A group of community elders in northeast Nigeria
where Boko Haram has waged a bloody eight-
year insurgency are urging the Islamists to enter
peace talks, a move some see as motivated by
ethnic self-interest.

The Borno Elders Forum of retired military and
civilian officials, all ethnic Kanuri, said it was
“time they (Boko Haram) put down their arms”
and they should “repent and rejoin the larger
society”.
“If our leaders had the leeway to negotiate with
the Boko Haram for the release of some of their
captives, they should employ the same tactics to
negotiate for the end of the insurgency,” they said
in a newspaper advertisement last Friday.
“The Government of Nigeria had earlier
negotiated with the Niger Delta militants and
succeeded. Let the Government do the same with
Boko Haram.”
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former army
general, has given no sign of wanting to negotiate
a settlement since he came to power in 2015.
His government has, however, held back-channel
talks that secured the release of more than 100 of
the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko
Haram in 2014.
But the call for negotiations by the elders of Borno
state, where the Kanuri is the main ethnic group,
has led to speculation that it is driven less by a
desire for peace than by ethnic issues.

– ‘Flying a kite’ –

Boko Haram’s ranks have been dominated by
ethnic Kanuris. In its early days, the Islamist
militant group was known to have members from
the families of the region’s political and religious
elite.
Abdullahi Bawa Wase, a security analyst who
tracks the conflict, said the elders were “flying a
kite” to gauge reaction.
The peace talks proposal “could be a Boko
Haram idea being sold by the Borno elders on
their behalf”, he said.
A senior member of the Civilian Joint Task Force
(CJTF), the militia assisting the military with
security, said the proposal was “in bad faith”.
“The elders know how to get in touch with their
sons, nephews and brothers who are high-profile
Boko Haram leaders,” he said on condition of
anonymity.
“If they really mean what they say, they should
convince their Boko Haram relations to renounce
membership of the group and surrender.”

– Ethnic rivalry –

Kanuri dominance in Boko Haram sparked claims
in the earlier stages of the violence that the
uprising was a push for a homeland.
Few maintain that view since its leader Abubakar
Shekau declared a caliphate in August 2014 and
pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group the
following March.

Ethnic rivalry has, however, been seen as having
contributed to the religiously inspired violence,
adding another layer of complexity to the conflict.
“People despise Boko Haram for the death and
destruction they cause,” said Abubakar Gamandi,
the head of the Borno state fishermen’s union.
“But in terms of ethnic sentiments, some give
tacit support to them when the victims are non-
Kanuri.
“Many Kanuris feel Boko Haram are weakening
their ethnic adversaries against whom they have
been struggling for social, economic and political
supremacy in Borno.”

The Kanuri mainly hold political power, while the
ethnic Hausa control agriculture, fishing and
trade, and the Fulani and Shuwa tribes dominate
cattle herding.
Tensions pre-date Boko Haram. The Nigerian
military has previously accused the Borno elders
of hampering the counter-insurgency.
Gamandi suggested the scale of attacks has had
a tribal dimension.
“They (Boko Haram) wrought more destruction
and deaths on non-Kanuri towns and settlements
populated by Hausa and Shuwa Arab than on
Kanuris,” he said.

– ‘Sworn enemies’ –

The call for talks, at a time when the Nigerian
military is out to destroy Boko Haram, is
considered by some in the northeast as an
attempt at Kanuri self-preservation.
The fear of losing a whole generation of Kanuri
men, giving the upper hand to the Hausa, Fulani
and Shuwa, could explain the recent surrender of
Boko Haram fighters to the military.

“The elite have been encouraging them to
surrender to the military through local community
chiefs with promise they would ensure they are
given soft landing and reintegrated into society,”
said Gamandi.
Another potential complication for a lasting, long-
term peace is local attitudes to the insurgents
after so much bloodshed and hardship.
Abba Aji-Kalli, the Borno state coordinator of the
CJTF, said his so-called vigilantes and the
Islamists were “sworn enemies” and would
remain so, whatever happens.
“We will never see eyeball to eyeball with Boko
Haram. Nothing can change that,” he said.
An amnesty for repentant former insurgents “will
never work” he added. “We know that because
we very well know who they are. They lived
among us, we grew up with most of them.”

Buhari is boko haram, book haram is buhari


Useless people

Ever since we won at the supreme court, the evil party no wan rest. Everyday na blame game. I see PDP rising from Aso rock

www.vanguardngr.com/2017/07/negotiate-boko-haram-niger-delta-militants-borno-elders-tell-fg/

What are these Northern elders smoking?

Mumu elders. Niger delta militants are after money and a better life. Most of them are schooling abroad but bokoharam are illiterates. They're not after money unless to buy more weapons. All they care about is their 74 virgins

What are boko haram agitating for? �

lofty900:
Mumu elders. Niger delta militants are after money and a better life. Most of them are schooling abroad but bokoharam are illiterates. They're not after money unless to buy more weapons. All they care about is their 74 virgins

I thought it's 72 virgins, is it now 74?

Josh890:

I thought it's 72 virgins, is it now 74?

as long as the number of virgins is seventy something no wahala

this girl was shot by boko haram in maiduguri.
Hope she survives tho!

Josh890:
What are boko haram agitating for? �

10 year old Virgins and for all nigerians to enjoy the luxuries attached to slamming their skulls on the ground 5 times a day!

I thought bokoharam has been defeated abi the elders are yet to be briefed.....

This country is a joke

What brand of kunu are this elders sipping?
Boko Haram and Niger delta militants are two different ideologies.
Boko Haram are primitive and against western education. They maim and kill innocent people and fight for their own share of Virgins their God promised them.

While the Niger Delta militants are fighting against years of systematic injustice and marginalisation meted to them and their people by the Nigerian States.
For me the Nigerian state itself can be compared to terrorists as Boko Haram cos so many souls have been killed by her unjustly and it is one of the reasons the country will never move forward.

I KNOW WHICH OF THE TWO I WILL GLADLY NEGOTIATE WITH AND WHICH ONE I WILL GIVE DIRECT FLIGHT TO HELL...