Strategy Page, a US-based
online military news agency, published an allegation made by the government of Cameroon
that Nigerian Muslim clerics living in the border towns of Cameroon and Nigeria
are recruiting Boko Haram members in their mosques.
According to the magazine, “many officials in in the North
East states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa are cooperating with Boko Haram (to
avoid attack) and are taking bribes from the Islamic terrorists.
“Some of these
officials are covering themselves in case Boko Haram should gain power and the
governors are often just responding to civilian fears of army misconduct,”
The magazine went
further that “Cameroon is also concerned about pro-Boko Haram clerics from
Nigeria quietly preaching and recruiting for Boko Haram in Cameroon mosques.
“Islamic
conservative clergy are not unusual on either side of the border, but those who
do not denounce Boko Haram are suspected of quietly recruiting young men to
join the “jihad” (struggle) and fight (and often die) in Nigeria. These
preachers have to recruit quietly because otherwise police in Cameroon will
arrest and deport them, sometimes after a vigorous interrogation. Evidence of
this recruiting is showing up when some of the recruits return from Nigeria
with tales of disillusionment and adversity while with Boko Haram,” the report
said.
The magazine said
that the Cameroonian government is “being criticized because recent claims of
large (over 5,000 weapons) arms seizures near the Nigerian border could not be
verified by reporters. Civilians living in villages near where the government
said the seizures took place said they saw nothing. The government responded
that the smugglers operated in remote areas and avoided civilians as well as
security forces. There are also concerns that even if weapons were seized they
would, as often happens, be sold back to black market arms dealers so that
government officials could keep the cash.”
On the military,
the report said: “Residents of those three states have justifiable complaints
about the army, in particular the casual attitude of the military towards the
safety of civilians and their property.
“The army is also
unreliable when it comes to sharing information on casualties. Thus Boko Haram
related deaths so far this year is believed to be (based on local reports) at
least 1,500, which is 50 per cent more than what the army reports. Boko Haram
related deaths from 2010 to 2013 were about 3,600, so the violence is not
declining.
“The government
has been saying, for several years, that Boko Haram would be crushed within a
year and never happens. More insightful observers point out that the problem is
mainly one of corruption and poverty, as well as the appeal of Islamic
radicalism as a magical cure. All of Nigeria suffers from corruption.
“Poverty is more
prevalent in the Muslim north, in part because of climate. That’s because the
semi-desert Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert is found in the north.
Another problem is the more conservative nature of Islamic populations and the
lower education levels.”
It would be
recalled that Boko Haram sect have claimed responsibility for the attack on
Nyanya bus station where over 74 persons were killed and several others injured
on Monday, while the kidnapping of about 129 school girls were also carried out
by this dreaded group.
A
former military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon has described the ongoing
activities of Boko Haram insurgents in the nation as another civil war
No comments:
Post a Comment