# Nigeria (split fm Africa in Crisis)



## sean m (12 Jul 2011)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14122175.

The paper accuses both sides of inflicting casualties on the civilian population


For those of us who do not know who Boko Haram is, here is some information courtesy of al jazeera.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/07/200972913529620235.html

It appears that as the war against terror seems to be winding down in South West Asia, it appears to be igniting in North Africa and other areas of the continent? What are your thoughts on the proper form of action?


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## Edward Campbell (29 Sep 2013)

Nigeria is _troubled_, again (still?) by _Islamist_ 'militants' according to a breaking news report in the _Globe and mail_ which says "As many as 50 students may have been killed in the attack that began at about 1 a.m. Sunday in rural Gujba ... Most schools in the area closed after militants on July 6 killed 29 pupils and a teacher, burning some alive in their hostels, at Mamudo outside Damaturu."

The culprit appears to be Boko Haram.

The _Globe and Mail_ story links to another, from about a week ago, which is headlined, Why oil majors are fleeing corrupt and dangerous countries and explains that "Nigeria has become a poster child for failed petrostates, with widespread corruption and lackadaisical security. Organised criminals are siphoning off 100,000 barrels of the country’s oil each day, according to a study published by the Chatham House think tank. That robs the industry – and Nigerians – of billions of dollars a year."


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## pbi (25 Oct 2013)

A Botswanan Colonel whom I have known since I taught him as a 2Lt on Inf Phase IV in Gagetown explained to me a couple of years ago why his country (one of the more capable, stable and militarily squared away countries in Southern Africa) would not join the AU force in Sudan. He told me that it was commanded by Nigerians "...and therefore completely corrupt"

Good government is possible in Africa, but one of the first things they must do, IMHO, is stop this endless self-pitying bleating about all the nasty things the wicked colonialists did to them, and why they are just modelling the bad behaviours taught to them by Belgians, French, Brits, etc. Rubbish, considering most of these countries got their independence decades ago, in some cases nearly half a century.

The recent AU decision to refuse to surrender any serving head of government to the ICC for crimes against humanity is just another symptom of this illness (although they might be taking a lead from the US here...), as was the shamefully cowardly failure to condemn Mugabe's history of utterly brutal and corrupt behaviour that has essentially wrecked a once-viable nation and trashed its political system.

I don't recall hearing the Indians retailing that sort of self-pitying tripe.


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## The Bread Guy (7 May 2014)

Countdown to "Canada's doing it because there's oil in Nigeria" rabble.ca commentaries in 3, 2, 1 .....


> *Canada will provide Nigeria with surveillance equipment to help locate more than 270 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamic insurgents who have been terrorized the African country for more than five years.*
> 
> Jason MacDonald, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said in an email that Canada will also provide “the technical expertise” to operate the equipment.
> 
> ...


CTV.ca, 7 May 14

More on whazzup in Nigeria here (EMM News Brief), here (Google News) and here (Yahoo Canada News).


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## Armymedic (8 May 2014)

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Countdown to "Canada's doing it because there's oil in Nigeria" rabble.ca commentaries in 3, 2, 1 .....



And has nothing to do with Nigeria being a fellow English speaking Commonwealth country.

It is more in under the influence of the Brits and US. We have a good relationship, but Canada had Mali and those countries bordering it as their strategic interest.


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## The Bread Guy (8 May 2014)

More from Foreign Affairs minister John Baird in yesterday's Oral Questions on Canada's commitment to Nigeria ....


> Mr. Speaker, obviously this causes us great concern. We have offered support to the Nigerian government. If Canada has surveillance equipment, and it is not in the region, that could provide assistance to help find these young girls, we would be pleased to provide it and the technical expertise to operate that equipment. The Nigerians have our full support. What we do have a concern with is that we will not hand over military equipment unless we can send the Canadians who can properly operate it ....


