North and South: Nigeria
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
WORLD NEWS: "Nigeria Islamist Group Expands Attacks," by Will Connors, Wall Street Journal, 28 July 2009. WORLD NEWS: "Nigeria Violence Sparks New Concerns: As Death Toll Passes 800, Questions Raised About Whether Group, Boko Haram, Poses Broader Threat," by Will Connors, Wall Street Journal, 4 August 2009. Link
Boko Haram means "education is prohibited." Doesn't get much more direct than that, unless somebody comes up with a group entitled "Women must be kept completely disempowered at all costs!" As one local observer puts it, "They . . . have a total lack of faith in the Western system" of democracy. Little wonder, given how it's practiced in Nigeria. 10k dead over the past decade (technically qualifying Nigeria for civil war) in the so-called Middle Belt where Islamic north meets Christian south. Underlying economics? The revival of the oil industry in the south meant the government didn't stick with its ag-enhancing efforts in the north, so poverty is driving this extremism. |
