Boko Haram insurgency causes sparks at White House meeting: News report
This post first appeared on聽 The views expressed are the author's own.聽
On March 18, governors from Nigeria鈥檚 north and Middle Belt met with US National Security聽Advisor聽Susan Rice and other US officials at the White House.聽
The governors come from states where economic development is slow or non-existent and includes those where the radical, Islamist insurgency 鈥淏oko Haram鈥� is active.聽
Following the meeting, the White House issued a typically bland聽: 鈥淩ice and the governors discussed the need to bring an end to the violence and insurgency in northern Nigeria; create broad-based economic opportunity in the north and throughout Nigeria; protect and respect human rights; strengthen democratic governance; and ensure that the 2015 election in Nigeria are free and fair.鈥�
罢丑别听聽(Nigeria) published a read-out of the meeting on March 23 with a different flavor. It cites 鈥渁uthoritative sources,鈥� who almost certainly were Nigerian.聽罢丑别听骋耻补谤诲颈补苍听states that Governors Murtala Nyako (Adamawa state), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano state -- the largest state in Nigeria by population), and Kashim Shettima (Borno state -- a major center of Boko Haram), perhaps among others, were highly critical of President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration.
罢丑别听Guardian聽devotes the most space to Governor Nyako鈥檚 remarks. It reports that the governor accused federal security agencies of colluding with the backers of Boko Haram to perpetuate the conflict.聽He said the security services facilitated the flow of arms and information to Boko Haram.
The real kicker was his accusation that the motivation behind the collusion was to reduce the voting power of the North East in the upcoming 2015 national elections and (in the words of the聽Guardian) 鈥渢o keep the region perpetually underdeveloped.鈥�
Nigeria鈥檚 ambassador to the United States, also present, is reported by the聽Guardian聽to have strongly objected to Mr. Nyako鈥檚 attack on the president.聽
罢丑别听Guardian聽reports that the ambassador was supported by at least two other governors, both of whom are members of Mr. Jonathan鈥檚 Peoples Democratic Party. (Nyako, Mr. Kwankwaso, and Mr. Shettima are members of the opposition party).
罢丑别听Guardian聽is a leading Nigerian newspaper with a national circulation. Its report of the White House meeting is credible.
Given the horrific nature of Boko Haram violence, it might seem extraordinary that a governor would accuse the security services of collusion with it. However, many of my northern contacts say much the same thing as Nyako.
Similar accusations were made about security service collusion with the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) before and after the 2007 elections. It was widely said that the security services wanted to keep the MEND insurgency going because it ensured a steady flow of federal funds into the security services -- from which they pocketed a percentage through various forms of corruption.
I have insufficient information to comment on the veracity of Governor Nyako鈥檚 accusations, any more than I was able to comment on alleged security service collusion with MEND.
However, that many Nigerians find such accusations credible, at the very least, is evidence of the profound lack of trust between the Abuja government and its citizens.
