Sydney’s 16-hour siege on December 15, 2014 and Paris’ Charlie Hebdo massacre on January 17, 2015, stunned, shocked and jolted the world and the two incidents aptly got full media attention from across the globe. Unfortunately, in the whole ‘western’ mayhem, mass homicide of 2000 people (mostly women, children and elderly) in Nigeria on January 10 found very little or no coverage from the mainstream media. The world didn’t come together to support the victims either. As the below chart from Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer demonstrates, there are reasons why the world needs to wake up NOW and must care about Boko Haram (meaning “Western influence is a sin”).
Killed by Boko Haram in Nigeria 2009: 700 2010: 75 2011: 600 2012: 1650 2013: 3000 2014: 7700 Last week: 2000+ pic.twitter.com/rSWCVlcVYV
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 13, 2015
Using data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Dataset, the chart illustrates a stark pattern: the number of deaths inflicted by Boko Haram is rising from year to year. And, the threat is growing. The Nigeria Social Violence Dataset puts the 2014 death toll at roughly 5,000, and the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations echoes that number. It is a clear indication that the crisis of militant terror has gone from bad to worse in a short span.
“The conflict is rapidly intensifying. Nigerian casualties are now running more than double those in Afghanistan, and substantially higher than in Iraq just a few years ago. An estimated 3,120 civilian and military casualties were recorded in Afghanistan last year. In Iraq, 4,207 fatalities were estimated in 2011 in the wake of the surge. The worsening conflict in northern Nigeria already has suffered more casualties this year than the world’s most publicized contemporary wars. Since January [2014] more than 5,000 people have died, making the past eight months almost as deadly as the preceding five years,” The Washington Post wrote.
The Nigeria Social Violence Project calculated the number of fatalities by category in Nigeria from 1998 to 2014, and the findings are striking. From 1998 to 2008, 69% of casualties resulted from a number of conflicts, including the Niger Delta, which it termed as communal in nature. From 2009 to 2014, Boko Haram was guilty of more than half of the country’s violent deaths.
Terrorism experts are now seeing growing similarities between Boko Haram and ISIS (the Islamic State), which operates in Iraq and Syria. And yet few international organizations are taking notice. Despite the slaughter of 2000 innocent lives in Nigeria’s Baga town, the media seems to have turned a blind eye to the conflict. Is this because these ‘non-Western victims of terrorism’ don’t serve a particular agenda?
The West, predominantly the United States, has plenty at stake when it comes to the Islamic State. They pose a serious threat to its interests abroad (read oil, money, and power) and can easily entangle the country in yet another Middle Eastern conflict. Nigeria holds no such power. Moreover, Boko Haram hasn’t attacked anyone else (read Westerner) so far except for its own people. Obama administration’s logic to defeat the Islamic State (to protect targeted groups from its violence) could be used to defeat Boko Haram, and yet there is an ominous silence.
Ignatius Kaigama, the Catholic archbishop of Jos in central Nigeria, asked for help saying the country can’t face Boko Haram on its own. “It is a monumental tragedy. It has saddened all of Nigeria. We seem to be helpless. Because if we could stop Boko Haram, we would have done it right away. But they continue to attack, and kill and capture territories … with such impunity,” he told the BBC.
Boko Haram’s pattern of growth, since 2009, makes it clear that it will continue to wage a violent war. It may not be happening on the ‘western’ doorstep, but that doesn’t mean the threat can be ignored. Remember what happened [9/11] when the US thought what was happening in Afghanistan [Al-Qaeda & Taliban] was not its problem?
Source:
http://mic.com/articles/108328/one-chart-shows-why-the-world-should-care-about-boko-haram
 in Nigeria on January 10 found very little or no coverage from the mainstream media.){kind=link}
Good points, and unfortunately on the mark. The world should care just because the people are suffering, not because us westerners don’t profit from it. We shouldn’t have to look for other reasons to help stabilize to the region. We could do that without putting profitable people in charge.
Of course, but don’t you notice how we all notice the money aspect?
I don’t quite understand the “west’s” reluctance to get involved, after all Nigeria does have oil,,,,
oil is no longer a concern of the U.S. Because we are second in the world in oil production at this time.
Oil is and in will be a US concern in the near future, since the dollar is still the only currency used to buy and sell oil. The entire American economy floats on the stuff, mostly due to the petrodollar recycling system.
I dont understand all this killing. Are we not born to love. To keep peace, to build up our fellow man. Why do we as humans have so much greed and hate in our souls
I pity you all who have no love in ashamed of you all who only see greed and God bless all who have neither. T.L.C.
“western influence is a sin” as they wear rubber boots and camouflage…
I’d love to go help and use my military expierence to stop these ass hats.
because you´re a stupid, dumb animal aswell
My friend in Nigeria is desperate to talk to people. He’s not a scammer, and he can talk to you about the reality of life there. Please don’t pay lip service to these atrocities, spend some time helping an actual person living there. His name is George and he feels powerless to change anything. I talk to him most days and feel powerless too. Could you please consider talking to him? https://www.facebook.com/george.jacob.9256
Qu’est devenue l’humanité de ces hommes ? que leur a t on fait croire ? les a t on éduqués et comment ? à qui obéissent ils , à des soi disant chefs qui eux mêmes obeissent à des gouvernements verreux , eux aussi sous l’emprise des grandes puissances , qui leur vendent des armes et la France n’est pas la dernière !et les peuples souffrent , sont martyrisés, tués! Régis Debray a écrit “ce qu’il faut défendre aujourd’hui , c’est moins la liberté dans l’abstrait que l’état de droit . le pire serait d’imiter George W Bush”
So sad, to hear that about people killing each others and their families and nobody cares. Charlie ebdo, ISIS… What a fake world.
good stuff, except the last paragraph. 9/11 was a false flag operation on it’s own country so it wasn’t a good example. to stop terrorism we need to start by giving all people of the world access to their basic needs and stop monetary system/war for prophet instead of military force. who sold those weapons to boko haram?