Last Friday, Mr. Sani gave an expose on how various Islamic groups evolved. He began with the Yobe Talibans, their identity, government, revolution and the crushing of the group. He finished off with Sects in Islam beginning with the Boko Haram, who they are and the orgin of their name. This is where we start off today.
BOOK itself is the Hausa name for western education. It was derived from the word “Boka” or sorcerer. As years rolled by, though and the educated elite took charge of things and (initially) did a good job of it. Book became a respected word in the Muslim North.
The Boko school taught Islam more effectively than the local Islamiya school (Makarantar Allo) did and many Yan Boko have a deeper knowledge of Islam than most peasants. The local Islamiyah schools production of Almajiri was also a minus for them and the armies of Boko Haram sect must have been recruited from the Almajiri. Besides, the
Muslim community’s initial fear that Boko could lead to wholesale proselytization did not happen.
Even though Boko improved the community’s material lot and did not lead to wholesale conversion as the Muslims feared, it led to wholesale westernisation and secularisation, to the chagrin of traditionalists. It brought great dependence on income and the lifestyle, opulence, ego and vanity of the Yan Boko alarmed traditionalist.
Governance become ineffectual in Yan Boko’s hand and their white collar crime tarnished the country’s image. On collapse of societal values, thus triggering a call for a change.
Origin and Values
Available information indicates that the group emanated from an orthodox teaching slightly resembling that of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their school of thought considers anything western as an aberration or completely unislamic.
The group viewed the western influence on Islamic society as the basis of the religion’s weakness. Hence their declaration that western education and indeed all western institutions are infidel and as such must be avoided by Muslims.
At first, both cleric and the larger community ignore the gospel as they dismissed the preacher as unknowledgeable, others saw them as sheer age propagandists who would not get the attention of the modern Muslims but events proved all wrong as the sect began to grow from strength to strength.
In Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno State, many young people dropped out of school, including university students to join them, workers including highly placed administrators and tertiary institution lecturers also joined them. That was when the clerics began to fire at them with great vehemence knowing very well that it was no longer a tea party.
But it was getting late then, as many youths have already separated from their families, while many people abandoned their jobs for the group. It was gathered that most people sold their belongings to contribute to the coffers of fighting the cause of Allah to save Islam from the clutches of western influences and domination.
Their Belief
Some of the fundamental arguments or beliefs held by the group are that banking, taxation and jurisprudence in the country are completely infidel. Submitting to these void their belief. The entire faith of a true Muslim, they also argue is that western education was unislamic as it embodies all that Islam rejects, while it propagates the negative of what Allah and his prophet had ordained.
For instance, the mix of boys and girls under the same shade, the propagation of the theory that men evolved from the family of monkeys as well as the static nature of the sky. According to them, all these were in conflict with the direct words of Allah who said Muslims must not mix sexes under the same umbrella and that he created men from clay while the sun, earth and the moon each move on its own axis.
They further argue that today’s banking system is shylock and Islam forbids interest in financial transaction, just as the laws of the land are man made, in replacement of the ones ordained by Allah.
It was in their bid to run away from all of these vices that members of the sect decided to cluster together in a strategic location in the outskirts of most major towns in Bauchi and Yobe.
Another Angle to Mohammed Yusuf’s emergence
As early as 2002, Yusuf was seen by many as a likely heir to the renown late Sheik Jafaar Mahmud Adam in Maiduguri because of his brilliance and closeness to the late renowned scholar. But all that changed shortly after one Mohammed Alli (now late) approached late Yusuf with reasons to boycott democracy, civil service and western oriented schools.
Late Yusuf then disengaged his service with the Yobe State government. In a 2006 press release signed by the sect’s Shura (consultative) council, they stated that Islam permits them to subsist under a modern government like Nigeria but has explicitly prohibited them from joining or supporting such government as long as their systems, structures and institutions have elements contradictory to core Islamic principles and beliefs.
