To: President Muhammadu Buhari

From: Willow Edge

Subject: Nigerian Policy Toward Boko Haram

Nigeria is in genuine danger. The Islamic terrorist group Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna

Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which translates to “People Committed to the Propagation of the

Prophet's Teachings and Jihad” is better known by the name Boko Haram (BBC). They pose the

biggest threat to the nation’s safety at this time. While initially started to oppose Christianisation

of the population, they turned violent in 2009 when they began the slaughter of thousands

(“Boko Haram Releases…”). In their attempts to eliminate the Western influence on the country,

the group has begun using bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations targeted at things they

deem secular, with their most frequent form of attack being their use of airstrike bombs on

civilian life (“Nigeria Air Force…”). One of Boko Haram’s biggest and best known displays of

terrorism was their April 2014 abduction of over 200 girls for their attendance of school, a very

Western concept (“Boko Haram Releases…”). The group wants to enforce strict teachings of the

Quran’s words and the careful following of its guidelines. The idea of voting is impossible under

this system, females will be have no rights in society, they fight in unhonorable ways to try and

achieve these unfair goals. Recently retaliation has begun, and it’s been reasonably effective, but

it’s only a start. Returning their bombing with a dual bomb attack of Boko Haram bases

(“Nigeria Air Force…”) was a powerful tactical decision, but is only one of many elements

necessary in showing a mastery in the art of war.

In such crisis, it is worthwhile to reference the strategies of many past great military

tacticians like Hannibal Barca and his great leadership against the Roman Empire, or Sun Tzu

and his fight against the kingdom of Chu. It takes a diverse use of many powerful strategies to

create a formidable army. Sun Tzu wrote about that exact necessity in his anthology of war
concepts Art of War. In it he wrote: “Water shapes its course according to the nature of the

ground over which it flows… Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare

there are no constant conditions” (p 31, ch 4, st 27-34). Boko Haram will soon pick up on how

the Nigerian army discovers their bases and plan their attacks. They will alter their strategies

based on what that recent bombing, but in retaliation it is necessary for the Nigerian government

to also alter their strategies. But the easiest way to counter the alteration of military plans is to

never allow them to happen.

Sun Tzu emphasised the importance of keeping wars as short possible. Particularly in the

case of Boko Haram vs Nigeria, maintaining a long conflict could be significantly detrimental to

not only the wellbeing of the peoples, but to the nation’s economy and lack of development. Sun

Tzu wrote that “There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare” (p 12, ch 2,

st 6). His primary reason was the depletion of resources, but with Boko Haram’s cause it’s even

deeper than that. Every battle between the government and these terrorists only creates a tighter

grasp on their views of the situation. These people do not fight out of fear or to protect the

greater existence, they fight because they believe they are doing good work. Each fight they see

as the world resisting positive change, a hurdle they’re meant to jump. The progression through

this system of battle after battle only gives them further passion, while the Nigerian army fights

out of fear and the feeling of necessity so these battles begin to drain them and deplete their

resources. Instead Nigeria needs to begin fighting to regain land, and to end it quickly. If Nigeria

picks its fights well they may begin to be able to reclaim the resource supplies Boko Haram have

adapted to their own purposes. Sun Tzu wrote that a leader must seek to replenish his own army

with the spoils of conquest in order to maintain any success in his journeys (p 13, ch 2, st 15).

The logic behind this principle of war is fairly simple. As you spend resources to conquer a
group, you also hope to gain those back in a good ratio to maintain a bounty. But how can

Nigeria be aware of what Boko Haram possesses, where they move, or even learn of certain

aspects of enemy plans? The answer is what was once one of Sun Tzu’s favourite tactics: spying.

Sun Tzu found the strategy of gathering intelligence through spies the most powerful but

also an incredibly dangerous element of war. He wrote “[I]t is only the enlightened ruler and the

wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying, and

thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in war, because on them

depends an army’s ability to move” (pg 72, ch 8, st 7). This quote has a few sections, in the first

part he speaks of how important it is to use your most clever agents. This is of course important

because you don’t want to lose men for them being caught and executed as spies. When he says

“on them depends an army’s ability to move” he means you cannot make an informed decision

on where to put pressure or how to counter their attacks, for the simple reason you don’t know

where they are. If you’re fighting in the dark you have very little chance of success, but each spy

is a small light you shine on the enemy. If Nigeria were to implement spies among the Boko

Haram ranks, it would become more realistic to try and strategise against them. There would be a

chance of ending this war on terrorism quickly, with maximum resource gain if intelligent and

skilled spies were implemented.

Nigeria doesn’t need to train and provide only their own spies however, it would likely

take far too long to achieve much effect. The United States has a long military history and could

provide spies, manpower, and military genius. With one of the most powerful militaries in the

world, the US has major resources that would provide a significant advantage against the Boko

Haram forces. With its help, Nigerian spies could begin to be trained, while skilled already

trained spies could be deployed. The United States working with Nigeria would make a large
push to defeat this radical Islamic terrorism and restore the nation to health and begin helping

them grow again.

Works Consulted

BBC. “Who Are Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist Group?” BBC News, BBC, 24 Nov.

2016. Accessed 29 Oct. 2017.

"Boko Haram Releases Dozens of Chibok Schoolgirls, Say Nigerian Officials." The Guardian, 6

May 2017. Web. 29 Oct. 2017.

Giles, Lionel, translator. The Art of War - Sun Tzu. New York City, Barnes and Noble,

2003. Barnes and Noble Classics.

"Nigeria Air Force Bombs Boko Haram Base, Kills Many - Official." Premium Times

Nigeria. N.p., 22 Oct. 2017. Web. 29 Oct. 2017