BOKO HARAM BOMBING ATTACKS AND THE WAY FORWARD

We live in a world where everyone thinks about himself or herself first, before thinking about others, which makes most of us egocentric. Of course, we all know that someone's toothache will pain him/her more than an earthquake in Japan that killed 30 persons.We love ourselves.

Do we really care about the bombing attacks of Boko Haram and how many people have died as a result, since the beginning of this year? Imagine the people who could no longer celebrate the Christmas on the 25th of December, 2011, because of the death of their loved ones. Some of those persons that have been untimely sent to their grave are young persons, with visions and prospects, and some are the bread winner of their family. It is very saddening. I wish to sympathize with the families of the victims of the bombing attacks. May the innocent soul of the Boko Haram’s bombing victims rest in peace.

Are we going to fold our hands and allow this insidious disease eat deeper into the fabric of our motherland? We can’t continue to watch innocent persons die like ‘cows.’ We need to find the way forward, and that is that is what I seek to achieve with this article.

Firstly, in solving a problem there is a need to clearly understand the nature and the origin of the problem. I have included a detailed historical background of the sect ‘Boko Haram’ in this text. The origin of the problem:

The group(Boko Haram)'s official name is People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad which is the Arabic translation of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد).In the town of Maiduguri, where the group was formed in 2002, the residents dubbed it Boko Haram. Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden. The group earned this name due to its strong opposition to Western education, which it sees as corrupting Muslims.

The Boko Haram sect is a cub that has grown into a roaring lion that has not be curbed. The fact is, whatever you pet too much will become a pest. I mean the government of Nigeria have to accept the fact that Boko Haram’s bombings is a priority and then seek to curb the dangerous sect because we don’t know what might happen next.

Next issue here is the motivation of the group. People do what they do for a reason. Why the rampant bombings these days and when did the bombings start?

If we want to react based on how we feel about the death of innocent souls and resort to fighting, we may find ourselves moving in a circle. Rap artiste, MI, says it better in his words “Silence is the best answer, not violence.”

Going back to the motivation of the Dangerous sect, I think it is political, and I stand to be corrected. I think they have something up their sleeves. Boko Haram means western education is bad, which means that they are against western education, but their action speak otherwise. If they think that western education is bad, then why have they not being disturbing since their inception? Why now that we have some national issues like fuel subsidy on ground, and other cogent issues?).

As a Neuro Linguistic Programming practitioner, I know that actions are better reflections of the state of the mind than words. This year alone, the sect have been responsible for killing 450 people (in the UN building and in the churches, among others) in Nigeria, so I see no correlation here with western education, and I stand to be corrected.

“On Tuesday February 8, 2011, Boko Haram gave conditions for peace. The radicals demanded that the Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, should step down from office with immediate effect and also allow members to reclaim their mosque in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. On 9th May 2011 Boko Haram rejected an offer for amnesty made by the governor-elect of Borno state, Kashim Shettima” (Wikipeadia).

Again, I wish to state here that the group is politically motivated. It is crystal clear that this sect has a strong back up. How else can one explain their use of sophisticated ammunition like bombs, if they don’t have financial godfathers sponsoring their evil plots? Could it be that they seek to frustrate the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's administration? I strongly believe that this sect is up to something.

First, we looked at history of the sect, and second, we examined their motivation. Here I want to conclude by suggesting a way forward.

I am a life coach and I help people to solve their personal problems. Most times when people come to me, I find out that what people complain about are the symptoms. I use my initiative to discern the root course of the problem and provide solution.

The Boko Haram bombings could be symptoms to something deeper that has to be taken care of. Of course, violence is not the solution. The way forward is for our great president, His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to help us save innocent lives.

Dialogue is the key. Who are the people, the springboard from which the Boko Haram sect bounce out to wreak havoc, funding the activities of this sect and what exactly do they want? That should be the bone of (non-violence) contention.

This is not the time to accept anything that happens in good fate. This is not the time to fold arms and watch. This is not time for extreme analysis. Too much analysis will lead to paralysis. This is the time to take a bold step. This is the time to checkmate the activities of the Boko Haram. We can’t enter into a new year with the fear of Boko Haram.

‘Mr. President’, please dialogue with the sect that is behind the actions of the Boko Harams. We don’t want more people to die. There is little, almost nothing, that we can do than to support you with prayers to provide a lasting solution because everything rises and falls on leadership. It is a political challenge, so to speak, and you have to use a lot of wisdom here. May God Almighty give you the wisdom to dissolve and resolve this sect.

