- Prof. Kale Ewusi, UN expert on Peace and Conflict
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| Prof. Kale Ewusi |
According to Cameroonian-born expert and researcher on peace and conflict at the UN University in Costa Rica, Boko Haram is purely an internal problem in Nigeria; Cameroon has only been dragged into it because Boko Haram considers Cameroon as a potential source for funding and recruitments to swell up its ranks. Professor Kale Ewusi made this and other salient remarks in an exclusive and very scintillating dialogue he had with The Median’s editor, Ayukokogem Steven Ojong in Yaounde. It makes for very captivating reading.
Before we proceed with this interview, can you let our readers to know who Prof. Kale Ewusi is?
I am Dr. Kale Ewusi. My surname is Ewusi, to differentiate from the well known and very famous professor Ndiva Kofele Kale. I was born in Buea. I did my secondary school studies at Bilingual Grammar school, Molyko Buea, and then the University of Yaounde where I took a law degree. I also took a Masters degree in International Relations at the University of Maiduguri in Nigeria, and then a Doctorate Degree in Peace and Conflicts Studies and International Relations at the North Western University in South Africa. I am presently teaching at the United Nations University for Peace with headquarters in Costa Rica, where I am also the research coordinator for Africa. I also teach courses in political economy of peace and conflict. Apart from these i am also visiting professor at many African Universities, such as the Rwandan National University; the Rwandan Defense College; the Makerere University in Uganda; the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia etc. Also, in my capacity as research coordinator for Africa at the UN University i work with 26 universities on the continent.
As an expert in peace and conflict management and someone who passed through the University of Maiduguri in Borno State of Nigeria, where Boko Haram activities are today concentrated, can you trace the origin of the Boko Haram Phenomenon?
That’s a very interesting question. I lived in Maiduguri, Northern Nigeria between 1994 and 1998. I was there for four good years, and that was when Maiduguri was an extremely peaceful city in Bornu state. I should say Boko Haram is an outcome of three particular aspects: Firstly, it is an outcome of political thuggery, which is a salient feature of the Nigerian political system. Secondly it is an outcome of political abandonment; a situation where by politicians use thugs to get to power and then abandon these thugs as soon as they capture power. Thirdly it is an outcome of the huge economic inequalities that exist in what is today considered as Africa’s biggest economy. These three factors have combined to create what I would call a Frankenstein Monster: The Boko Haram.
Some informed opinions hold that the extreme poverty in Northern Nigeria partly accounted for the rise of the Boko Haram phenomenon. How come there is such widespread poverty in Northern Nigeria, after at least 8 of the over 10 former Nigerian heads of state originated from there?
We shouldn’t forget that most of these presidents were military officers. These were people who came to power by use of force and so had neither legitimacy nor a constituency. Therefore most of these military presidents, though from the North, did not consider themselves accountable to the people of Northern Nigeria. In fact, most of these leaders were an out shot of what was referred to as “the Military Industrial Complex” within Nigeria and what was at some point known as the Kaduna Mafia, which comprised of military officers in Kabout with politicians and businessmen. Therefore much of Northern Nigeria has been abandoned in spite of the fact that most of the former military presidents came from the Northern part of the country. So, with the coming of democracy in Nigeria, it was expected that after two terms of Obasanjo Olusegun (a Southerner) at the presidency, a Northerner would also be given at least two terms at Aso Rock, to balance the political equation. And because it was expected that this Northerner should have been a democratically elected leader with a constituency, there was hope that he should have brought some development to the Northern parts of Nigeria or at least pay allegiance to the North. But this was not to be. But i must say that this arrangement was not explicitly written; it was only a gentleman’s agreement but which was violated within the ruling party in Nigeria. Because that equation failed to take root, Boko Haram is now being used by some of the Northern politicians to destabilize the country. But that is only part of the problem.
So, why have Nigerian forces been so overwhelmed by Boko Haram to the extent that they have almost admitted their incapacity and inability to deal with it?
Definitely Nigeria is what one might call a semi-failed state. Nigeria does not have total control over its territorial integrity. There are a lot of ungoverned areas in the Northern part of Nigeria, and this has only favored the implantation of Boko Haram. Concordantly, it has been quite difficult to tackle Boko Haram because Boko Haram is an insurgency. You don’t tackle an insurgency with the use of conventional forces. Conventional means is not a viable strategy to tackle insurgencies. And so, Nigeria is not on the right track with regards to the way it has so far handled the Boko Haram. I say this because of several reasons: Firstly, Nigeria started by denying the existence of Boko Haram, which meant she had no problem to deal with. Secondly they resorted to conventional and indiscriminate military attack on the Northern populations, who of course are very poor and feel deprived of the economic benefits of the regime in place. And this has only facilitated the recruitment of youth within the rank and file of Boko Haram.
Nigerian authorities claim that part of their difficulty in tackling Boko Baram is due to the fact that Cameroon harbors Boko Haram bases in its territory, and when Boko Haram terrorists are pursued by Nigerian forces they run back to their Cameroonian hideouts. Is Cameroon harboring Boko Haram bases in its territory?
That is a distraction by Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian press. It is very far from the truth. Cameroon has control overs its territorial integrity more than Nigeria does. There are a lot of ungoverned places within Nigeria. And most of these places are around the borders with North Cameroon, as well as with Niger and Chad.These vast expanses of ungoverned desert lands in Nigeria are where the Boko Haram bases are found. On the contrary, Cameroon has more control over its entire territory and so it is very difficult for Boko Haram to create its bases in Cameroon. The claims by Nigerian authorities are very far from the truth; they are not founded.
