TheNigerianTimes

Lagos, Nigeria
Monday, March 18, 2015
2 pages
five cents
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Boko Haram:
Islamist or Terrorist?

He set up a religious complex, which included

a Muslim temple and an Islamic school.
Numerous of poor families began to enroll

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Boko Haram, the Nigeria-based Islamist

terror group, has pledged allegiance to ISIS,
according to an audio message purported to be
from Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau.
In the audio, which was posted online
Saturday, March/ 7/ 2015, the speaker says
Boko Haram is announcing its "allegiance to
the Caliph of the Muslims, Ibrahim ibn Awad
ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi," which is
another name for ISIS leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi. Should we be afraid ?

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Since the Islamic State, ruled parts of what
is now northern Nigeria, Niger and southern
Cameroon, there has been resistance among
some of the area's Muslims to Western
education. People refused to send their
children to government-runned "Western
schools", a problem compounded by the
ruling elite which does not see education as a
priority. 1 Mohammed Yusuf, formed the
Boko Haram in Maiduguri in 2002.

Haram wasnt only interested in schools,

their political ambition was to create an
Islamic state, and that school became a
recruiting station. Boko Haram promotes a
version of Islam which makes it "haram", or
forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any
political or social activity associated with
Western society. This includes voting in
elections, wearing shirts and trousers or
receiving a secular education In 2009, the
Boko Haram committed an inundate of attacks
on police stations and other government
buildings. The attacks led to shootouts on the
streets of Maiduguri,

a multifold of Boko Haram supporters

perished and many residents fled the city.
Nigerias armed forces eventually caught
up to the Boko Harams headquarters, the
Nigerian forces attained many fighters
and killed Mohammed Yusuf, the founder
of the Boko Haram. His body was
broadcasted on live television and Nigeria
announced the Boko Haram finished.
The supporters regrouped under a new
leader know as Abubakar Shekau and they
have stepped up their rebellion. In 2013,
the US declared the Boko Haram as a
terrorist group. 2 There has been a
growing concern of the violence the Boko
Haram has been committing, president
Goodluck Jonathan published a state of
emergency in May 2013, in the three
states where the Boko Haram are the
strongest, Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.
The Boko Haram has launching bomb
attacks on major cities, targeted killings of
local opponents, and carried out
indiscriminate
raids
on
villages
throughout Nigeria's remote northeast,
replete with hideous slaughters and
abductions as of 2014. 3

HIV/AIDS Crisis
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7 million people living with HIV or AIDS
have no access to treatment. 1 The epidemic
of HIV and AIDS still affects millions of
people in Nigeria. The HIV and AIDS virus is
still spreading and many people in Nigeria
are living with the virus and they are not
getting the full access to the significant care
and treatment that is needed. Worldwide,
Nigeria has the second highest number of
new infections reported each year, and an
estimated 3.7 percent of and, in 2012, the
national life expectancy was 52 years.
Approximately 80% of infections in
Nigeria are a result of heterosexual sex.
Within this group, women are singularly
affected by HIV or AIDS ; an estimated 1.7
million women were living with HIV aged
15-24. 2 The second transmission route is
through
blood
transfusions.
The
transmission of HIV or AIDS while getting a
blood transfusion is through unsafe blood.

Not all Nigerian hospitals have the

technology and equipment to adequately
screen blood hence there is a great risk of
getting contaminated blood. Lastly, the third
transmission route for HIV and AIDS would be
mother-to-child transmission. Other groups
that are also at risk are prostitutes, men
having sex with men, and injection drug users.
What can we do? We can provide Nigerian
hospitals with the technology and up to date
equipment that they need to screen blood
correctly.
In Nigeria, sex is a very personal subject
and having the talk about the birds and the
bees is known as an inappropriate
conversation. It is evident that some groups,
particularly religious and cultural leaders,
have acted as a barrier to previous attempts to
provide sex education for young people in
Nigeria.
Should this be seen as a problem for
Nigerian teenagers who havent gotten the
talk? According to
Avert.org, only 25% of
men and women between the ages of 15-24
correctly identified ways to prevent sexual
transmission of HIV. We should teach Nigerian
teenagers about sex education and also provide
young Nigerian teenagers with contraceptives
such as condoms. Studies have shown that
using a condom is the most effective way for
any person to protect themselves from HIV
unless they practice abstinence.
If we can show Nigeria how effective
sex education is and if we help create sex
education programs, that will help eliminate
the spread of HIV and AIDS and them be a
step closer to safer environment.

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SOURCES
BokoHaram
1.

"WhoAreNigeria'sBokoHaramIslamists?"
BBC
News
.N.p.,n.d.Web.09Mar.2015.

2.

"US'toNameBokoHaramTerrorGroup'"
BBC
News
.N.p.,n.d.Web.14Mar.2015.
"MAP:WhatBokoHaramIsDoingtoNigeria."
WashingtonPost
.TheWashingtonPost,n.d.
Web.14Mar.2015.
"BokoHaramPurportedlyPledgesAllegianceto
ISISCNN.com."
CNN
.CableNewsNetwork,
n.d.Web.13Mar.2015.

3.
4.

HIV/AIDSCrisis
1.

"HIV&AIDS."
CARE
.N.p.,16Sept.2013.
Web.09Mar.2015.

2.

"HIV&
AIDSinNigeria."
HIV&AIDSin

Nigeria
.N.p.,n.d.Web.09Mar.2015.

3.

"Statistics."
UNICEF
.N.p.,n.d.Web.11
Mar.2015.