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Title details for Boko Haram by Mike Smith - Available

Boko Haram

Inside Nigeria's Unholy War

by Mike Smith
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An insurgency in Nigeria by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has left thousands dead, shaken Africa's biggest country and worried the world. Yet it remains a mysterious – almost unknowable – organisation. ˜ rough exhaustive on-the-ground reporting, Mike Smith takes readers inside the con° ict and provides the ÿ rst in-depth account of the violence and unrest. He traces Boko Haram from its beginnings as a small Islamist sect in Nigeria's remote north-east, led by a baby-faced but charismatic preacher, to its transformation into a hydra-headed entity, deploying suicide bombers and abducting schoolgirls.Much of the book is told through the eyes of Nigerians who have found themselves caught between frightening insurgents and security forces accused of horrifying brutality. It includes the voices of a forgotten police o? cer left paralysed by an attack, women whose husbands have been murdered and a sword-wielding vigilante using charms to fend o? insurgent bullets. It journeys through the sleaze and corruption that has robbed Africa's biggest oil producer of its potential, making it such fertile ground for extremism. Along the way it questions whether there can be any end to the violence and the ways in which this might be achieved. Interspersed with history, this book delves into the roots of this unholy war being waged by a virtually unknown organisation, which is set to shape the destiny of Africa's biggest economy and most populous state – and perhaps aff ect the future of Africa.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 30, 2015

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780857735775

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780857735775
      • File size: 605 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      April 15, 2015

      In his first book, journalist Smith (Agence France-Presse) draws on his years of reporting from Nigeria and elsewhere in West Africa as well as on books, journal articles, and interviews with Nigerian police, military officials, politicians, and survivors of Boko Haram attacks. He uses all these sources to try to make sense of the origin, development, and endurance of the jihadi insurgency now threatening the Nigerian state and the stability of neighboring countries. Much of the historical background and political analysis tying the rise of Boko Haram to the dysfunctional region have been covered in other recent volumes (e.g., Josh Arinze's Poverty Is No Excuse for Terrorism and Samuel T. Whitlock's Boko Haram), but Smith's descriptions of attacks and their aftermath bring human interest to the politics. Any work on the subject is instantly out of date, however, since Boko Haram changes almost daily--its spokesman recently declared he is considering pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and the group's attacks are spreading to Niger and causing a massive refugee problem in that country. VERDICT This title will be of interest to readers concerned about the future peace and stability of West Africa.--Joel Neuberg, Santa Rosa Junior Coll. Lib., CA

      Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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