidence.  Not just ‘someone told me.’  There are many attempted bombings that have been prevented.  For every bombing, there were 10 or more that were prevented.  You have to assess information and evidence before you accept it as evidence.”

This audience was clearly invested in this issue and the people were not shy about asking questions. How have the inter-agency teams helped?  What are the specific measures to stop the movement of Boko Haram from one country to another?  What is it that Nigeria is going to do to restore faith in the government for its citizens, bring back the girls and protect the citizens?  And, What advice do you have for those who will be traveling to Nigeria in the near future?

Ambassador Jackson: “Inter-agency teams have provided counter-terrorism assistance including training on detection of bombs, basic forensics, post-blast investigations and crisis management. Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger have all sent additional troops to the border; Cameroon has sent the most and has engaged Boko Haram successfully.

Ambassador Adefuye: On the question of travel, even with Boko Haram here, “travel has not ceased. … You only have to go to Nigeria once. … Then you will realize that [much of the security concern] is exaggerated.  There is a lot of money, a lot of investments to be made.”  On restoring faith, “we are doing the best we can.  Because of 9-11, no one lost faith in the US.”

More questions from the audience included: Who is Boko Haram?  How many people?  Are they an effective fighting force?  Where are they getting their weapons? Nigeria doesn’t manufacture any weapons. Cameroon doesn’t manufacture any weapons.  Yet Boko Haram has weapons that some are saying is superior to the Nigerian military.  So where did their weapons come from?

Ambassador Jackson: “In terms of numbers, I don’t think anyone knows the exact size of Boko Haram.  It’s in the thousands by our estimates, led by Abubacar Shakar, and the weapons are coming primarily from Libya, but because of bank robberies in Nigeria the Boko Haram members have been able to purchase weapons and bomb making materials and where they procure them is where other people procure them.  But a lot of the weaponry has come from Libya.”

Ambassador Adefuye: Boko Haram started a long time ago.  “Problems of Boko Haram were started by previous governments and not by Goodluck Jonathan.”  On the issue of equipment, “it has been said it comes from overseas.  And after the collapse of [Libyan President Muammar] Gaddafi, you saw what has happened in Mali, and then from there they came to Nigeria.  On elections, we conducted a very successful election in 2011.”  A commission that monitors transparency has been involved “and we have been giving them maximum cooperation. … The 2015 elections will be better than 2011.”  People have been talking to Boko Haram and through Muslim scholars.  Boko Haram exists in factions, and “no single person has come out and said I am Boko Haram.  Even despite that we have tried to contact them through third parties.”

The last few questions seemed to get just a little bit hotter. 

Salih Booker, a longtime activist in African affairs and onetime CEO of Africa Action, asked a pointed question to Ambassador Jackson, who heretofore had been spared the more contentious comments.  Noting Ambassador Jackson’s earlier reference to 85% of the Nigerian forces being approved for training and assistance (with the implication that 15% were ineligible), he pressed the Ambassador on President Obama’s requested waiver of the Leahy Amendment.  “What is the rationale for this, given that the death of the Boko Haram founder [Mohammed Yusuf] in Nigerian police custody is seen as the trigger for the increase in violence?”

Ambassador Jackson responded: “We did not say 15% of the security forces were ineligible, only that they had not been approved.  The waiver would allow the provision of assistance by the Department of Defense notwithstanding other issues, subject to congressional notification.  That does not apply to the State Department.”  On efforts to strengthen the interfaith connections and opportunities for business in Nigeria, Ambassador Jackson said this: “As for interfaith relations, we’ve been meeting with religious leaders to improve outreach to Christian and Muslim communities in Nigeria.  There are opportunities for businesses.  There are travel warnings, but there opportunities for business and an active commercial section that can give advice.”

More questions from the audience: What is the Nigerian government doing to diffuse the belief that there are government officials behind Boko Haram?  What would you say to private sector interests looking to do business in Northern Nigeria and to deal with security issues?  And, as if the questioning had to end on a more contentious note, one audience member asked, Are we facing the beginning of a failed state in Nigeria?

Ambassador Adefuye had been taking the more difficult questions for most of the day, perhaps because of the perception that corruption is so widespread in Nigeria that his statements seemed defensive to some in the audience.  Still, he answered every question, even this last one, to which he had a visceral reaction.  On the question of becoming a failed state, “When a government is having a security problem it does not mean it’s a failed state.”  The primary area where the Nigerian government is having the most difficulty dealing with Boko Haram is in “three states out of 26.  Please, come on.”  On government officials being implicated in complicity with Boko Haram, “You always find some people who are trying to take advantage of the situation.  Some people even in the government are trying to take advantage of the situation.”  On private sector, “the good news is that Boko Haram has failed to disrupt private investment in Nigeria.  You only have to go there once, and you will keep coming back.  There are many American investors there.  Boko Haram has failed to disrupt investment there. … We have become the largest economy in Africa, and the 26^th largest economy in the world.  That is not a characteristic of a failed state, my friend.  Please.”

With that, Ms. Sanders thanked the two panelists, the session came to a close, and a few of the members of the audience spoke personally to the Ambassadors. 

I asked Ambassador Jackson after the discussion about the weapons from Libya and when this occurred.  He stated that this happened “over the last two years, after the fall of Gadaffi.”  I asked him if this may be interpreted as an indication of blowback, and he said “I wouldn’t say blowback, but it was a consequence.”  When looking up the definition of “blowback” later, the first two words used are “unintended consequences”.  The NATO-led, US-backed attack on Libya, in which missile strikes in Tripoli sent President Gaddafi on the run, another missile strike in his hometown of Sirte flushed him from his “hiding place” and a third missile strike crippled his convoy and left him defenseless, directly caused his brutal assassination at the hands of Libyan rebels.  This was done not when Libya was a reputed supporter of terrorism, but after President Gaddafi had renounced terrorism, apologized for his role in fostering it, compensated some of the victims of those Libyans who had committed terrorist acts, and offered to assist NATO in keeping Al Qaida and their affiliated groups out of North Africa.  The results of that campaign are now clear: the US Embassy in Benghazi was bombed a year later, killing the Ambassador and three others; Islamist militant groups began to proliferate in Mali, destroying Afrikan monuments; the Seleka waged a reign of terror in the Central African Republic; and now Boko Haram has come across a cache of weapons that allowed it to intensify its resistance movement into a bloody campaign of terror in Northern Nigeria.  The only way in which this would not be seen as “blowback” is because the term technically denotes “unintended consequences of a covert operation that are suffered by the aggressor.”  In this case, the “action” (the war on Libya) was not “covert” and the “consequences” were not suffered by the “aggressor”.  Thus, the Boko Haram crisis may not be “blowback” from the war on Libya, but they certainly were an “unintended consequence”, which only means that Nigeria can thank the United States for much of what it is suffering today.