Boko Haram Attacks Lead To School Closings In Nigeria

Northeastern Nigeria is experiencing almost daily bombings, thought to be carried out by Boko Haram.

Boko Haram was created in 2002, and consists of a coalition of armed fighters. They are thought to be responsible for the deaths of 1,300 people since January, and 130 people in the last five days. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Boko Haram is being held responsible for an estimated 3,800 deaths since May, 2011. However, it was not until 2013 that they were officially declared a “terrorist group”.

The Abuja government issued a state of emergency in May 2013, and has tried to fight the uprising, since 2009, but have had little success. Experts believe that the violence is only going to escalate, which is why Nigeria has made the decision to close five of their government colleges that are said to be located “within the high security risk areas of the northeast geo-political zone”. The students from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, will be allowed to join other government colleges.

Last week, Boko Haram’s fighters attacked the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Yobe state, killing 43 people and taking an unknown number of girls captive. The school was then burned to the ground. Boko Haram, which translates to “Western education is sin“, despises Western education, and has burnt hundreds of schools since their uprising.

In October 2013, Boko Haram invaded 209 schools, and caused $15.6 million worth of damage. Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, Nigeria’s top police officer, says that they are “doing everything humanly possible” to stop the attacks.

“Some say what we’re seeing is that the insurrection is becoming more and more successful — that they’re winning,” John Campbell, a West Africa expert at CFR and former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, explained. “The government of course repeats over and over again that its policy is successful — and every time there’s a government statement to that effect there is usually a massacre the following day or within a few days.”

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno, the state that has been hit the hardest by the Boko Horam, issued a statement last week saying: “Honestly, the Boko Haram are better armed and better motivated than our own troops. Given the present state of affairs, it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat the Boko Haram.”

President Goodluck Jonathan has held office since 2010, and with the election approaching, many Nigerians are wondering what the outcome will be if he is re-elected. If he remains in office, Campbell explains that “there is a real danger the country could erupt.”

[Image via Wikimedia Commons]