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Boko Haram Quotes

Browse 19 quotes about Boko Haram.

Boko Haram Quotes

“Non-violent resistance supposes that the almighty enemy, at the very least, considers you to be a human being, capable of logically arguing why you disagree. It supposes that this enemy is ready to hear your demands and find common ground. Yes, Bamileke maquisards took up arms! But did they have a choice? Colonial masters feigned departure, but their cruel puppets continue to safeguard their interests through murder. We were cheated. Our struggle has been used to different ends. And, you will see, they will chop off any head that stands out, and then falsify our history. In fact, they won't; they will not even bother to record our history." "Who is "they?" I asked. "This 'they' is 'we’,” replied Louis. "We are the ones killing ourselves. Our killers are encouraged, trained, and funded by the former colonial power. But, and this is what makes it worse, we ourselves are the ones doing the dirty work with senseless enthusiasm," he added. That was how Cameroon—not just myself as an individual, or my village, Ombessa, or Bafia and Yaounde, the places where I had lived, but also this multi-layered, nuanced, bruised entity called my country—took shape in my mind.”

ColonialismBoko HaramCameroonDays Come And GoHemley BoumBafiaBamilekeMaquisardsOmbessaYaounde
Book:Days Come and Go
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“It should be noted that even if the high-end estimate of fatalities directly or indirectly attributed to the Boko Haram insurgency were accepted at face value, they would still represent a small percentage of the overall violent deaths that have occurred in Nigeria over that same period of time.... According to UNODC data, Nigeria had 18,422 intentional homicides in 2008, the year after the violently contested elections.... Based on those numbers remaining relatively constant, Boko Haram would constitute approximately 5 per cent of all violent deaths in Nigeria since their peak in fatalities in 2009.”

NigeriaHomicideViolent Death2014Boko HaramMortality Rate
Book:Boko Haram: Islamism, politics, security and the state in Nigeria
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“Muslim identity and thought in Nigeria derive from the Sufi brotherhoods of Qadiriyya and Tijaniyya, primarily as a result of the historical role of the Kanem-Borno and Sokoto caliphates in the spread of Islam. The Sufi orders and the Izalatul Bidi’a wa Ikhamatis Sunnah (People Committed to the Removal of Innovations in Islam; hereafter Izala) are the two dominant contemporary Muslim foci of identity. The disdain towards and fear of boko (Western education) arose from its historically close association with the colonial state and Christian missionaries. This also suited colonial educational policy well, as the British had no intention of widespread education anyway. The aim of colonial education, particularly in northern Nigeria, was to maintain the existing status quo by “imparting some literacy to the aristocratic class, to the exclusion of the commoner classes” (Tukur 1979: 866). By the 1930s, colonial education had produced a limited cadre of Western-educated elite, who were conscious of their education and were yearning to play a role in society. Mainly children of the aristocratic class, the type of education they received was “different from the traditional education in their various societies, and this by itself was enough to mark them out as a group” (Kwanashie 2002: 50). This new education enabled them to climb the social and economic ladder over and above their peers who had a different kind of education, Quranic education. This was the origin of the animosity and distrust between the traditionally educated and Western-educated elite in northern Nigeria. Though subordinate to the Europeans, these educated elite were perceived as collaborators by their Arabic-educated fellows. Thus the antagonism towards Western education continues in many northern Nigerian communities, which have defied government campaigns for school enrollment to this day.”

EducationIslamSufismColonialismImperialismNigeriaJihad2014Boko Haram
Book:Boko Haram: Islamism, politics, security and the state in Nigeria
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“The rejection of Western democracy derives from the same rejection of secularism but was further sharpened by the Saudi Arabian establishment’s aversion to democracy’s subversive streak and the threat it posed to the Saudi monarchy if unleashed. Saudi scholars such as Sheikh Bakr Ibn Abu Zaid consistently attacked democracy and the freedoms it flaunted as anti-Islamic. Mohammed Yusuf was heavily influenced by the writings of Saudi-based scholars such as Bakr Ibn Abu Zaid, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Abd-Allah Ibn Baaz (1910-99), and Sheikh Muhammad al-Amin ash Shanqiti (1907-73). As mentioned before, all of Yusuf’s opponents side-stepped the issue of democracy being un-Islamic, thereby making the issue appear incontestable or settled.”

DemocracyIslamNigeriaSaudi ArabiaJihad2014Boko HaramSalafism
Book:Boko Haram: Islamism, politics, security and the state in Nigeria
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“The vast majority of arrests carried out by the military appear to be entirely arbitrary, often based solely on the dubious word of a paid informant. Military sources repeatedly told Amnesty International that the informants are unreliable and often provide false information in order to get paid. One officer said: "The military uses civilian informants to get information and arrest suspects. Most of these informants are liars. They give false information to the soldiers who are desperate to simply shoot and kill. Many of the soldiers don't know about investigations. The soldiers take these rash actions mainly out of frustration, especially after seeing their colleagues killed.”

