Al Jazeera’s Inside Story looked into why Nigeria has failed to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency that started in 2009.
The government has repeatedly stated that it has defeated Boko Haram, but the violence has been on the increase this year. 48 farmers were buried after the attack on rice farmers in Borno State two days ago. 22 farmers were killed in two separate attacks last month. Boko Haram has continued to attack civilian and military targets.
The two guests on the programme, Ovigwe Eguegu and Vincent Foucher, did not really nail the issue of why Nigeria has failed to defeat the insurgents. Eguegu called it “an issue of capacity” and said the military had no experience of dealing with Islamic terrorists groups. Foucher was more on the ball, speaking of a “governance” issue, including the extrajudicial killing of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf by the police.
Foucher also pointed out that neighbouring states like Chad and Cameroon are concerned that Nigeriais not doing its share in combating the insurgents.
