Last week, a colleague forwarded me an email purportedly written by Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram. Addressed to the International Criminal Court and penned in perfect English, it made the outlandish claim that Nigeria's President Jonathan has been a key sponsor of the Boko Haram insurgency all along. It even claimed many of Boko Haram's attacks have actually been carried out by the government. Even aside from its unbelievable claims, the email bore all the hallmarks of a fake - written in English, the language of the insurgency's Western enemies, and referring throughout to "Boko Haram", a name the group itself eschews in favour of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad). As news of Nigeria's ceasefire deal with Boko Haram has been making headlines around the world, the email reminded me there are two insurgencies in Nigeria. There's the real insurgency that has claimed the lives of thousands of Nigerians, and then there's the insurgency that exists in the minds of much of Nigeria's political elite, to be unleashed as a tool to gain political advantage over their opponents. As the real Boko Haram continues to terrorise the [...]
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