The malignancy of terrorist organisation Boko Haram is out of control and is threatening to destroy Nigeria. On January 3, Boko Haram unleashed another round of blood-lust in the northern Nigerian town of Baga, killing more than 2,000 people and forcing thousands to flee the area as they tripped over dead bodies strewn along the roads. Gloating over his brutality in a video released soon after, Boko Haram’s leader Abu Bakr Shekau proclaimed more violence to come, including in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries.
This is yet another tipping point — after many tipping points have come and gone in the decade-long terror reign of Boko Haram — and the world has no excuse to not come together and surgically incise the cancer of Boko Haram from Nigeria’s body politic. The deaths of thousands of Nigerians, abductions of schoolgirls, torture and incarcerations of hundreds by Boko Haram over the last 10 years are in no way less deserving of the world’s solidarity and assistance as are the terrorist acts in the West.
A sliver of hope, however, is in sight as the West and West Africa seem to be finally getting their act together on saving Nigeria from doom. West African leaders will seek the African Union’s mandate next week to set up a multi-national task force to fight Boko Haram.
The US, Russia and France have also offered help in training the troops, providing arms, equipment and humanitarian aid. But before a sense of comfort over the imminent demise of Boko Haram sets in, an important point to ponder is: The logistics of setting up a regional task force, procuring funds and deciding on a strategy that would be acceptable to all stakeholders could be a deal breaker, given the political friction between Nigeria and its neighbours.
Therefore, leaders of West Africa would do well to focus on what unites them — the fear of Boko Haram — rather than what divides them. This solidarity is the only way West Africa can destroy Boko Haram.
