海角大神

鈥� A version of this post ran on the author's blog, www.sahelblog.wordpress.com. The views expressed are the author's own.

Attacks by the Islamist rebel sect Boko Haram in northern Nigeria, along with border closures and expulsions of foreigners by Nigerian security forces, are beginning to hurt the economy of neighboring Niger.

IRIN reports:

(See a map of Diffa here.)

IRIN adds that these problems come at a bad time for Niger, given that drought is already pushing up food and livestock prices. Local markets, deprived of customers from Nigeria, are suffering.

The loss of cross-border trade and workers鈥� remittances from Nigeria could really hurt Niger 鈥� closing, in a sense, the economic 鈥渟afety valve鈥� that has formerly allowed people from Niger to seek money and work in Nigeria when times are tough at home.

Boko Haram鈥檚 violence in Nigeria is also having an effect on the security situation in Diffa:

About three weeks ago, the authorities arrested 15 people suspected of affiliation to Boko Haram, seized home-made explosives and grenades, and uncovered a plan to bomb several public places in Diffa, said Tinni Djibo, assistant secretary-general of Diffa.

So far there have been no Boko Haram attacks in Niger that I know of, but this incident certainly raises concerns. Nigerian authorities鈥� efforts to drive foreigners out of the country could mean that some Boko Haram members end up in the surrounding countries, where they may attempt acts of violence.

In other Boko Haram news, Wednesday saw another clash between militants and authorities in Kano, site of a major attack in January. The clash reportedly began when security forces 鈥渋nvaded鈥� a neighborhood seeking suspected sect members, so arguably it falls into a different category than attacks that the group carries out on its own initiative. Still, several incidents involving Boko Haram have occurred in Kano since January, which points to a continued effort by Boko Haram to establish an enduring presence in the cities located in the center of Northern Nigeria, such as Kano and Kaduna. The movement continues, in other words, its attempt to expand beyond its base in the northeast.

鈥� Alex Thurston is a PhD student studying Islam in Africa at Northwestern University and blogs at Sahel Blog.

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