But how come Boko Haram orchestrates attacks on Cameroonian targets and with such alarming success?
The porosity of the borders between Cameroon and Nigeria has made Boko Haram to use Cameroon as a cash-cow. It is very easy to cross between Cameroon and Nigeria in those porous Northern frontiers. Consequently the kidnapping of foreigners has become a veritable source of revenue for Boko Haram, and this revenue is what Boko Haram uses to recruit more militants. Boko Haram makes a lot of money from the kidnappings in Cameroon and this money is given out to poor youths in exchange for their adherence to Boko Haram. The rank and file of Boko Haram is filled essentially by poor, jobless young men. So, Boko Haram has no bases in Cameroon; she only uses Cameroon as a cash-cow to fund her terrorist activities in Nigeria.
So in your opinion Boko Haram would not carry out full scale attacks on Cameroonian churches and city centers like it does in Nigeria?
Book Haram will not be able to do that in Cameroon. Firstly, Boko Haram has no intention to spread its ideology into Cameroon. Boko Haram has no intention to create a caliphate where their ideology, which is similar to that of the Talibans, will take root. Secondly, Boko Haram cannot carry such full scale attacks in Cameroon because their ideology is centered only within Nigeria. Their main objective is to destabilize Nigeria but not to destabilize Cameroon. Also, their ideology cannot take root in Northern Cameroon, although there are high levels of poverty out there. And we must not belittle the fact that Cameroon has a vast educational policy which has made Northern Cameroonians more educated than Northern Nigerians. And so Islamic fundamentalism is not a phenomenon in Cameroon, and it really cannot take root in Northern Cameroon. But if Boko Haram should carry out a full scale attack on some Cameroonian target it could be in retaliation to the barricading of the Cameroonian borders, which prevents them from crossing over and making money in Cameroon.
You said a while ago that if Nigerian authorities have failed in tackling Boko Haram it is because they used conventional means to check an insurgency. So what about the heavy deployment of troops in Northern Cameroon? Can that provide a panacea to Boko Haram or it is just a palliative measure?
I think that can be a palliative measure like you say; it can only douse the scare in the short run. I don’t think militarization is a holistic strategy to deal with Boko Haram. We must understand that Boko Haram operates asymmetrically and can better be tackled more covertly than overtly. So, the open declaration of war by Cameroon only shows an intention to apply force. I think this is not the best means to tackle Boko Haram.
If you were consulted by Cameroonian authorities to advice on Boko Haram, what would you tell them?
My advice would be that for a terrorist organization such as Boko Haram which operates around the borders between Cameroon and Nigeria and more within mainland Nigeria, the best strategy should be through intelligence and information gathering. In fact there should be more intelligence cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria. If these countries have to employ security operatives they should employ more intelligence officers than military officers. Secondly they must also employ modern technology to track the insurgents. In fighting terrorism, the USA uses intelligence information which is gathered and analyzed. Then the drones are used to attack the targets. America would never divulge before hand the kind of operation they intend to adopt. In fact you will never know their tactic before hand, except there is collateral damage. So it is important for Cameroon and Nigeria to carry out intelligence cooperation and covert counter-terrorism measures. But I don’t see that happening because there are huge suspicions between Cameroon and Nigeria. The relations between the two neighbors are presently far from cordial, due to suspicious borne out of a long history of border problems especially the Bakassi issue. Also, we cannot belittle the fact that parts of Nigeria are not well governed. You saw how the president of Nigeria could not travel to Chibok where 250 student girls were kidnapped because he was not sure of his security. On the contrary, president Biya will go anywhere in Cameroon. Consequently, it is important that the two countries should clear whatever mutual suspicion they have and carry out coordinated counter-intelligence operations and joint patrols against Boko Haram.
If you were to educate the people of North Cameroon on Boko Haram, what will be your message to them?
It is not a matter of educating them; it is a matter of carrying out huge socio-economic development including job creation in the area. That is a tacit way of conflict prevention. Conflicts happen not because old men and women are angry but because young people are jobless and angry. There are high unemployment rates and low levels of education in the Northern regions. These are factors that facilitate recruitment by Boko Haram. Consequently it is important that Cameroon carries out a kind of “Marshall Plan” in these areas to make sure that there’s socio-economic development which impacts the lives of the people especially the youths. Sending well-to-do officials in Prados to sensitize the people is inappropriate and could only add to the frustration.
Do you think Boko Haram can be eradicated if Cameroon and Nigeria continue to tackle it independently?
No! Independent, unconcerted operations by the two countries will not easily eradicate Boko Haram activities within Nigeria and its neighbors. In fact, I should state here that Boko Haram may not be eradicated in Nigeria unless Nigeria gets its political act together. And I don’t see that happening before 2015; that is, before the presidential election that year. I should also remark that allegations by Nigeria that Cameroon does not pay enough attention to Boko Haram instead put Cameroon in good stead, unlike now that Cameroon has openly declared war on Boko Haram and has actually militarized its Northern frontiers. The initial covert strategy that was adopted by Cameroon was a better strategy than the present open military build-up at the borders. I think what Cameroon needs to do apart from tightening its borders, is to create jobs for the idle unemployed youths; improve the economy of these areas rather than declaring an open war on a rather invisible adversary. Boko Haram operates in Nigeria; has its bases there. In fact, Boko Haram is a Nigerian thing. I’m afraid that Cameroon is being dragged into a phenomenon which is purely internal in Nigeria.
It was nice talking with you Prof.
The pleasure was mine. Thank you for the opportunity.
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