a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing that "it is important
that we understand what Boko Haram is and what it is not."
"Boko Haram is composed of at least two organizations, a larger
organization focused primarily on discrediting the Nigerian
government, and a smaller more dangerous group that is increasingly
sophisticated and increasingly lethal," he continued.
Most Boko Haram followers, Carson said, were set on discrediting the
government--both under the current Christian president and his Muslim
predecessor--for its "failure to provide services to people."
In fact, Boko Haram's deadly campaign has largely overlapped the
presidency of the Christian president, Jonathan.
Although Boko Haram was established in 2002, its violent campaign
began around mid-2009, and escalated after its founder, Mohammed
Yusuf, died in police custody in July of that year.
Early in 2010, then vice-president Jonathan assumed the powers of the
presidency after President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua left the country for
medical treatment. When Yar'Adua died that May, Jonathan served as
interim president, and ran for election in early 2011.
His candidacy was controversial because he is a Christian southerner.
An unwritten agreement in place since Nigeria emerged from military
rule in 1999 held that the north and south would alternatively hold
the presidency. Yar'Adua, a Muslim northerner, had succeeded a
two-term Christian from the south but since his death cut his term
short Muslims argued that the next president should also be a Muslim.
Although Jonathan won the election by a large margin, his Muslim rival
won all 12 of Nigeria's states where shari'a had been introduced since
1999, underlining the religious divide and prompting warnings of worse
to come. Indeed, more than 800 people were killed and dozens of
churches torched during three days of rioting in the north after the
election result was announced.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent
body that advises the administration and Congress, acknowledges that
issues of governance, poverty, and ethnicity are factors in the
Nigerian violence but characterizes Boko Haram's actions as
"religiously-related."
No comments:
Post a Comment