Confronting the Terrorism of Boko Haram in Nigeria - Resourcedat

JSOU Report 12-5a slow, painful death.” 67 Throughout the country, there are myriad examplesof what John Alexander describes in his 2009 monograph as the “concentrationof wealth and power in the hands of a very few, with nepotism andtribalism as key factors.” 68 Income distribution in Nigeria is among the worstin the world, with most of the wealth going to a select few. 69Perceived authority to govern is based on power, and power in Nigeriais based on patronage. The country reflects quite well what Hisham Sharabidescribes as neopatriarchy:32Despite all ideological appearances, the individual’s basic affiliationin “modernized,” neopatriarchal society is to the family, the clan,the ethnic or religious group. For the common person in this societythe concept of society or fatherland is an abstraction, which hasmeaning only when reduced to the primordial significations ofkinship and religion… This practice strengthens both personalloyalty and dependence, cultivated early within the family, andbolsters them within the larger social whole in a system of patronageand the distribution of favor and protection. 70In Nigeria, the powerful make decisions based on what they believeis required for their political survival and the economic security of theirfamily, clan, and close associates. They have often used illegal and extrajudicialmeans to coerce or eliminate those who might oppose them. Notably,the president of Nigeria has enormous power; there are very few constitutionalconstraints on the president.During the 1990s in particular, the Sani Abacha regime set an awfulstandard for plundering a nation’s resources. Money was stolen openlyand with impunity (by some estimates, over $8 billion), and most of thoseresponsible have never been held to account for their crimes. The system thatenabled such thievery remains in place today, a system in which resourcesare channeled through state entities that control access to jobs and wealth.The easiest, and often the only way to make money is a position in the government.A university professor’s salary is 400,000 naira (roughly $2,500)per month, while a local government chairman’s salary is 1.2 million naira(over $7,500) per month. This creates an obvious incentive for medical doctors,scientists, and academics to leave their professions and go into politicsjust to make money. For example, as a May 2011 article in the Economist