The Root Cause Of Boko Haram And Other Insurgent Groups In Nigeria

By Taiwo Adetiloye

Boko Haram (B-H) is predominant in the North Eastern part of Nigeria in states like Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. They have in the last half a decade or so, become the most dangerous insurgent group that Nigerians have witnessed. There fundamental ideology is “Western education is forbidden”. They are known to destructively attack churches, mosques, schools, police stations and government, private and public owned facilities with a kind of guerilla warfare tactics.
In this writing, attempt is made to use the Five W’s and one H questions whose answers are considered basic in information-gathering to identify the root cause of B-H and other minor insurgent groups in Nigeria. It is hope that it will assist the relevant organs of the Nigeria government, in particular our security agencies and other concerned citizens of the world to salvage the situation before it becomes absolutely late. The author of this writing has no connection whatsoever with any notorious groups and like any concerned citizens of the world only deems it fit to air his views.
So we begin:
Part 1:
Who is B-H?
From the earlier introduction, it can be simply put that Boko Haram is an insurgent terrorist organization that belong to a much larger terrorist network. In a broader definition, Boko Haram can be said to be an individual be it a part of government or otherwise that is insensitive to the plight of the common man and possesses the weaponry to inflict hardships on the populace. The broader definition is a paraphrase of the statement by the current Nigeria President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ), who once clearly stated that B-H are also in the Nigeria government including his cabinet.
What has B-H caused Nigeria?
B-H have claimed responsibilities for over a thousand deaths of mostly Nigerians. The terror group have also caused damages going into millions worth of properties, the aftermath which are severe economic losses and lives lost.
Why B-H?
It is relatively easy to say that B-H believe that western education is forbidden. However, a critical look at the “Why B-H?” question with perhaps the 5-why technique can be juxtaposed with the analogy of a man who goes to the supermarket to buy some tomatoes for his night meal. He assumedly trust the new salesman so well to do what is right that he just paid for his tomatoes and left. On getting home, he discovered that the tomatoes were all in near rotten state. He, then, hurriedly went back to the store to make a complaint and ask for refund. Alas, the salesman denied his tomatoes were rotten and even swore and, of course, he refused to give him back his money. Supposedly while all these was going on, there stood a policeman who witnessed the best part of the events, but had been bribed and weakened to the extent that he can only compromise or subvert justice in favor of the salesman such that at the end of the ding dong arguments between the two and the seemly partial security agent, the man left in sadness.
Before I conclude the “why B-H?”, I like to draw attention to the fact that a few developed countries of the world like Canada, Japan and Singapore with well-established rule of law do not have terror groups. In these countries, elections are free, fair and credible with elections results released within hours after their citizens’ votes. In Nigeria, the opposite is the case and not to talk of how much guts the ruling party and the sitting president have to wage their way and retain power by  rigging elections using sinister manipulative means.
Part 2: The root cause of Boko Haram and other Insurgent groups in Nigeria.
When did B-H come about?
When there exist wide gap between the rich and the poor, there comes a breaking-point where there is bound to be a class conflict that materializes in various forms of revolution such as  the Arab spring, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Biafra and others. It can be said that whenever the rich man living inside his mansion peeps out his glass window, he sees the poor man living outdoors. The poor man looks up and wish he could at least have a small shelter, get if possible one meal a day and have a cloth from the rich man. On the other hand, the singular wish of the rich man is never to lose his wealth and become a pauper. It is reasonable then to have something close to a mid-point between these two desires such that neither have to worry about the other.
In Nigeria, the case has been years of economic stagnation in a country blessed with great natural resources enough to cater for everyone but for which few elites preposterously accrued to themselves and their cronies the wealth of the nation. There are so many examples to garner from the history of Nigeria since independence on the elitist lifestyles of most Nigerian leaders from past till present. The gravities of their doings have brought the nation to its present horrific status quo where B-H is now a big issue to chew. The worrisome part is the insensitivity of the current ruling government to the plight of the common man and its failure to learn from history.
When people begin to build great walls around their homes then it a first augury of what not to come next. So what else can be said when the Abacha family stole over $550 million and the federal government (FG) under President GEJ rubbed their shoulders and shook their hands with a centenary award? What can be said when a Stella Oduah as an aviation minister walked free after she lied about her certificate aside the revelation of purchasing expensive bullet proof cars not in her ministry’s allocated budget while during her period the aviation sector became a death-trap? What else can be as unfair as when our political office holders in the senate are the highest paid people’s representative in the world? What else ought to be said when a presidential spokesman in person of Dr. Doyin Okupe, a man who never experienced hardship in his entire life, goes public at the slightest opportunity to polish the image of the president with misleading statements such as over one-million invisible and unverifiable jobs that have been created since inception?
What happens when the coordinating and finance minister, Dr. Ngozi Iweala, a Harvard trained economist that has worked with the World Bank goes to a youth gathering at UK Ted-Ex to do an “I go chop your money” dance parade ridiculing her nation in front of the global community? This woman even oversimplified the pronouncements of the World Bank that Nigeria stands amongst the extremely poor nations of the world; for an oil rich nation where over 80% sleep in total night darkness and many result to buying expensive gasoline to fuel their air-polluting generators? What ensues when government officials incapable of governance fail to honorably tender their resignations all for the sake of greed? What else can surface when the President has a fleet of over 10 planes that run on tax payers’ money? What follows when a Petroleum minister, Alison Madueke, spent N10 billion on private jets for foreign trip extravaganzas while there are no satisfactorily performing refineries to boast?
And, what about when the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) together with the Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) can be better said to have been cleverly substituted by the efforts of the FG at carpeting corruptions amidst the insensitive and corrupt presidential cabinet? The believers can help expand their prayers to God to save Nigeria from the Government B-H plus the ones hiding in the Country’s North-east forests and hills.