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âTalibanâ of Nigeria: Who Are They?
Excerpt from long article:In addition to numerous national problems of fuel scarcity, poverty, banditry, unemployment and ecological dangers, the people of the north-eastern region and indeed the entire nation were last week stunned by the eruption of a new form of civil insurrection by a group of youths who style themselves the âTaliban.â Contrary to early reports that it was a "Maitatsine" group, the Taliban, otherwise known as the Hijrah movement composed of young graduates and post-graduates most of whom were from highly placed and influential families with an understanding of the Islamic religion that completely denounces sin, corruption and immorality. Middle class/rich kids with time on their hands.
Good devout muslims canât live with anyone who isnât, they have to have their own state. In the Kanamma bush area, the Hijrah group members, along with their wives and children according to sources, established a âbaseâ where they engaged in religious studies among themselves, unperturbed by the people who pass by them every now and then between Kanamma and Geidam towns. Went off and set up a commune, complete with mosque and a rifle range for advanced religious study. Although people did comment on their unusual presence in the area, nothing dramatic happened until one week ago when the group suddenly surfaced in Kanamma town and attacked the police station there. Weekly Trust gathered that in addition to attacking the police station and killing one policeman, the Hijrah members carted away a list of arms and ammunitions after reportedly setting the police station and other public places on fire. From Kanamma, the group marched to Geidam, headquarters of Geidam local government area where they also overran the police station, chased out the policemen and took away guns and other weapons. Standard practice for beginning revolutionaries, steal your weapons from the opposing force. It was at this stage that the Hijrah group members distributed leaflets stating the principal theses they sought to uphold. Among the issues they raised were their plan to âcarve outâ the areas around Kanamma, Yunusari and Toshiya out of Nigeria and to bring them under the control of an Islamic state, to place the areas under the leadership of Mullah Omar, presumably the fugitive former leader of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, to kill any âunbeliever in uniformâ (presumably policemen and soldiers) and to call on the Muslims in the country to rise up for Jihad (Holy War) to defend Islam and establish justice. It does sound like a page from the Taliban handbook. Of course, pretty much every islamic seperatist group tries the same thing. Interesting about Mullah Omar, Iâd say it would be spritual leadership unless heâs thinking about relocating. Weekly Trust reliably learnt that prior to the sudden attack on Kanamma, the group had been approached in the bush by a committee said to be set up by the Yobe State government and made up of a number of religious scholars to persuade them to leave the area when public comments regarding their presence began to grow high. Sources said that the members had initially agreed to disperse but then made an about-turn and attacked Kanamma. This has become one of the mysteries that shroud the activities of the âTalibanâ group. A number of people who spoke to our correspondent said that they believed there must be factors that could have made the members of the group to turn suddenly violent considering the fact that for the months that they spent in the bush, they never engaged the police or, for that matter, the local people in any sort of confrontation. No mystery to me, once the government became interested in them, they felt they had to act before their real plans were exposed and security forces arrived. Think Jonestown and Waco. Another reason for them having to steal guns, they had to move before they had time to import any. That may turn out to be a good thing. Posted by: Steve 2004-01-07 |
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