Nigeria: With Abuja blast, Boko Haram creeps to center of capital
A version of this post originally appeared on The views expressed are the author's own.聽
On June 25, there was a bomb blast at a shopping center in Wuse 2 in downtown Abuja.
According to the police,聽.
While no group has claimed responsibility, the Nigerian media (and聽) points to Boko Haram, the Islamist insurrection, as the most likely perpetrator.
There are now bombings in Abuja, the capital, every month. Previously, they have been in the outskirts of the city and at transit points.
This time, the聽bomb attack was in the commercial heart of the city. The shopping center is described as 鈥渓uxury.鈥� It is patronized by government officials, business people, diplomats, and other expatriates, although it is not as luxurious as Nairobi鈥檚聽, the scene of an attack in September 2013.
Deutsche Welle聽is reporting聽聽at the government鈥檚 inability to provide security.
Nigeria is now highly bifurcated.
On the one hand, the Lagos-Ibadan corridor is booming, with the skyline聽marked by construction cranes. Conspicuous consumption is evident -- condominium prices appear to approach those of Washington, DC, (if not Manhattan). Luxury cars choke the roads in the best parts of town. Also, the Lagos state government appears to function better than any other in the federation.
Boko Haram has mounted no attacks on Lagos, and Islamist terrorism聽seems to be far away.
On the other hand, death and destruction are ubiquitous in the northeast where Boko Haram killings are now daily -- no longer weekly or monthly.
Abuja seems to be between the two extremes.
In the case of the June 25 Abuja bombing, a spokesman for the Department of Security Services told the media that聽聽and that there is an ongoing investigation.
But in Abuja, popular confidence in the government鈥檚 ability to provide security is eroding.