However, the late Alli argued that the sect must embark on Hijra (migration), but late Yusuf decline and Alli proceeded to Kannamma in Yobe with his faction. One thing led to another, the group launched an insurgent attack on the police that resulted in the loss of many lives and properties in Kanamma and later in Gwuza in Borno State.
Although the insurgent, a renegade group that called itself “Taliban” led by Alli, fiercely disagreed with late Yusuf and many of the escapees later returned to Yusuf.
Unlike Alli, Yusuf went on undeterred, though he was prevented from preaching in several mosques and was denied TV/Radio appearances in the state, but he set up a preaching outlet in the front of his house at the Railway quarters and at Anguwar Doki, millionaires quarters among others. The demand for his tapes increased by the day all over the north and the proceeds there from increased tremendously. He then asked his landlord and in law, late Baba Fugu Mohammed to allow him build a mosque which he named Ibn Taimiyya Masjid.
It was in Ibn Taimiyya Masjid that the late Yusuf together with his hard line top — Abubakar Shekau, alias “Darul tauhid”began to build an imaginary state within a state. Together they set up laginas (departments), they had a cabinet, the shura, the Hisbah, the brigades of guilds, a military wings, a large farm, an effective microfinance scheme, and late Yusuf played the role of a judge in settling disputes.
Each state had an Amir (leader) including Amirs in Chad and Niger that gave account of their stewardship to Yusuf directly.
The sect led by Yusuf, took advantage of the poor quality of our educational system, the incessant strikes, cult activities, widespread malpractices and prostitution that is made worse with no offer of job after graduation to lure many youths to abandon school and embrace Yusuf’s new and emerging state which promised to offer them a better education.
Late Yusuf also took advantage of the irresponsible leadership at all levels of government, unemployment, poverty, corruption and insecurity. And as he pointed out such failures, citing verses of Quran and the saying of the prophet, the youths saw him as the leader who will indeed deliver them from malevolence to the promised land.
Membership
In the early stage of the group, he was able to attract membership from the families of the high and mighty in Borno State. In fact, at a point, one of the sons of the former SSG in one of the States of the North East region was a member of this group. His father was from Jakusko while his mother is from Barde. Many other members of prominent families from Borno and Yobe States reportedly joined or later became sympathetic to his cause and supported it financially.
His Threats
Sheikh Muhammed Yusuf style of preaching was reportedly insiting, yet he was not bothered. This brought him in some confrontations with the law enforcement agents. In truth, the authorities can hardly claim ignorance of the activities of Mohammed Yusuf and his men. As a matter of fact, he was arrested on several occasions by the police in Maiduguri but before the police could roll out the drums and start celebrating his capture, Yusuf would have resurface in his vast compound in Maiduguri.
Time was when the man returned from Abuja barely five days after his arrest. In fact, people came all the way from Kaduna, Bauchi and Kano to welcome him. There was a long motorcade from the airport as thousands of his members trooped out to lead him to his house. He came back like a hero – a resident observed.
In January 2009, Yusuf was arrested and prosecuted in Abuja, but he was reportedly granted bail and subsequently returned to Maiduguri.
“Before he was killed, you should have been here on a Friday, you would think a big party was going on here. The whole area (Railway Quarters) would be lined by exotic cars as very powerful individuals came to see Yusuf. They went in cars with tinted glasses and so nobody would identify them. That is why many people believed the man was being sponsored by some very powerful individuals”, another resident said.
The First Attack-shooting of 17 mourners
The Operation Flush was a Borno State owned security outfit launched for an all war against robbers who had become very daring and were terrorising residents, motorists and commuters plying highways. At the onset, Operation Flush tackled robbery to a near standstill.
However, with innocent people becoming the squad’s victims, it became a source of worry for the residents of the state. The security outfit became notorious for brutalising people in Maiduguri, causing traffic disorder extorting money from people and usurping the functions of the law enforcement agencies on the state.