Tag Archives: Boko Haram

Nigerias Boko Haram Seize Bama Town in Borno

Posted on September 3, 2014 by | Leave a comment
Nigerian troops battling to defeat Militant groups

Nigerian troops battling to defeat Militant groups http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29021037 2 September 2014 Last updated at 08:15 ET

 

2 September 2014 Last updated at 08:15 ET

One of the many issues plaguing the country Nigeria in West Africa has been relentless attacks and occupation by Islamic militants. On September second 2014, BBC News reported that the Nigerian Military has lost control of a town called Bama the second largest town in Borno State. The group responsible for this takeover is a militant Islamic group called Boko Harem. BBC reports that Bama is a key north-eastern state in Nigeria. This takeover was a result of aggressive combat with government forces. Residents told BBC Hausa reporters that initially Boko Haram attacks were “repelled” by the military. However, the Islamic militants returned with reinforcements to seize the town. The militants began by taking over military barracks, which lead soldiers and residents to flee on foot. Many who fled sought refuge by foot in Maiduguri a town within the capital of Nigeria called Abuja.

The takeover of the town Bama by the Boko Haram Islamic militant group is a very crucial issue. The capture of the town Bama places Boko Haram closer to it next target, Maiduguri. As previously stated, Maiduguri is the capital of Nigeria. If the Islamic militants gain control of Maiduguri they will soon be able to control the capitol which will leave Nigeria in a delicate state. According to BBC, the leader of Boko Harem Abubakar Shekau has announced a caliphate in areas controlled by Boko Harem.  It is possible that Nigeria could become populated with many Islamic states ruled by Islamic militants.

As I read the reports by BBC, it was difficult to gauge the author’s point of view of this situation. Throughout the article it was clear that the author worked hard to seem unbiased and to give direct news without interjections of his/her thoughts. However, I noticed a different tone as I continued to read around the article which had quotes in bold with opinions of others about the Boko Harem militant takeover. A man called Mannir Dan Ali was quoted saying, “Just when you imagine that it cannot get worse for the Nigerian military and its pride as a fighting force, it takes a further dive.” This quote seemed to take a hit at the Nigerian Military without the author using his/her own voice to interject his/her opinion of the situation. The author hit on the stereotypical topics discussed in class about reporters concentrating on the corruption, military instability, and lack of leadership in African nations. When the writer of this article put quotes about “Nigerian Military pride as a fighting force” he/she diverged into a stereotyping territory. The writer seems to look down on the Nigerian leaders and their lack of control of Islamic militants.

Throughout my entry I have stated that the source of the article I read was BBC News.   I truly believe that BBC does impact the choice of words that are used in this article. For the most part, the article is very informative and not as biased as many other articles. However, there are instances of biased views in the margins with quotes directly from opposing sides of this situation. The voice of the quotes seems to be that of someone looking down on Nigeria and judging its military strength. Personally I agree with the biased tone of this article. Nigeria needs to strengthen its military might and fight against Islamic militants that are terrorizing the country and its innocent people.  Thought my blog I believe that my biased tone is evident because I strongly believe that Nigerian leaders are slowly losing their grip over Islamic terrorist.

 

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Boko Haram’s gaining its power

Posted on September 3, 2014 by | 2 comments

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29014513

This article is posted on Tuesday September 2, 2014. The article is about how bad the situation in Nigeria is after a long conflict between the military and the opposing Islamic group named “Boko Haram” Mannir Dan Ali, an African journalist wrote a letter to the BBC News to reveal how stressful the situation is and also how the military is lacking of ability to fight back to the Boko Haram.