NigeriaWar Crimes2015Amnesty InternationalBoko HaramExtrajudicial ExecutionPaid InformantsUnlawful Detention
Book:Nigeria: Stars on their shoulders. Blood on their hands: War crimes committed by the Nigerian military
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“The Nigerian government is playing with fire over this insecurity issue; they pardoned Boko haram terrorists, bandits, and terror herdsmen, but send a rapid response squad to peaceful protesters who are harmless. This is not a wise move or the right way to maintaining a One Nigeria. People should be able to protest against injustice and other things affecting their way of life as longs as they do it peacefully.”

GovernmentPeaceMurderProtestNigeriaBoko HaramLagosHerdsmenLekki MassacreSorosoke
Author:Olawale Daniel
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“Misery wreaks havoc. The yawning gap between this place and the rest of the country is unfathomable to anyone who has not experienced it. Boko Haram recruits them like child's play because the sect at least offers a tangible, immediate solution. As shocking as we might find it, their message appeals to some. Dying for God is more thrilling than dying of hunger, humiliation, or because the neighbourhood dispensary has run out of antibiotics. Maybe one day someone will study just how personally distressed one must be to weaponise faith against one's own people, but that is not my job.”

GodHungerHumiliationBoko HaramDays Come And Go
Book:Days Come and Go
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“You guys (Boko Haram) are trying so hard to convince everybody that you're such badasses. But all you've done with this kidnapping is highlight who the real badasses are, the kids you kidnapped. Compared to a teenager who knows that her desire for an education could get her dragged into a snake infested jungle to be sold as a bribe to some demented, stick-chewing cartoon villain but still gets up and goes to class everyday, fully aware of that danger - compared to their courage - I'd say Boko Haram is a bunch of little girls. But, you know what? You don't deserve that compliment.”

KnowsTryingLittlesStillsRealHardDoneKidsDesireGuyGirlClassDangerDeserveSticksEverydayBunchGet UpTeenagerConvinceComplimentVillainCartoonSnakesJungleBadassHighlightsBribeKidnappingChewingKidnappedDementedTrying So HardBoko HaramHaram
Author:Jon Stewart
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“The most dangerous thing I've ever encountered was a run-in with Boko Haram around 2007 in a small town in Nigeria. I got caught along with the photographer I was working with, the same one I worked with on the Afghanistan book, Seamus Murphy. We were caught in an attack by a mob after Friday prayers. And the level of violence was so extreme. It was more violent than any other mob violence I have ever seen.”

BookRunningPrayerLevelsViolenceDangerousTownsPhotographerCaughtExtremesViolentAfghanistanSmall TownFridayNigeriaDangerous ThingsMurphyBoko HaramHaram
Author:Eliza Griswold
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“There's no doubt that Boko Haram has been driven from many of its strongholds in northeastern Nigeria. Now, President Muhammadu Buhari says technically, we have won the war. Those in the know say but technically, the army is still losing the battle because Boko Haram has changed tactics. Instead of now holding territory as it used to and calling this territory its own, now it is resorting to guerrilla tactics, hit-and-run raids and especially suicide bombings.”

KnowsHas BeensStillsWarRunningUsedPresidentDoubtChangedCallingBattleLosingArmySuicideDrivenNo DoubtTerritoryTacticsBombingNigeriaGuerrillasStrongholdsBoko HaramHaram
Author:Ofeibea Quist-Arcton
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“And we are understanding - we're beginning to understand that the Nigerian military is now better on. And also, probably even more importantly, Michel, morale is higher amongst the military. I mean, you had Nigerian soldiers being accused of cowardice, running away from Boko Haram and not having the will to fight.”

MeanRunningFightingUnderstandingMilitaryHigherSoldierRunning AwayCowardiceAccusedMoraleBeing AccusedWill To FightBoko HaramHaram
Author:Ofeibea Quist-Arcton
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“Boko Haram represents the ultimate Fatwa of our time. The question is does the sect's Fatwa represent the articulated position of the majority of Muslims in this nation? My reading over the last few years is an unambiguous no. We are undergoing an affliction that many could not have imagined about a decade ago. Let us confront the ultimate horror now. To remain inactive at this moment is to betray our children and to consolidate the ongoing crimes against our humanity. We must take the battle to the enemy...We sent our children to school; we must bring them back to school.”

YearsChildrenDoeMomentsSchoolLastsHumanityReadingNationsEnemyCrimePositionHorrorBattleUltimateOur ChildrenMajorityDecadesOur TimeBetrayAfflictionOngoingSectsBoko HaramHaram
Author:Wole Soyinka
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