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## Colin Parkinson (8 May 2014)

We need to focus on those countries there that do have their act together and help them to continue to improve, eventually they will lead Africa out of the darkness.


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## The Bread Guy (8 May 2014)

> As other countries prepare to help find hundreds of kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls, possible Canadian help will have to wait at least another four days.
> 
> Parliamentarians decided Thursday to hold an emergency debate Monday on Canada's response.
> 
> ...


QMI/Sun Media, 8 May 14


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## The Bread Guy (9 May 2014)

Oopsie ....


> Damning testimonies gathered by Amnesty International reveal that Nigerian security forces failed to act on advance warnings about Boko Haram’s armed raid on the state-run boarding school in Chibok which led to the abduction of more than 240 schoolgirls on 14-15 April.
> 
> After independently verifying information based on multiple interviews with credible sources, the organization today revealed that the Nigerian security forces had more than four hours of advance warning about the attack but did not do enough to stop it.
> 
> ...



P.S. - Split this off because it looks like Canada may be getting more involved.


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## The Bread Guy (14 May 2014)

PM confirms Canadian boots (civvy, cop, mil, all of the above?) on the ground in Oral Questions in the House of Commons yesterday:


> .... Mr. Speaker, the government condemns these acts in the strongest possible terms.  The kidnapping of these schoolgirls by Boko Haram is obviously repugnant to everything that we believe in as Canadians and that most people in the world believe in. Our hearts are with these girls and their families. There are Canadian personnel now present in Nigeria. They are there to provide liaison and to assist Nigerian authorities in their search ....


A bit more from The Canadian Press here.



			
				milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Countdown to "Canada's doing it because there's oil in Nigeria" rabble.ca commentaries in 3, 2, 1


I got this partly wrong - there's a bit of anti-colonialist spin being thrown in as well, in this case, by the World Socialist Web Site:


> ....  The deployment of the Western forces marks a significant escalation in the ongoing military intervention by Washington and its allies in Africa--from North and East Africa, to the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, to oil-rich West Africa.
> 
> The aim of this “pivot to Africa” is to secure *the continent’s huge mineral and energy resources* against competition from China, which has overtaken the US as Africa’s principal trading partner.
> 
> ...


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## Old Sweat (14 May 2014)

This oped piece from the National Post is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provision of the Copyright Act.

*Matt Gurney: Boko Haram finally found a way to get the West involved in Africa*
May 13, 2014 3:36 PM ET

It takes a lot to rouse the West into action in Africa, but Boko Haram seems to have found a way. They may come to regret that.

For the last five years, Boko Haram’s fighters have ridden high, dealing the Nigerian security forces a series of embarrassing defeats.

Their winning streak may have come to an end.

Nigeria missing girls search sees U.S. surveillance, reconnaissance aircraft joining hunt for Boko Haram

A Nigerian government official said “all options are open” in efforts to rescue almost 300 abducted schoolgirls from their Islamic extremist captors as U.S. surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft started flying over the West African country.

Boko Haram, the militant group that is holding some 276 female students it kidnapped last month from a boarding school in northeast Nigeria, said the girls will only be freed after the government releases jailed militants.
Nigeria’s initially suggested there would be no negotiations with Boko Haram but it appears that stance may be relaxed.

Mike Omeri, the director of the government’s information agency, called the National Orientation Agency, said the government will “use whatever kind of action” it takes to free the girls. He also warned that a military operation, with foreign help, was possible.

While the Western world did little more than tsk-tsk when the Islamist separatist group planted bombs and machine-gunned civilians, the recent attack on a girls’ school may have been an outrage too many. With an estimated 300 school girls, aged 15-18, now held as sex slaves — “wives,” in Boko Haram’s warped description — the world has finally noticed what this wretched group of 21st century pirates have been up to. Rallies have been held, politicians and public figures throughout the West are posing for photos holding signs reading, “Bring back our girls.”

And more tellingly, a quiet buildup of Western military might is now taking place — including, it is now being reported, Canadian forces.

