The passive state of African leaders

You would be forgiven for assuming that Boko Haram was running Nigeria, especially since the group appears to be in control of things within the country.

Boko Haram has been in Nigeria since 2001, but not a lot of people knew much about the group until around 2009, when multiple bombings took place in Nigeria.

Since then, the violence has escalated.

In case you have been living under a rock somewhere and you have no idea what or who Boko Haram is, let me tell you.

One could say that Boko Haram is a group opposed to anything that is Western, be it religion, education or ideology.

The reason I have decided to write this article is not because I want to talk about Boko Haram, but rather the passive state of African leaders in dealing with the group.

I feel that as a continent, we do not necessarily need to always wait for the Western countries to fight our battles. Our continent is large enough to handle its own problems.

But with the way things are going, I do not see this happening because our leaders seem more concerned about themselves than with the people.

First of all, the Nigerian president, Goodluck Johnathan, has failed miserably to deal with the extremist group.

Consider for a moment that it has been more than seven months since 200 girls were kidnapped in Nigeria by Boko Haram.

There is still no lead regarding the whereabouts of these girls.

One would have thought the #BringBackOurGirls movement would have motivated Africa’s leaders to make a more concerted effort to find the girls.

Since the kidnapping, it does appear that Boko Haram’s attacks are increasing.

One would think Boko Haram has given African leaders enough reason to take charge of the situation.

It does appear that President Jonathan seems more concerned with re-election than resolving the situation.

I don’t think one needs to be a seasoned politician to see that the leaders of the continent have failed to deal with Boko Haram. There appears to be the notion that if it is not in your country, then there is no need to be concerned. Some people may justify Africa’s lack of involvement as giving the Nigerian government the space to handle its own problems.

But what happens when it is clear that they simply cannot handle the situation? Do we fold our hands as African people and just hope and pray that our countries don’t become the next target of Boko Haram?

Last week the country was abuzz with rumours that South Africa would send soldiers to go and help Nigeria.

People felt it would put the country in great danger of being attacked by the terrorists, who have killed thousands of innocent people, including children.

I understand where the fear comes from, but surely that can’t be our only excuse. What happens when Boko Haram decides to come to SA anyway? Would we not want other countries to get involved because of the fear of being targeted?

I am no expert on terrorism, but as an African citizen I feel that our leaders are just not bothered enough to collectively put an end to Boko Haram and I think if each African country were to send soldiers to go and aid Nigeria in the fight, that would be a step in the right direction.

Lastly, the question I have is, “What does Boko Haram really want in Nigeria?”

But that could be a column for another day.