In all we do we have to acknowledge God. We can never tell what our little drops of water will contribute to restoring peace and unity in our country. There is nothing God cannot do. If you read this article to this point, then pray to God to help us, to guide us and to protect us (Nigerians).

Please, note that the purpose of this article is to discuss the way forward for Nigeria, and not to discriminate against anybody or any religion. I have made my conclusions based on my own personal study.

Beneath is an expert from wikipeadia about the Boko Haram Sect.

Mohammed Yusuf (29 January 1970 – 30 July 2009) was a Muslim sect leader. He was born in Girgir village, in Yobe State, Nigeria. He founded the militant Islamist group Boko Haram in 2002 and was its spiritual leader until he was killed in the 2009 Nigerian sectarian violence. The group's official name is "Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad", which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad".

Yusuf was more commonly called Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. He had four wives, the maximum allowed under Islamic tradition, and 12 children.

In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf stated that the belief that the world is a sphere is contrary to Islam and should be rejected, along with Darwinism and the theory that rain comes from water evaporated by the sun.

Yusuf was killed by Nigerian security forces in Maiduguri, Borno State, after being taken into custody, allegedly while trying to escape from prison. Yusuf had managed to escape death a day earlier along with 300 of his followers as federal troops shelled his compound in the city of Maiduguri, killing about 100 people.

People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and

Jihad (Arabic: جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, jama'atu ahlis sunna lidda'awati wal-jihad), better known by its Hausa name Boko Haram, is a Muslim sect in Nigeria that seeks the strict implementation of their interpretation of Sharia across the countrY. The sect, whose Hausa name translates as "Western education is sacrilege" or "Western education is a sin" it became known internationally following sectarian violence in Nigeria in 2009. In 2011 alone it was responsible for more than 450 killings in Nigeria.

The group's official name is People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad which is the Arabic translation of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد). In the town of Maiduguri, where the group was formed in 2002, the residents dubbed it Boko Haram. Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden. The group earned this name due to its strong opposition to Western education, which it sees as corrupting Muslims.

The term "Boko Haram" comes from the Hausa word boko meaning "Animist, western or otherwise non-Islamic education" and the Arabic word haram figuratively meaning "sin" (literally, "forbidden").

Boko Haram opposes not only Western education, but Western culture and modern science as well. The group also forbids the wearing of shirts and pants and the act of voting in elections. In its view, the Nigerian state is run by non-believers.

In a 2009 BBC interview, Mohammed Yusuf, then the group's leader, stated that he would reject the fact that the earth is a sphere if it were contrary to Islamic teachings, along with Darwinism and the fact that rain comes from water evaporated by the sun.

Since the fall of the Sokoto Caliphate to the British in 1903, the area's Muslims have tended to resist Western education. Some analysts view the group's emergence as an extension of the Maitatsine riots of the 1980s and subsequent ethnic and religious tensions in the 1990s.

Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf formed Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri. He established a religious complex that included a mosque and a school.

Many poor families from across Nigeria and from neighboring countries enrolled their children in the school, which also served as a recruiting center for jihadis to fight the Nigerian state.In 2004 it moved to Kanamma, Yobe State, where it set up a base called "Afghanistan", used to attack nearby police outposts, killing police officers. Yusuf is hostile to democracy and the secular education system, vowing that "this war that is yet to start would continue for long" if the political and educational system was not changed.

In Bauchi the group was reported as refusing to mix with the local people. The group includes members who come from neighbouring Chad and speak only in Arabic.

In July 2009 the Nigerian police started investigating the group, following reports that the group was arming itself. Several leaders were arrested in Bauchi, sparking deadly clashes with Nigerian security forces which led to the deaths of an estimated 700 people.[

Major attacks attributed to Boko Haram Boldly indicates attacks resulting in over 50 deaths 2009: Nigerian sectarian violence – 2010: Bauchi prison break – 1st Abuja – 2nd Abuja – 2011: Northern Nigeria bombings – 3rd Abuja (Police HQ) – 4th Abuja (UN building) – Damaturu bombings – Northern Nigeria clashes – Christmas Day bombings – Part of the Nigerian Sharia conflict Bauchi is located in Nigeria

Prior to the clashes, many Muslim leaders and at least one military official had warned the authorties about Boko Haram. Those warnings were reportedly ignored.