In a report for CTV News, national affairs reporter Mercedes Stephenson says that Canadian forces are not just preparing to deploy, but some are there already. This followed a recent announcement by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird that “there are Canadians who have arrived on the ground in Nigeria who are working with the United States and the United Kingdom to work on the freedom of these young girls.” There are reportedly more Canadian troops on the way, as well, including special forces personnel tasked with a “security” mission that may include hostage rescue but does not, notably, include hostage negotiation. 

The details of the Canadian military operation in the region are scant. Indeed, if you’ve read the above paragraph, you’re pretty much fully dialled in on what has been made publicly available. But there is more that can be discerned. It was just last month that Stephens reported on work being done by the Canadian Special Operations Regiment in Niger, which is (somewhat confusingly) a separate but neighbouring country to Nigeria, where Boko Haram abducted the school girls. The Canadian mission there, much of which remains shrouded in secrecy, involved Canadian commandos training Niger’s security forces in counter-terrorism.

Clearly we have an interest in the region, and the means (and willingness) to contribute. Indeed, though this is purely speculation on my part, rather than deploying forces to Nigeria from Canada, it’s possible that some of the early planning work — those first boots on the ground, to echo Minister Baird — could be troops rushed over from the country next door. More forces may, probably will, follow on from Canadian in the coming days. But the earliest steps of that deployment — preparing accommodations, securing supplies, liaising with local military and political officials — could easily be handled by the staff officers already deployed to the region.

Whatever the ultimate disposition of Canada’s deployment, it’s clear that Nigeria is getting the help it has asked for. On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed that U.S. Air Force assets were active in Nigeria, with manned and remotely controlled aircraft performing reconnaissance sweeps of the remote, wooded area where Boko Haram is believed to have taken the girls. Senior U.S. military commanders have also visited the region for consultations. British military planners arrived last week to assist local forces. China and Israel have offered assistance locating Boko Haram. All of this is on top of the requests made last week by Nigeria for specific forms of technical assistance, which included a request to Canada for surveillance assets.

Before anything can happen, of course, Boko Haram’s hideout must be found, which is technically feasible but may prove time consuming. After it’s located — hopefully before too many girls are sold into slavery or further victimized by their captors — a variety of choices will have to be made. Should negotiations try to secure the release of the girls without violence? Should a ransom be paid? If a military strike to destroy the group, and rescue as many hostages as possible, be launched, what kind of operation should it be? A Nigerian operation, with Western technical aid and training support, or a foreign action by U.S. and allied forces, conducted on Nigerian territory with the government’s permission?

We don’t have these answers yet. We may not for some time. But it’s clear that the Western world, including Canada, has decided that forcing hundreds of girls into sexual slavery, and boasting about it on video messages, is a step too far. It takes a lot to rouse the West into action in Africa, but Boko Haram seems to have found a way. They may come to regret that.


_-  mod edit to embed link to article in headline -_


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## Colin Parkinson (14 May 2014)

I suspect the only way to win against this group is to go full Roman on them and anyone related to them and we aren't going to do that. The Nigerian government seems to make the Afghan government look like a pillar of incorruptibility. I have said elsewhere that we need a African version of the Gurkha's the West can use to deal with these issues.


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## The Bread Guy (14 May 2014)

Colin P said:
			
		

> I suspect the only way to win against this group is to go full Roman on them and anyone related to them and we aren't going to do that. The Nigerian government seems to make the Afghan government look like a pillar of incorruptibility. I have said elsewhere that we need a African version of the Gurkha's the West can use to deal with these issues.


Some of the West already has such a force:





The main problem is that the country this force works for has, to be kind, a _mixed_ legacy in Africa.


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## McG (15 May 2014)

> *Canada moves in to Nigeria to aid in search for kidnapped girls*
> Steven Chase
> The Globe and Mail
> 13 May 2014
> ...


