Caught between Boko Haram and 'Governance Haram'
By Abdul Raufu Mustapha
THE ferocious and senseless attack on government institutions and innocent citizens by the Boko Haram sect in Borno, Bauchi, Yobe, and Kano states in late July 2009 is yet another reminder of the parlous state of Nigeria as a whole and the far northern states in particular. How could such a coordinated movement organise and arm itself without the effective intervention of various government institutions? What motivated thousands of apparently normal individuals, mostly young men, to abhor reason and logic, instead propagating an anachronistic, senseless, and nihilistic rejection of 'western' knowledge? Never mind that the guns and bombs used by this sect and the mobile phones used to coordinate their activities from Maiduguri to as far afield as Katsina are all products of the same 'western' knowledge they so vehemently reject.
The ugly incident of Boko Haram insurgency poses two main challenges to the Nigerian authorities. Firstly, how could poverty, alienation, and frustration be allowed to fester to such an extent that thousands of young men have no viable avenues for self realisation other than by seeking solace in religious obscurantism and mindless violence? Secondly, now that we have reached this shameful state, what are the authorities going to do about it?
That poverty is a key factor propelling movements like Boko Haram cannot be denied. As the saying goes, a hungry man is an angry man. The whole logic of attacking 'Boko' or western education makes sense only against the background of disappointed hopes of gaining a livelihood through western education or the modern system built around it. Instead, sect members seek a 'return' to a version of society in which western knowledge and education is expunged. They hope such a 'cleansed' society will better serve their needs. Poverty fuelled alienation is more pronounced in the north because poverty itself is more pronounced in the north. The grip of poverty and lack of social services is more acute in the far north than in most other parts of Nigeria.
In a Central Bank of Nigeria document in 2007, then Governor Soludo showed that though most Nigerians are poor, the northern states are more ravaged by poverty. Poverty in Nigeria has a clear northern face as the 10 poorest states in Nigeria are all in the north, with Jigawa State having the terrible record of 95 per cent of its population living in poverty. The Central Bank data also showed that between 1980 and 2004, poverty increased from 13 per cent to 35 per cent of the population of the South-South, 13 per cent to 27 per cent in the South-East, and 13 per cent to 43 per cent in the South-West. Bad as these appalling trends in the south are, the situation in the north is far worse. In the North-Central, poverty ballooned from 36 per cent of the population in 1980, to 72 per cent in 2004. In the North-East, it went from 36 per cent in 1980 to 72 per cent in 2004. For the North-West, the trend was from 38 per cent to 71 per cent. These are frightening trends which have continued unabated. Even The Guardian of August 4, 2009 reported what UNICEF called a 'silent malnutrition emergency' in children in the northern states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, Adamawa and Gombe. It is this unrelenting poverty and hopelessness which breeds fanaticism and bigotry like those shown by Boko Haram.
But Nigeria is not the only place in Africa where you find poor people, neither is it the only part of Africa where these poor people are largely Muslim. What is unique about northern Nigeria is that this poverty sits cheek by jowl with massive corruption involving public funds and opulent living enjoyed by a narrow elite. It is the combination of poverty and a deep sense of unfair deprivation that is corroding the trust in public institutions amongst the general population and fuelling the psychotic reactions of fringe groups like Boko Haram. To deal with the challenge of Boko Haram and such fanatical sects we must address issues of poverty, corruption, and good governance in the northern states.
It is therefore disappointing to see that the Northern Governors' Forum meeting in Kaduna on August 3, 2009 called in response to the Boko Haram insurgency concentrated almost exclusively on the policing aspects of dealing with the problem. As reported by The Guardian of August 4, the Governors resolved to 'monitor' the activities of preachers and religious groups in their states. Traditional rulers are also to be 'empowered' to guide and regulate religious activities in their domains. The Immigration Department is 'enjoined' by the Governors to increase its control of the borders to prevent the influx of foreigners who are presumed to be major actors in the obscurantist sects. While these policing policies are necessary, are they enough to stem future Boko Harams?
One is left wondering if the Governors in the north have any governance responses to the poverty, corruption, unemployment, and hopelessness that are fuelling religious fanaticism in the north? Would it not be better to deal with the root causes of the problem at the same time as you seek to improve policing? Or are good governance issues 'haram' to our Governors? It is disheartening that after the trauma most Nigerians went through because of the Boko Haram insurgency, only three Governors found it worth their while to attend a crucial meeting called to respond to the crisis. While I cannot presume to know the intricacies of the busy diaries of Their Excellencies, I cannot but feel that if this were another wedding of one of the President's daughters to another political bigwig, they would all have turned up in their finery.
It is good that our Governors are getting tough on fanatics. Long may they remain alive to their responsibility to protect their citizens. But how about the root causes breeding the fanatics? How about addressing governance issues that can restore the social contract between the Governors and the governed? How about fighting corruption, eschewing ostentation, providing accountability, developing public infrastructure, generating employment, and the unambiguous promotion of the public good? I am not asking for Heaven on earth; I am only asking them to borrow a leaf from Governor Fashola of Lagos by injecting a sense of genuine public service into governance. Until this is done, our Governors in the north would remain caught in that restless void between the senseless fanaticism of the likes of Boko Haram and their own seeming 'Governance Haram'. It is a pity that the ordinary law-abiding citizen will ultimately pay the price for this negligence.
• Dr. Mustapha lives in Oxford, United Kingdom