In the state of Yobe in 2009, fighters reportedly "used fuel-laden motorcycles" and "bows with poison arrows" to attack a police station.On 30 July, allegations were made that Yusuf himself was killed by Nigerian security forces after being taken into custody.

In January 2010, the group struck again in the Nigerian state of Borno, killing four people in Dala Alemderi ward in Maiduguri metropolis.

On September 7, 2010, Boko Haram freed over 700 inmates from a prison in Bauchi State.

In December 2010, Boko Haram were blamed for a market bombing, following which 92 of its members were arrested by police.

On Friday January 28, 2011, the Borno state candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) for the April 2011 gubernatorial elections was assassinated, along with his brother, four police officers and a 12-year old boy. Boko Haram has been blamed for these killings, other commentators have noted that the assasination of the ANPP governorship candidate Mr. Modu Fannami Gubio was politically motivated. No evidence has been offered for Boko Haram's involvement.

On Tuesday February 8, 2011, Boko Haram gave conditions for peace. The radicals demanded that the Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, should step down from office with immediate effect and also allow members to reclaim their mosque in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. On 9th May 2011 Boko Haram rejected an offer for amnesty made by the governor-elect of Borno state, Kashim Shettima

On March 29, police “thwarted a plot to bomb an [ANPP] election rally” in Maiduguri, Borno State (map). The threat was blamed on Boko Haram.

On April 1 (the day before the original date of Nigeria’s legislativeelections), suspected Boko Haram members attacked a police station in Bauchi (map).

On April 9, a polling center in Maiduguri was bombed.

On April 15, the Maiduguri office of the Independent National Electoral Commission was bombed, and several people were shot in a separate incident on the same day. Authorities suspected Boko Haram.

On April 20, Boko Haram killed a Muslim cleric and ambushed several police officers in Maiduguri.

On April 22, Boko Haram freed 14 prisoners during a jailbreak in Yola, Adamawa State (map) Boko Haram was blamed for a series of bombings in northern Nigeria on May 29, 2011 that left 15 dead

On June 17, 2011, the group claimed responsibility for a bombing attack on the police force headquarters in Abuja that occurred the previous day. Officials believed that the attack was the first suicide bombing in Nigeria's history and that it specifically targeted Police Inspector-General Hafiz Ringim.y

On June 26, 2011, the sect carried out a bombing attack on a beer garden in Maiduguri, according to officials and witnesses. Militants on motorcycles threw explosives into the drinking spot, killing about 25 people.

On June 27, 2011, another bombing in Maiduguri attributed to the group

killed at least two girls and wounded three customs officials.

On July 03, 2011, a bombing in a beer garden in Maiduguri attributed

to the group killed at least twenty people.

On July 10, 2011, a bombing at the All Christian Fellowship Church in Suleja, Niger State.

On July 11, 2011, the University of Maiduguri closed its Institution down citing security concerns.

The prominent Muslim Cleric Liman Bana was shot dead by Boko Haram on August 12, 2011. He died after sustaining gunshot wounds while walking home from conducting prayers at the main mosque in Ngala.

On August 26, the UN headquarters in Abuja was blown up by a suicide

car bomber, leaving at least 21 dead and dozens more injured. A Boko Haram spokesman later claimed responsibility. Four men appeared in an Abuja magistrates' court charged with organising the bombing, and were remanded in custody to a federal high court hearing.

October 16, 2011: Police suspected that members of Boko Haram shot and killed politician Modu Bintube outside of his home in Maiduguri.

October 22, 2011: Spokesman Abu Qaqa indicated that the militant group had slain Alhaji Zakariya Isa, a Nigerian Television Authority journalist, claiming that he was a government informant.

November 5, 2011: A series of coordinated attacks in Borno and Yobe states, primarily around Damaturu, killed at least 67 people, leaving a new police headquarters in ruins, and government offices burned. A Boko Haram spokesman told The Daily Trust newspaper that it was responsible for the attacks and promised more.

On 25 December 2011, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on churches across Nigeria.

By: Agbolade Omowole

E-mail: nigeriaslifecoach@gmail.com

Blog: www.101youngentrepreneurs.blogspot.com

Agbolade Omowole help young people and the young at heart to live thelife of their dreams.

Was this article helpful? Let us know