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/somnia/article18653370/


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## The Bread Guy (22 May 2014)

And here's one reason Nigeria needs help ....


> The Aerostar unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) acquired by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in 2006 have reportedly been grounded due to a lack of maintenance, limiting surveillance operations against Boko Haram militants. Meanwhile the US has deployed a Predator team to Chad to search for kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls.
> 
> The nine Aerostar UAVs were acquired in 2006 and 2007 from Aeronautics Defense Systems (ADS), a company based in the Israeli capital Tel Aviv in a contract which also included the supply of unmanned patrol boats to the Nigerian Navy, bringing the net value of the contract to $260 million.
> 
> ...


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## Danjanou (22 May 2014)

Colin P said:
			
		

> have said elsewhere that we need a African version of the Gurkha's the West can use to deal with these issues.



They had one once, albeit some disagreed with the methods used to achieve sucess

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Outcomes


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## The Bread Guy (22 May 2014)

Danjanou said:
			
		

> They had one once, albeit some disagreed with the methods used to achieve *sauces*
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Outcomes


They must have been some cooks!


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## The Bread Guy (20 Oct 2014)

Bumped with a bit of the latest from this mess.


> Suspected Boko Haram militants launched attacks on two villages over the weekend in violation of an announced cease-fire agreement with the Nigerian government that reportedly included a promise to release more than 200 girls abducted in April from their school in Borno State ....


The government's side of the story, so far.


> A senior public affairs aide to the president, Doyin Okupe, told VOA that he does not know how long the negotiations will take but says "everything is on the table."
> 
> Boko Haram kidnapped about 270 girls from a secondary school in the remote northeastern village of Chibok on April 14. Fifty-seven managed to escape, but more than 200 are still being held.
> 
> ...


We'll see ....


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## The Bread Guy (9 Nov 2014)

Bumped with some of the latest from Nigerian media talking to Canada's ambassador to Nigeria talking about what kind of help Canada's offering now ....


> .... _Q - What support is your country offering Nigeria to rescue the abducted schoolgirls?_
> 
> A - Basically, we have been looking to identify specific training courses that can help the security force in Nigeria — specifically, the Nigeria Police — and strengthen its capacity to combat and prevent crime and terrorism. Recently, for example, we have experts from our federal police come to Nigeria and train its police on interrogation techniques; we have also provided training on intelligence gathering — information gathering — through the Internet, as an example. We are looking forward to further training in the weeks or months ahead. We have also provided some logistical support to our international partners that are working to support Nigeria in combating this phenomenon.
> 
> ...


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## The Bread Guy (9 May 2017)

Finally, some progress ...

_*"Nigeria exchanges prisoners for 82 Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram* -- Girls have arrived in the capital, 3 years after their high-profile kidnapping by Boko Haram's insurgents ..."_ (AP via CBC.ca)
_*"Chibok girls: FG swapped 5 Boko Haram commanders – Negotiator"*_ (_Daily Post_, Nigeria)
_*"'Welcome our dear girls', Nigeria's Buhari tells freed Chibok girls"*_ (Reuters)
_*"Nigeria Chibok girls: Freed 82 meet President Buhari"*_ (BBC)


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## Colin Parkinson (9 May 2017)

Now to spread a rumour that 1 of the 5 commanders is a double agent and let BO screw themselves. That was a common tactic against the CT's in Malaysia.


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## Edward Campbell (9 May 2017)

Colin P said:
			
		

> Now to spread a rumour that 1 of the 5 commanders is a double agent and let BO screw themselves. That was a common tactic against the CT's in Malaysia.




It was also used, very effectively I was told, by Israel against the PLO, and it worked as long as Arafat was alive; he was, I heard, very paranoid and, of course, the Israelis were getting good, solid inside information from someone ... their operational success proved that. One imagines that the PLO command/senior staff meetings were often a bit tense and internal information exchange, which can be crucial to success, was impeded by suspicion.


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