Causes, Effects and Solution to Boko-Haram and Kidnapping in Nigeria

Two futures for Africa are possible-one with a democratic and stable Nigeria, and one with a Nigeria stricken by autocratic rule, corruption, and intermittent coups. An entire continent awaits the result of the Nigerian experiment with democracy. Nigeria has the resources and can provide leadership to foster greater regional and international cooperation, leadership that many of Nigeria's neighbors need. A successful Nigerian democracy would provide hope for many of Africa's other burgeoning democracies.

War was inevitable: ‘This simple and seemingly innocuous action broke the last thread and split the last institution symbolizing Nigeria's nationhood and cohesion which had been regularly tampered with by the politicians since 1962. The rift between the Eastern Region and the rest of the country was total’ (ibid). In a meeting convened in Aburi, Ghana, by Ghanaian general Gen. Ankrah, leader of the eastern region military Lt. Col. Ojukwu understood the real issues at hand and convinced attendees that the only way for Nigeria to stay together is that it has to break apart, effectively implying secession. After a breakdown in communication, a frustrated federal government passes Decree no. 8 of 17th March 1967, which split Nigeria’s regions into twelve states. This was seen by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon as a pre-emptive, non-violence weapon against the east. The eastern region was split into 3 states. Lt. Col. Ojukwu unsurprisingly rejected Decree no. 8 and states that the Enugu, (capital of Nigeria’s eastern region) is headed for secession. On the 30th of May 1967, the eastern region of Nigeria declares itself as the independent sovereign state of Biafra. The Federal military fired the first bullet on the 6th of July 1967. Now this essay will turn to providing a background to the development of Realism as an analytical theory of International Relations.

The Boko Haram sect in Nigeria has been a huge problem for the country in the past, and the threat is only growing. This group is considered responsible for a handful of government attacks, targets on the United Nations, and often churches who undermine the Islamic religion. Their actions have spawned from the idea that their country is controlled by “fake Muslims”, and aim to create an Islamic nation ruled with Sharia law.

Different sources have different causes of what they say was the motivation for Boko Haram’s attacks. Some sources say it was the killing of their leader in 2009 and some even say that the it was due to global warming within that country, but whatever it is, it is a big problem not only for the Islamic states but all of the other countries of the world. Their different attacks seem to show what the source of this motivation was. The group is very hard to understand in terms of their overall motivation because there is so little known information about them. Information in general is hard to come by from Nigeria. Police officers and city officials so corrupt that they give the citizens little to no information as to what is going on (Walker, 2012, p. 7). They are too motivated by their own selfish goals. The Boko Haram group itself has given no really helpful information as it has denied bombings and other terroristic activities.

Affirmation of Somaliland is crucial because the encouragement of African action should not become the basis for inaction on the part of the United States. Jendayi Frazer, in her report on “Somaliland: Time for African Union Leadership,” states that the United States would recognize Somaliland if the others acted first. But Somaliland deserves recognition from a purely U.S.-centric national security perspective. The United States has always stood to protect the values that it was founded upon. Somaliland, in its entirety fits this impression. The Somaliland government and population embody a moderate voice in the Muslim world that rejects radical interpretations of Islam, including that espoused by the Council of Somali Islamic Courts currently in control. It would serve as a bulwark against the further expansion of radical ideologies in the Horn of Africa by offering a brilliant case of how

With a long history of violence, rebellion, and chaos, the African country of Somalia now seeks guidance. The country’s violent past started when military forces overthrew the last democratically elected government in October 1969, about 37 years ago. Military rule undermined, and ultimately destroyed the country. The military regime divided citizens into allies and enemies, and rewarded its allies while it punished whole communities. Life conditions in Somalia became so unbearable that the President Bush, Sr. was forced to act, and ordered thousands of American troops to enter Somalia in order to open the roads so that emergency food aid could be urgently delivered to the citizens.

This article is about the mistreatment of people fleeing from Boko Haram who thought that the Nigerian soldiers would save them. As hundreds flee from Boko Haram claimed territories, Nigerian soldiers are picking them up and holding them as prisoners in detention centers, claiming to be trying to protect others from extremist claiming to be victims. This has lead to some accusations of mistreatment because these detention centers are holding men, women, and infants for months on end in unsanitary and unsafe areas. The article then explains that the Nigerian government and army are being accused of being too extreme in its persistence and ways of trying to eliminate Boko Haram. While Nigeria is struggling to handle the threat that is Boko Haram,

