U.S. Attack in Nigeria

The missile attack on Nigeria on Christmas Day cannot become just another idiotic action of our government and marked up like so many other dangerous and ill-informed actions, too numerous to mention, to an administration gone crazy. It is an action that needs to be called out for its lack of any knowledge of Nigeria and its history.

Sokoto is not just another place in Africa, a continent that has been disparaged by the President for a long time, except for when he wants its mineral wealth. Sokoto has been the center of Islamic culture for longer than the United States has been a country. Nigerian Muslims hold the city as a holy place. The Sultan of Sokoto is equivalent to the Imams in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. When Ramadan, the holiest time of Islam, is celebrated, Nigerian Muslims do not look to Mecca to be informed on the date of the sighting of the crescent moon. They look to Sokoto.

How the Muslim population, estimated to be 120 million, will deal with Sokoto’s bombing by the United States is hard to fathom. The strikes, as reported, were not in the city but in strongholds of terrorists in the countryside. Supposedly, the Nigerian government was informed, cooperated with, or coordinated the assault with the U.S. A conclusive response from Nigerian government officials has not been forthcoming. As in any situation where the strongest military power in the world takes such action within the borders of a weaker, sovereign nation, the politicians of that nation have few alternatives but to comply.

The use of Patriot missiles launched from a ship in the Atlantic Ocean could have been out of the Counter-Strike 2 video game. Unfortunately, it was played by the U.S. Department of War. As with the Counter-Strike 2 video game, retaliation by the enemy is built in. Who, when, and where a counterattack will take place is not known now, but the actions of the enemy, ISIS, and its combatants, are just as dangerous and crazy as those of the American administration in this instance.

The United States’ unilateral attempt to confront these terrorists with a one-off attack and without a comprehensive plan to help the Nigerian military combat this threat is irresponsible. Nigeria and other countries in the region have unsuccessfully faced numerous radical Islamic terror groups for many years. The U.S. military had, in the past, assisted some of these governments, but with little success in actually defeating the terrorists. Military efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria show how difficult it is to defeat this radical ideology. This strike only illustrates the ineffectiveness of our approach to the danger of radical Islamic terrorism and puts the U.S. mainland on the map for a possible retaliation.

The Nigerian situation, however, is even more complicated. The vestiges of colonialism play a part. By Britain not encouraging education or development in the Northern Province during colonial times, the region fell behind. Its traditional leaders could keep a lid on dissent only for a while. When oil production in the Niger Delta came online in the ‘70s, the agricultural sector of the North was neglected, resulting in economic hardship and unemployment. Poverty increased in the North. Northern ethnic groups felt left out of the economy that was taking off in the southern part of the nation. Kanuri youth in the Northeast around Maiduguri and the Fulani cattle herders in the Central and Western areas were susceptible to the rhetoric of radical Islam, and many young men joined the movements. Boko Haram in the Northeast became the best-known group, with the kidnapping of girls receiving a Western education in schools. The lack of land ownership by Fulani cattle herders became the root cause of their radicalization. The recent clashes and deaths of Christian and Muslim farmers in the Middle Belt are primarily over land, not religion, though Islam is the battle cry. It is the politicalization of religion, rather than religious differences or identities, that these movements draw on. Muslims are victims of these movements, as well as anyone who does not subscribe to the radical beliefs. The Sultan of Sokoto, the leading Islamic leader in Nigeria, has condemned the actions of these radical Islamic groups.

Complicating the resolution is politics, as always. Monied interests within the government may be behind some of the attacks. A bloody civil war was fought fifty years ago between Northern Nigeria, primarily Muslim, and Southern Nigeria, mostly Christian. The war was over the control of oil money, not religion. But, as in many cases where there is war, religion is used as the paradigm.

Lastly, let us not forget about America’s role in a destabilized Nigeria. Our economic interests are oil and minerals. Being able to wheel and deal in Nigeria to buy the liquid gold crude has been the modus operandi of our relations. The corruption, for which Nigeria is so well known, has always been a two-way street.

Nigeria is in a very precarious situation. Its population is growing, reaching 359 million by 2050. It will be the third most populous country in the world. The benefits of the oil boom have not reached the average citizen yet. How will it be by mid-century? The crude will not last forever. The northern region is particularly hard-pressed, and poverty is widespread. Corruption and political strife are endemic. Radical ideologies always find a home in such a milieu. Patriot missiles only kill people, not ideas.