10) U.S. MILITARY OPTION WORST RESPONSE TO NIGERIA CRISIS

By T.J. Petrowski

            The "War on Terror" has provided Western imperialism with too many benefits for it to end in the near future, and to continue to feed the terrorism industry to justify interventions abroad, the corporate media will exploit what are no doubt tragic events to further Western imperialism's militaristic ambitions around the world. The April 14 abduction of girls by Boko Haram from a secondary school in Nigeria's Borno state ‑ a criminal mass violation of the rights of women and girls ‑ is an example of this.

            The abduction has received international condemnation, with top U.S. officials such as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pledging to do "everything possible" to support the Nigerian state and President Barak Obama saying he hopes the international community will take action against Boko Haram.

            The corporate media and Western officials are depicting the conflict in Nigeria has a æGood vs. Bad' scenario, of allegedly al‑Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)‑associated Muslim fundamentalists (don't all conflicts now involve "al‑Qaeda‑associated" insurgents?) terrorizing a population to enforce its extreme interpretation of Sharia. However the truth about the conflicts in Nigeria and Western imperialism's role in creating the conditions for these conflicts is much more complicated than that.

            Boko Haram started as a non‑violent indigenous resistance movement to the forced imposition of Christianity and Western‑education from the south, which many Muslims of northern Nigeria view with suspicion, remnants of the era of British colonialism in the lower Niger River region. The desire for the imposition of Sharia law in Nigeria (Sharia law already exists in northern Nigeria) is not only a cultural sentiment; it reflects the desire for a more just system. Western corporations have looted Nigeria's natural resources, including the second largest oil reserves in Africa after Libya, while many Nigerians still live off less than $2 a day.

            The ruthless response towards suspected members of Boko Haram by the Nigerian security forces, with the support of Western imperialism, created the conditions for a violent response. Under President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua alone more than 700 people were killed, some being publicly executed. It is worth noting that the use of kidnapping as a warfare tactic by Boko Harm did not start until Nigerian security forces started taking as prisoner the wives and children of suspected Boko Harm members.

            Now Western imperialism will use this latest tragedy to continue its exploitation of Africa's resources. The statements made by U.S. and other Western officials should be viewed with suspicion; the same state that John Kerry will do "everything possible" to support in its conflict with Boko Haram is the same state that tortured and outright shot those protesting oil giant Shell's exploitation of the Niger River Delta. Where was the international community's outrage then?

            In fact, Western oil corporations steal more than $140 billion of oil wealth from Nigeria annually, but most of Nigeria's 100 million people live on less than $2 a day and few have access to basic medical care and education. Yet Nigeria has the largest and best equipped military in West Africa, and we are told is a model of "economic development" and "democracy" in Africa, that is despite being ruled by Western‑backed military dictatorships for much of its independence.

            As tragic as this latest episode is the solution does not lie with a U.S. military response. What is needed is a democratic, non‑violent settlement between the various parties in Nigeria to bring peace and economic justice to the country. The international community should support such an initiative, not more military responses.

(The above article is from the May 16-31, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)