Northern Nigerian Christians warn of religious war

[Valin]

Reuters:

Tim Cocks
Dec 27, 2011


ABUJA (Reuters) - Northern Nigerian Christians said on Tuesday they feared that a spate of Christmas Day bombings by Islamist militants that killed over two dozen people could lead to a religious war in Africa's most populous country.

The warning was made in a statement by the northern branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), an umbrella organization comprising various denominations including Catholics, Protestant and Pentecostal churches.

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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has come under pressure to do more fight the growing security threat which risks derailing economic gains in the OPEC member and Africa's top oil-producing nation.

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[Valin]

Strategy Page: The Same Old Incompetent Crap

 

January 9, 2012: Christian religious leaders doubt the government's ability to protect Nigerian Christians (about half the population) from Islamic radical group Boko Haram. Christian leaders (clerics and elected officials) are calling on Christians to organize and defend themselves, but not to attack Moslems. Since Christmas day, Boko Haram violence has left nearly a hundred Christians dead. Some Christian leaders are talking civil war. This Moslems do not want to hear, if only because the oil is in the south, and that gives the Christians a major advantage. While Boko Haram is only a small minority in the Moslem community, it is a militant and fanatic group that will quickly kill any Moslems that oppose them. Moreover, many Moslems approve the Boko Haram goal of reducing corruption. Turning Nigeria into an Islamic religious dictatorship is less popular.

 

The usual pundits insist that the government is responding all wrong (with troops and police) and should instead address underlying social, economic and political problems. But the government is such a mess, and has such a poor reputation because of the inability to solve all those underlying social, economic and political problems. Any solution to Boko Haram is going to require the use of the tools that are available. That involves incompetent police and unruly soldiers. It will be ugly, but then anything the Nigerian government gets involved in usually is. Nevertheless, some officials speak of using more effective methods to deal with this problem. But the way the government operates; such encouraging words are always followed by the same old incompetent crap.

 

Boko Haram members have been difficult for the police to find, especially in rural areas. That's because out in the country, Boko Haram tell village leaders that the Islamic radicals will live peacefully, but if anyone in the village informs on them, the village leadership will suffer. Very effective, and it's very difficult for the police to penetrate that sort of thing. But the police are aware that the Boko Haram is out there and roughly where. The police also know of the increased arms smuggling from neighboring Niger, where many of the weapons stolen from Libyan military bases last year are ending up. The government also openly admits that it has not got the resources to properly police the entire nation. The police are not numerous enough, and are corrupt and poorly trained. This is a tragic situation, but not one that is denied. It is obvious in Nigeria and all through Africa.

 

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