Boko Haram was founded in 2002 and it was initially focused on opposing the Western education as its name in the Hausa language means “Western education is forbidden.” After being established for seven years, in 2009 Boko Haram launched its military operation hoping to create an Islamic state. The group has been decleared as a terrorist group by the United States since 2013. For the past few months many teenage girls in Nigeria approximately around 200 schoolgirls have been abducted from the northeastern part of Nigeria where the conflict occurs. Sadly, until nowadays there has been no sign and news about the rescue of those girls who have been disappeared. The problem Nigeria is facing is not only just the insurgent in the northeast but also the government’s military that seems to be a little useless and hopeless for the citizens. The Boko Haram is getting more and more power when it invaded and took over several cities in the northeastern region and it seems like it will not stop just that. Ali claimed that the military is lack of equipments and trains, and they are easily defeated by the terrorist. In the article, some soldiers gave interviews announcing that the commander’s order of sending soldiers to encounter with the Boko Haram insurgents without adequate weapons is like sending them to die. Not only the lack of equipment problem, the military commanders seem to be ignoring the fact that they are losing their people and villages and believe in their bias propaganda instead of concerning the true state of incident in the trouble region. The people of Nigeria are now in a serious situation where they have to be scared by the attack of the insurgents and it seems like the only thing they could do is to wait for an unreliable military commander to decide the next step of the fight.

The tones the author used in the article is a little bit pessimistic and hopeless with the government’s action of controlling the rebels. The article gives me a sad feeling and it makes me feel sympathy to the Nigerians’ fate and their unpredictable future. However, the source where the article was written has some influences on the article itself since the article is based on the letters sending from the African journalists. The local people would have put their thoughts and ideas into the letters and that has affected the tones and the words of the article a little bit.

In my opinion, I think the situation in Nigeria is a serious issue that shouldn’t be viewed as only a domestic problem but it should be considered as a world problem. Nigerian people need help from the outside world since the help from their government is not enough at all. The corruption is what makes the country’s military army so weak that they do not have appropriate weapons to encounter the insurgents. Government should take care of corruption problem and build up the strength of their army. If the terrorists could take over the country and set up an Islamic state, it would be a role model for other terrorists group to follow the path and lead into more land secessions and wars in other areas of the world.

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Nigeria’s Boko Haram ‘seize Bankti town near Cameroon

Posted on September 3, 2014 by | Leave a comment

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29048394

 

Jake Langton

9/3/14

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The article from BBC highlights on the ever-gaining control of Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The group is traveling around east Nigera, in the Borno state, and taking control of surrounding cities. It is believed that the main target of the group is to attack the capital of Borno, Maiduguri. A successful attack on the city could result in the takeover of the entire Borno state, and possibly of Adamawa, Yobe and the country of Cameroon. The article quotes multiple sources to help build suspense and worry in the reader. A quote from the Nigeria Security Network says that, “Unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of Isis’s lighting advances in Iraq.” Multiple references are made to Isis and how this group is creating similar events in Nigeria as Isis did in Iraq. The UN refugee agency said more than 10,000 people have fled the area to Niger and Cameroon, reported Associated Press. When Banki was invaded by Boko Haram, a source says that government troops fled their posts at once. The capture comes less than a week after the group captured Bama, the second largest town in the Borno state. Boko Haram also tried to enter in Cameroon but were fended off by Cameroon’s army. Nigeria has yet to comment on the loss of these two towns and refuses to admit to losing territorial control. However, the soldiers have said they lack the resources to fight back the insurgents. According to locals in Banki, no one in the town has been harmed, however, most men fled the town when the group entered. Regional foreign ministers have discussed the security threats in the Borno state but nothing has come from such meetings thus far. Although China, France, the UK, and the U.S. have sent military assistance to the region, the battle is still being lost.

It is hard to find a tone from this article since it is written but it seems to be installing fear and worry into the reader. The word lightening is used in two different references and possibly could be used to invoke the thought that the group is moving without trouble and cannot be stopped. The article mostly states facts and gives little opinion of its own, however, the quotes used from the Nigeria Security Network indicate the hopelessness of the country and surrounding area. It seems in stories like this, leaving out any positive input is the way to go. I think the shock factor of the story would keep the reader interested. It is possible that there is no positive news about the story, but I believe if BBC wanted to, they could have found some information that would give the reader hope for the outcome. Stating that the story is similar to Isis in Iraq is great for receiving recognition. With Isis being the hot topic in the news, so it seems, saying that this situation is similar allows the reader to connect closer with the story.

 

 

 

 

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