Internally, the U.N. leadership charged with handling peacekeeping operations did not have enough time to setup and receive proper instruction as to the events transpiring in Somalia. Second, the manner with which the U.N. planned to continue U.S. operations did not align with the actions taken by their predecessors. “Such changes of leadership, tradition, doctrine, personal chemistry, operating procedures, policy instincts, and bureaucratic systems were bound to disrupt the effectiveness and credibility of the military presence” (Crocker, 1995). Aside from operational failures by the UN and US in Somalia as a part of UNOSOM II, Richard K. Betts explains well another key reason why failure was imminent. In his article “The Delusion of Impartial Intervention”, he says that foreign nations can’t just provide military assistance in terms of a peacekeeping effort, because when the fight is “over” what is to say further uprising will not continue (Betts, 1994). Avoiding a lack-luster strategy of neutrality in times of conflict, he advocates for decisive action on behalf of a favored organization. In the case of UNOSOM II, coalition forces should have worked harder to politically intervene. By not rebuilding a political structure in Somalia, a vacuum of power continued to exist, resulting in a continuous oligarchy dominated by the

Somalian transitional Government is not only needs strong national army that able to provide security to its nation, but also protect the country from external threats to sustain peace. The crumbled public institutions need to be reconstruct and replenished by the public servant, which is impracticable without having security force that could protect these institutions. On top of that, the humanitarian crises miserably harm the Somalian people since inoperability of the environment for the NGO’s and other aid institutions is extremely unfavorable. Failure to stand as a State and instant economic backlash virtually put the country in a condition that it can do nothing without the support of the international community. The meager self-help effort is unreliable and the uncertainty of the situation and the fragile peace shadowed the Somalian presidential election. The current positive action could produce little hope that might quickly degraded and let situation entering in to a vicious cycle if the TGS could not perpetuate peace in Somalia. On the other hand, al-Shabaab’s movement in the region is tactically irregular and sporadic suicidal attack that could develop to a high social and political impact in the region. Anti-American sentiment in Somalia is also one of the challenge that could exacerbate the situation that more US involvement will likely to increase

In Kathy Gilsinan’s With World Focused on Boko Haram, al-Shabaab Steps Up Offensive (http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/13841/with-world-focused-on-boko-haram-al-shabaab-steps-up-offensive), the topic of al-Shabaab’s legitimacy and terror is discussed. As Boko Haram (another terrorist organization in Africa) has begin inflicting fear through the abduction of schoolgirls and other acts of terror, al-Shabaab has began to take up arms. Its acts of violence are beginning to spread outside the borders of Somalia.

Boko Haram have been known to switch their attack tactics due to Nigerian security forces catching up on them. To begin with, from 2009 to 2014 most attacks carried out by Boko Haram were by armed assaults, which resulted in 63% of the deaths that year (Pricopi,2016). Not only did Boko Haram conduct attacks using armed assaults but they also used bombs as well. In fact, bombing tactics in 2013 were used in 35 incidents; however, that number increased by three times in 2014, making it used in 107 incidents(Pricopi,2016). Also, in that same year the number of civilians attacked in public places also increased as well. Suicide attacks, were also another tactic used by Boko Haram and in 2014, they accounted for atleast 31 of those attacks

Since 1991the Civil War began, and during the 90s the United States and the United Nation made several efforts to bring peace to the region which failed. In 1998 the northern punt land region declares autonomy. In the 2000s in Somalia the unrest would continue; from several attempts to have a stable government and bring peace to the region. Ethiopian troops also made an effort to bring peace to the region, but eventually also gave up and left Somalia as well. The country also has problems with pirates, and the terrorist group Al-Shabab who has control over part of the country. It was not until 2012 when Somalis elected their first president and parliament but even then this new government its still dependent on outsiders to stabilized and offer

Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a time where the future can be filled with boundless economic growth or engrossed with greater terrorism and instability. Now is the time for the United States to step up as a global leader to ensure global security while creating constancy in Sub-Saharan Africa by limiting the power and control of terrorism groups.

Somalia is a frightening case as all of the individual factors contributing to national instability are cyclical and compounding. If an effective government is the main pillar supporting all aspects of a country, then in Somalia, this pillar crumbled in 1991 and has yet to be rebuilt on asolid foundation. Somali National Security Forces (SNSF) and police forces are ineffective at enforcing law and providing security at the borders and for the people. According to a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) report, the SNSF target innocent Somalis through extortion during their operations (UNSC, 2013). In result, Somalia is incapable of attacking the humanitarian catastrophe from within. Somalis “survival of the fittest” philosophy and lack of education further separates people from the government.

In the last few decades Nigeria has experienced violent conflicts and antagonism rooted in religion, ethnicity, and economics. communal conflicts in Tiv land area of the Middle Belt region of Nigeria are not an exception. This paper (1) examines the causes of communal conflict in Tivland (2),challenges,as well as the(3) strategies of resolving and managing conflicts in Tivland and society in general.