Northern Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, after killing dozens of people in a wave of attacks on churches on Christmas Day, has now given “southerners” (a term which apparently includes Christians and anyone who does not subscribe to Boko Haram-style Islam) a three-day ultimatum to leave northern Nigeria. The group’s spokesman Abul Qaqa has also threatened further attacks on Nigerian soldiers.
Like Islamist insurgent groups in Somalia, Boko Haram is defined more by what it is against than by what it stands for. The name by which the group is commonly known, Boko Haram, means “Western education is forbidden”, clearly indicates that the group is opposed to any engagement with Western culture and science, which it views as corrupting Muslims. The group is also against the Nigerian government and the traditional Muslim establishment.
However, Boko Haram is believed to consist of a number of rival factions with differing aims. The structure of the group is unclear, and various different people claim to speak on behalf of it. This makes Boko Haram a force for destruction without any prospect for an end to the terrorism even if the Nigerian government were to accede to all of the group’s demands.