Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Did you miss it?  While most the world’s attention was focused on the terrorist attack in France, there was little notice given to a much larger attack by Islamist extremists in Nigeria.  In an assault that lasted days, Boko Haram militants carried out a ‘scorched earth campaign’ in the northeastern part of the country … killing, looting, and burning everything in sight.  Amnesty International described the attack as the “deadliest massacre” in the history of Boko Haram.

 

During the raid that started January 3, hundreds of gunmen seized the town of Baga and neighboring villages … as well as a multinational military base.  Though local officials gave conflicting death tolls, they agreed on the massive number of fatalities.  From hundreds to as many as 2,000 people were killed in attacks on 16-villages.  The actual toll is yet unknown.

 

An offensive is underway to reclaim the areas from the militants, according to Mike Omeri, a government spokesman.  “These towns are just gone, burned down,” Borno State Senator Ahmed Zanna told NBC News.  “The whole area is covered in bodies.”

 

Boko Haram gained notoriety earlier last year after kidnapping roughly 200-schoolgirls … who are still missing.  [read about it in my blog posting of May 12, 2014 – “Christian Persecution in Abduction of Nigerian Girls” ] They’ve conducted a number of large-scale attacks since then, and declared their own caliphate in the country.

 

Clearly, the Nigerian government is struggling to keep the militant group in check, but why?  The Christian Science Monitor reports this:

 

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged to put an end to the group’s reign of terror, but Boko Haram has refused to negotiate with the current government, which is led by a non-Muslim political party.  If anything, Boko Haram’s attacks are intended to display the government’s inability to effectively respond and influence the outcome of the next election.  Boko Haram boasts firepower, discipline, and seems to benefit from links to well-funded organizations such as al-Qaeda.  In 2013, the Nigerian military descended on Baga in response to an attack by Boko Haram fighters.  The effort, during which critics accused soldiers of executing more “destruction than protection,” at least 37-people were killed and 2,275-homes were destroyed.  When Boko Haram overtook Baga on January 3, government soldiers abandoned post leaving unarmed citizens to defend themselves.  “We are very dispirited,” Borno North Senator Maina Maaji Lawan told BBC.  “There is definitely something wrong that makes our military abandon their posts each time there is an attack from Boko Haram.”

 

Clearly, Boko Haram is not just Nigeria’s problem anymore, especially since the group threatened Cameroon in a video last week, and has set its sights on expanding territory into the neighboring country.  “A global threat calls for a global response.  Such should be the response of the international community, including the African Union and our regional organizations,” said Cameroon’s President Paul Biya in a speech earlier this month.

 

If the Bible is your moral guide in thought, word and deed: How do you reconcile what is going on in Nigeria … where 50% of the population is Christian … with being your brother’s keeper?  Are we being like Cain who slew his brother Abel (Genesis 4:9) and when the Lord asked Cain – “Where is your brother?” we respond like Cain – “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel