These are both video messages addressed to President Goodluck Johnathan and the CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) president, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, from the Leader of Boko Haram, Malam Abubakar Shekau.
First Video:
''Greetings to you and greetings to fellow Muslims and thanks be to God. This is a message to Goodluck and to the Can president. Alhamdullahi, we are known as Jamatu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-jihad which some people derogatory term as Boko Haram. We have said all that needs to be said and everyone has seen what the security personnel have done to us. Everyone has seen why we are fighting with them.
We hardly touch anybody except security personnel and Christians and
those who have betrayed us. Everyone knows what Christians did to Muslims, not once or twice. Why I've come out to explain myself is
because of the explanation Jonathan and the CAN president gave on us,
including the various versions people give about us that we are like
cancer (a terrible ailment) in this country called Nigeria. No, we're
not cancer, neither are we evil. If people don't know us, God knows
everyone. Everyone knows what happened to our leader. Everyone knows
what wickedness was meted out to our members and fellow Muslims in
Nigeria from time to time in Zango kataf, Tafawa Balewa, Kaduna,
villages, Langtang, Yelwa shendam. Different things were meted out to Muslims in this country. Everyone knows that democracy and the
constitution is paganism and everyone knows there are some things that
God has forbidden in the Quran that cannot be counted even western
education! We have stopped everything apart from saying we should stay
on the path of truth and peace and live right in the sight of God.
There, we will have peace and that is what we have been preaching and because of that they said we should be killed and our mosques destroyed.
We decided to defend ourselves and God has said if you follow him, he will
give you strength! That is why Jonathan, you should know that this is
beyond your power. It is not our doing but that of God. It is beyond
you. Wallahi, what you are saying is like you have not started saying
anything! Before God created the earth, he knew what was going to happen
and he has promised in the holy book that he will help his religion. It
is beyond your power. What you see has been happening, God allowed it
because you have refused to follow him and you have betrayed his
religion. That is why Jonathan, this is beyond your power-yes!! If a few
in your government say nice things about us, it is not surprising-it
has happened many times -our hands are open! Anybody that says he will
not follow God, even if he loves us, God has not said we should love
such a person. God has said we should show such person the right path
and embrace such person! You Christians should know that Jesus is a
servant and prophet of God. He is not the son of God. This religion of
Christianity you are practicing is not a religion of God-it is
paganism. God frowns at it. What you are practicing is not religion.
Aside that, you Christians cheated and killed us to the extent of eating
our flesh like cannibals! You did all you wanted to us. We are trying
to coerce you to embrace Islam, because that is what God instructed us
to do. Even at that, without provocation, you slaughtered us and took
our wives and humiliated us! Now you CAN president, you come out to say
your people should come out and do whatever they want to do! Any right
thinking person knows what you mean, any right thinking person knows
what you're saying. This is why as leader of this sect I tell you to
repent and to you Christians, repent! This path we're taking is God's
path. Fellow Muslims, understand us! Our objective is not to kill or
humiliate or steal. This explanation has become necessary, even if I
don't explain, I can decide to keep mute because the person I love to
know me like this is God. I have no objective than to help the
religion of God, that is all I can explain. But if u want further
explanation, we have tapes you can listen to and know our objectives.
This is also my message to the President of Nigeria, Jonathan, who has
come out to say negative things about us and also a lot of harm to
us-God has given us victory and we have done what we want to do. This is
almost 11 yrs. our members are being killed! Anything people want to
say or do, we say enough is enough! We serve God and we do not harm
anybody, but anybody that looks for our trouble, we will face such
person or persons! We follow the tenets of the Quran and anybody that
thinks he can fight God shouldn't think his prayer or praying in the
mosque can save him! Any muslim that cheats and hides under the cloak of
religion, if we know such person, we wont hesitate to eliminate him.
Yes, I am saying so because it doesn't take 5 minutes to kill just as
we're being killed. We follow the teachings of the Quran. This is what
God has told me to explain. Allhamdulillah!'' ("VIDEO: Boko Haram leader "Imam Abubakar Shekau" Message to President Jonathan" Jan 12 2012)
The new leader Imam Abubakar Shekau sends a message to Goodluck Johnathan in Arabic through his spokesperson Abdul Qaqa who appears in the video. He mentions there former leader, Mohammed Yusuf, who died after the shootout between Boko Haram and the army. He claims that Muslims are oppressed in his country and that democracy is paganism. Through this statement the leader expresses a sentiment of abandonment and betrayal from the Nigerian government. The north being underdeveloped and stricken with poverty raises the question "if there were more resourceful development programs in the North would Boko Haram exist?" " It [Boko Haram] is usually conceptualized as a religious movement but it
has strong socio-political and economic undertones. That is part of the
reason why it has attracted so much attention. There is so much
discontent in Nigerian society and to some extent; Boko Haram is feeding
on this. Its message is also resonating because there is a broader
feeling among some Nigerians that society would be better off with going
back to the old days of the Sokoto Caliphate. This segment thinks that
moral decay, as well as economic problems, would be resolved because the
Caliphate and the Islamic Shariah promoted this idea of Zakat ̶ a tenet
of Islam that wealth has to be shared. This segment thinks that
inequality and gross disparity between the rich and poor in Nigeria
could be dealt with through an Islamic government" (Adeba Jan 7 2012). This is a statement from an interview with Dr. Tieku, a researcher who argues that the Boko Haram group is not a religious movement despite their many claims. The leader again denounces western education reiterating the lack of properly structured and affordable Islamic schools similar to the institution built by the former leader, Mohammed Yusuf. He continuously claims accounts of violence against his fellow Hausa and Fulani Muslim brothers, blaming the other Christian tribes for the disturbance of Peace. He claims that the recent attacks by them were solely to avenge the attacks of Muslims in highly ethnic conflicted Jos and other Northern states. He denies the killings of any innocent civilians but proclaims those of security and government officials. These claims reiterate their strong opposition to the Nigerian government.
We want to respond to the laughable pronouncement of President Jonathan that we will be defeated within the next three months.
We have listened to his proclamation and understand that nobody talks like this except one that has stayed off the path of his divine creator.
But he should know that we have given the assurance and have committed faith in God that nothing can be done to subdue us. With all glory to God, our divine desire is that all of us should be killed as martyrs on the path of God, so as to enable us be blessed with the rewards of Allah as promised in His holy book, Al Qur’an.
This is the only mission before us, and we have prayed that Allah should purify our minds with faith and strengthen our minds on His cause. We have sworn and we are telling you Jonathan that there is nothing that you can do to stop us. Those that have preceded you in that office have not been able to do anything to us even though they have bragged as you are doing now – since the eras of King Pharaoh and those that came before Pharaoh up till the present time; if you see a person not walking on the path of God, you will always hear such making empty threats. But for us we have nothing but the worship and the trusting in God almighty; Allah is enough as our protector.
We also want people to understand that we have no intention in killing any one or maiming people indiscriminately; there may be some persons or group of persons that are going after people terrorizing them or extorting them under our revered umbrella or name, but we want to tell the world that we are not with those people and we don’t know them.
People may not really understand or differentiate us with those people, but there will certainly be a day when God will make things clear for the whole world to understand where we stand. To those that we kill, it has been established that they have constituted themselves as affront to the cause of God. This is a message we have for the world and especially those that have been making empty threats about us.
We will not bother ourselves engaging in too many talks, neither are we going to worry about the talks of the people, except on issue that will be of benefit to the people. We pray Allah to continue to support us on this mission and make us to continue in this mission with no purpose other than His worship.
We have prayed that God should give us the privilege of being amongst those killed in the path of the struggle for the establishment of His dominion.
You people of Government and security agencies are busy boasting and priding yourselves with the killings and attacks on us …(quoting some qur’anic verses) How we wish that Muslim faithful will sit down and ponder over the Quranic verses, he will understand any time that an unbeliever catches one or kills one, he will definitely laugh at the follies of such unbeliever. God has said that it won’t take a longer period for such persecution to last; so don’t be discouraged, and don’t be disheartened with what you are facing in this movement, because you the believers and the exalted ones. I want the world to know that even if I was trampled upon, with my head pressed to the ground and people are beating are mobbing me, I still remain the exalted in the sight of Allah; If I am but a sincere believer. Even if we were maimed or injured on this mission, Allah has said it that many who fought similar religious holy wars may have suffered worst persecution.
In this movement God has said that if will 1000 people today, and by tomorrow they come to kill a hundred from amongst us, Allah has said that He is the one allowing it to test our faith in Him, so that those that have professed faith in God will be able to know who from amongst them are truly the sincere believers. It is from all these arrests and killings of our people that we have witnessed in the recent times, we will be able to know those who are of weak faith and those that are the true believers in Allah."(Zelin April 13 2012)
Both these films were pre-recorded and have unspecified dates, however they both exemplify the extremity and radicalism of this group as they profess promises of an unending battle until Nigeria is made an Islamic state. The second video begins with a Hausa song, and the leader who is situated in the middle. He alternates between speaking in the Arabic and Hausa language. This demonstrates once again the relationship between the Hausa and Islamic culture. By playing the Hausa music, Shekau demonstrates a culture/tribe that can coe-exist with Islam contrary to the other ethnic tribes existing in Nigeria that he has consequently condemned.
Sahara
Reports, "VIDEO: Boko Haram leader "Imam Abubakar Shekau" Message to
President Jonathan." Last modified Jan 12 2012. Accessed April 22, 2012.
http://saharareporters.com/video/video-boko-haram-leader-imam-abubakar-shekau-message-president-jonathan.
Second Video:
Translation:
"Oh you people, oh you people. I want you all to listen to me
carefully; listen to this servant of God who has no other duty to pursue
on earth except the propagation and the fighting on the cause of Allah.We want to respond to the laughable pronouncement of President Jonathan that we will be defeated within the next three months.
We have listened to his proclamation and understand that nobody talks like this except one that has stayed off the path of his divine creator.
But he should know that we have given the assurance and have committed faith in God that nothing can be done to subdue us. With all glory to God, our divine desire is that all of us should be killed as martyrs on the path of God, so as to enable us be blessed with the rewards of Allah as promised in His holy book, Al Qur’an.
This is the only mission before us, and we have prayed that Allah should purify our minds with faith and strengthen our minds on His cause. We have sworn and we are telling you Jonathan that there is nothing that you can do to stop us. Those that have preceded you in that office have not been able to do anything to us even though they have bragged as you are doing now – since the eras of King Pharaoh and those that came before Pharaoh up till the present time; if you see a person not walking on the path of God, you will always hear such making empty threats. But for us we have nothing but the worship and the trusting in God almighty; Allah is enough as our protector.
We also want people to understand that we have no intention in killing any one or maiming people indiscriminately; there may be some persons or group of persons that are going after people terrorizing them or extorting them under our revered umbrella or name, but we want to tell the world that we are not with those people and we don’t know them.
People may not really understand or differentiate us with those people, but there will certainly be a day when God will make things clear for the whole world to understand where we stand. To those that we kill, it has been established that they have constituted themselves as affront to the cause of God. This is a message we have for the world and especially those that have been making empty threats about us.
We will not bother ourselves engaging in too many talks, neither are we going to worry about the talks of the people, except on issue that will be of benefit to the people. We pray Allah to continue to support us on this mission and make us to continue in this mission with no purpose other than His worship.
We have prayed that God should give us the privilege of being amongst those killed in the path of the struggle for the establishment of His dominion.
You people of Government and security agencies are busy boasting and priding yourselves with the killings and attacks on us …(quoting some qur’anic verses) How we wish that Muslim faithful will sit down and ponder over the Quranic verses, he will understand any time that an unbeliever catches one or kills one, he will definitely laugh at the follies of such unbeliever. God has said that it won’t take a longer period for such persecution to last; so don’t be discouraged, and don’t be disheartened with what you are facing in this movement, because you the believers and the exalted ones. I want the world to know that even if I was trampled upon, with my head pressed to the ground and people are beating are mobbing me, I still remain the exalted in the sight of Allah; If I am but a sincere believer. Even if we were maimed or injured on this mission, Allah has said it that many who fought similar religious holy wars may have suffered worst persecution.
In this movement God has said that if will 1000 people today, and by tomorrow they come to kill a hundred from amongst us, Allah has said that He is the one allowing it to test our faith in Him, so that those that have professed faith in God will be able to know who from amongst them are truly the sincere believers. It is from all these arrests and killings of our people that we have witnessed in the recent times, we will be able to know those who are of weak faith and those that are the true believers in Allah."(Zelin April 13 2012)
Both these films were pre-recorded and have unspecified dates, however they both exemplify the extremity and radicalism of this group as they profess promises of an unending battle until Nigeria is made an Islamic state. The second video begins with a Hausa song, and the leader who is situated in the middle. He alternates between speaking in the Arabic and Hausa language. This demonstrates once again the relationship between the Hausa and Islamic culture. By playing the Hausa music, Shekau demonstrates a culture/tribe that can coe-exist with Islam contrary to the other ethnic tribes existing in Nigeria that he has consequently condemned.
Adeba,
Brian. Africa Portal, "Social Disparities Fuel Boko Haram's Rise." Last
modified Jan,7,2012. Accessed April 24, 2012.
http://www.africaportal.org/articles/2012/01/27/social-disparities-fuel-boko-harams-rise.
Zelin,
Aaron. Jihadology, "New video message from Boko Haram’s (Jamā’at Ahl
al-Sunnah li Da’wah wa-l-Jihād) Amīr Imām Abū Bakr Shekau: “We Are
Coming To Get You Jonathan”." Last modified April 13, 2012. Accessed
April 24, 2012.
http://jihadology.net/2012/04/12/new-video-message-from-boko-harams-jamaat-ahl-al-sunnah-li-dawah-wa-l-jihad-amir-imam-abu-bakr-shekau-we-are-coming-to-get-you-jonathan/.
