NIGERIAN DRAMA

In Nigeria, a real human drama is unfolding, which affects the fates of hundreds of girls abducted by terrorists. But the reason is entrenched political and economic problems of the country, some of which have a pronounced external origin.

Back in mid-April, the Boko Haram extremist organization kidnapped more than 250 schoolgirls and threatened to sell them on the market as "brides".

Boko Haram has been terrifying the Nigerians for 12 years. The official name of the sect is the "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad". Meanwhile, the specific activity of the organization has virtually nothing in common with Islam and the precepts of the Prophet Muhammad. In Nigeria and beyond it, it has become known as Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in one of the local dialects - Hausa. However, the group is actually against any general education, and has proclaimed the introduction of Shariah law in Nigeria as its main objective (of course, in the interpretation of Islamic law, which appears correct only to Boko Haram itself).

Without doubt, the activity of the extremist organization is promoted by the political, economic and interfaith situation in the country. Nigeria, which has a population of over 100m and is torn by social injustice and pervasive corruption, has actually split along religious lines: in the predominantly Muslim-populated north of the country Shariah law is in place, while the south is dominated by Christianity. Boko Haram demands the introduction of Shariah throughout the country, but does not care about human life at all, which, according to Islamic teachings, is the worst sin.

Here is the opinion of one of the most authoritative religious leaders of Nigeria and former supreme qadi of the Shariah Court of Kwara State, Abdulkadir Orire: "Does the Koran say that you need to kill people to achieve your goals? Not only is it unfair to identify Boko Haram with Islam, it also misleads people."

Islamic values are really alien to any organizations that use terrorist methods of struggle to achieve their goals and cover themselves with slogans of the Muslim religion. In the case of Boko Haram, it is obvious that this organization is one of the elements of confrontation between economic groups in northern Nigeria and the business elite of the south. Representatives of the Muslim community are unhappy that a significant proportion of the money from the sale of the country's oil resources goes to the southerners. Hence the desire of the forces fuelling Boko Haram financially to redistribute the oil rent and redirect its main stream to the north.

However, Nigerian Islamists also "earn" from kidnappings, drug trafficking and extortions from the local population. But their main hobbyhorse is terrorist activity, initiating riots and attacks on villages, churches and police stations. Attacks on educational institutions, which Boko Haram is making on a bigger and bloodier scale, should be mentioned separately.

For example, in September 2013, Boko Haram militants attacked an agricultural college and killed 40 students. In February this year, dozens of students became victims of attacks by Islamists in the Nigerian state of Yobe. And some of Buni Yadi college students were burned alive and others were shot.

And then a new action followed, which targeted girls studying in schools, under the pretext that Islam supposedly does not recognize women's education. A month after the abduction of the schoolgirls, Boko Haram offered the authorities a deal: the schoolgirls can be released, but only on condition that supporters of the organization will be released from Nigerian prisons. The country's leadership, however, rejected such an offer. It, apparently, is in complete disarray, trusting neither homegrown extremists nor foreign forces that have offered Abuja assistance in freeing the girls.

The latter is clearly illustrated in Nigerian-American relations. Washington, apparently, is ready to provide Abuja with massive assistance in freeing the schoolgirls. It is indicative that US First Lady Michelle Obama spoke instead of the president's traditional weekly address to the nation, saying: "I want you to know that Barack has ordered the government to do everything possible to support the efforts of the Nigerian government to find the girls and return them home."

Indeed, previously President Barack Obama ordered the dispatch of a team of military intelligence specialists to Nigeria. An American reconnaissance aircraft is also involved in the search for the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants. The US also promised to provide the Nigerian government with satellite images.

In addition to the United States, Britain and France also promised to send defence experts and reconnaissance aircraft to Nigeria. At the same time, Western countries make it clear that they are not talking about military operations in the African country. This is explained, first of all, by the position of Abuja officials. The authorities of Nigeria - the largest African state in terms of population and GDP - are reluctant to accept large-scale foreign aid to rescue the girls from Boko Haram captivity because they fear that it will allow the West to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. Abuja is primarily concerned about the prospect of a US military base on the territory of Nigeria.

Since this country is the largest African oil producer, the United States see Nigeria as "the centre of efforts to ensure security" on the African continent. Washington has long been exerting massive pressure on Abuja, seeking, inter alia, closer cooperation in the field of intelligence. But the main thing is that the US does not hide its desire to set up a military base in Nigeria designed to promote the expansion of US influence in Africa. However, Abuja has still strongly disagreed with the military offers of Washington. And the factor of Boko Haram is not the last thing in motivating the concern of the Nigerian government. Not least because there is the following opinion: Boko Haram, like the Al-Qaeda international terrorist organization, is originally a project of the CIA.

Today, the United States officially recognizes Boko Haram as a terrorist organization. In August 2011, the chief of the US Africa Command, Carter Ham, said that the group is closely linked to the African wing of Al-Qaeda. But the mere existence of such dark forces as Boko Haram, supposedly acting in the name of Islam, is a very convenient excuse to implement globalist plans in different parts of the world. In the case of Nigeria, these plans threaten with loss of independence and even dismemberment of the country.

Meanwhile, China appears more active in the way of US control over Nigeria and the whole of Africa. The Africans react much less painfully to the expansion of China, which, unlike the West, focuses (at least for now) on the development of economic cooperation with the African continent.

The renowned economist from Zambia, Dambisa Moyo, wrote in an article in the American newspaper The Huffington Post that Chinese investment not only contributes to global economic growth and poverty reduction, but also "plays a key role in preventing social unrest and instability by creating jobs in the region".

The scale of China's activity in Africa in recent years is truly impressive. In 2009, China took the place of the US as the main trading partner of Africa. Last year, the volume of trade between China and African countries exceeded 210bn dollars, and the amount of direct investment amounted to 25bn dollars.

However, Beijing does not intend to stop at these figures. Chinese strategists believe that there is enormous room for expanding Chinese investment in the African economy. It is noteworthy that as the drama around the kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls unfolds, the head of the Chinese government, Li Keqiang, made an African tour during which he visited Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola and Kenya. He agreed on an even larger volume of Chinese investment in Africa. Africa is a major exporter of oil and copper to China, but Li Keqiang assured African businessmen that Beijing is interested not only in energy operations. Evidence of that is China's intention to fund such a global project as a high-speed rail network across the whole of Africa estimated at 12bn dollars.

Nigeria takes a special place in the plans of China. During his visit to this country, Li Keqiang called for an increase in the volume of bilateral trade to 400bn dollars by 2020. A few days later in Beijing he received Nigerian Senate President David Mark who was visiting China. The latter noted that Nigeria welcomes Chinese investment in the country's economy and will grant Chinese companies favourable conditions and safety guarantees.

Judging by the statements of David Mark, Abuja is not averse to strongly supporting the strategic partnership with China. In this context, it is obvious that the internal sectarian turmoil in Nigeria is linked to the geopolitical confrontation between major centres of world politics for control over Africa, which is rich in natural resources.