{"id":15319,"date":"2016-05-26T09:25:26","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T09:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=15319"},"modified":"2016-05-26T09:25:26","modified_gmt":"2016-05-26T09:25:26","slug":"european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/","title":{"rendered":"European Parliament debates Nigeria and Boko Haram threat &#8211; ACN Malta"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>European Parliament debates Nigeria and Boko Haram <\/strong><strong>threat<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The European People\u2019s Party Working Group on Inter-religious Dialogue, the largest group in the European Parliament, held a conference on <em>the Boko Haram and Fulani herders threats afflicting Nigeria. <\/em>\u00a0The conference aimed to achieve a better understanding of what is happening in Nigeria, a country that registered one of the highest increases in hostage-taking and terrorist activity with deadly attacks in recent years, resulting in the internal displacement of more than 2 million Christians and Muslims.<\/p>\n<p>There were two sessions: the first on the broader situation of Nigeria and the other on the threats and needs for peace and security in the region. Each session had a panel with interventions of advocacy and civil society groups and experts on Boko Haram and Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>German MEP Joachim Zeller, who hosted the conference, said that even though the \u201cNigerian election and peaceful transition of power was a major achievement\u201d, there is still a major threat in the north, where Christians and other minorities are being persecuted.<\/p>\n<p>Esther Kattenberg, Advocacy Officer for Open Doors International (ODI), which partners with churches in Nigeria explained that the reports that appear in the media are \u201conly the tip of the iceberg\u201d, as \u201cmany violations go unreported\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to remark that not only Christians are suffering,\u201d said Jane Ura, co-ordinator of the Africa Diaspora for Freedom of Religion, introducing the first panel. \u201cThere are also challenges for people with indigenous beliefs, and Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Origins of violence<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The situation in Nigeria is complex because there are several perpetrators that use organised violence and are interlinked. Some conflicts are over land issues, but there is also a religious factor. Important policymakers are beginning to acknowledge the essential faith-based aspect of the ongoing violence. Boko Haram and the Fulani herders<\/p>\n<p>Professor Yusuf Turaki, chair of the Christian Association of Nigeria\u2019s editorial committee for its recent declaration, \u2018Nigeria Renew\u2019, said the conflict is both religious and economic. He believes most violence in Nigeria is \u201crooted in the British colonial social-economic structure\u201d, as well as the lack of will of Nigeria\u2019s political elite to change it and to \u201cbuild an integrative society\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He said the British administration used conscripted soldiers from the two Islamic empires in the north to defeat the rest of the ethnic groups in the south. Later, the number of Christians in northern <a href=\"https:\/\/tramadolhclnorx.com\">https:\/\/tramadolhclnorx.com\/<\/a> Nigeria, where the former Islamic states existed, increased from 0 to 31%.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoko Haram acts in a similar way to the Kanem-Bornu Empire of 1900,\u201d Turaki said. \u201cTheir descendants are still the rulers of the area.\u201d \u00a0Boko Haram remains one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in Africa despite the country&#8217;s new leadership&#8217;s pledge to stop violence being committed by the Islamic extremists.<\/p>\n<p>Arne Mulders, ODI\u2019s Research and Communications Manager for West and Central Africa said Nigeria suffered from the \u201creligion and politics of a dominant class which wants to stay in power\u201d and added \u201cThere are ethno-politic and economic reasons, but the common denominator is religious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nigerian pastor George Odafe testified to the linkages between Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, who attack farmers in the Middle Belt of Nigeria. They have devastated northern and central Nigeria with unmatched violence, raiding villages, burning down homes, slaughtering civilians, all while primarily targeting Christians. Odafe also warned about the dangers of famine and economic losses on exports, saying Fulani herdsmen are constantly destroying crops.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Temitope Olodo, an anti-terrorism expert, said many children want to join Boko Haram because \u201cthey are strong\u201d, while \u201cmost of the jobless join terrorist groups\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Recommendations<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The speakers made a series of recommendations for the EU to put \u201cpressure on Nigeria for equality before the law and to bring perpetrators to justice\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The EU is a major donor to Nigeria, but \u201cpeople are missing out on aid\u201d, said ODI\u2019s Kattenberg.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNigeria is an easy partner,\u201d said Marcela Szymanski from Aid to the Church in Need, suggesting that although the government is not perpetrating the violent acts, it is doing little to prevent them. Therefore, Szymanski suggested, the EU \u201cshould rather give the money to civil society, which is acting on the ground\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Barkwick, from Human Rights Without Frontiers, talked about long-term solutions focusing on the factors that bring religious extremism, such as structural grievances. \u201cWe need a strategy for counter-narratives, and the authorities should create political dialogue with certain factions of Boko Haram,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are often too focused on security campaigns, but they often end up in abuses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rev. Odafe, who works in the Archdiocese of Kaduna in northern Nigeria, said \u201cpro-activity is needed\u201d, especially when dealing with victims. \u201cThe average Nigerian comes for counselling to the pastor, but we are not psychologists,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>ACN Malta<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European Parliament debates Nigeria and Boko Haram threat &nbsp; The European People\u2019s Party Working Group on Inter-religious Dialogue, the largest group in the European Parliament, held a conference on the Boko Haram and Fulani herders threats afflicting Nigeria. \u00a0The conference aimed to achieve a better understanding of what is happening in Nigeria, a country that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>European Parliament debates Nigeria and Boko Haram threat - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"European Parliament debates Nigeria and Boko Haram threat - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"European Parliament debates Nigeria and Boko Haram threat &nbsp; The European People\u2019s Party Working Group on Inter-religious Dialogue, the largest group in the European Parliament, held a conference on the Boko Haram and Fulani herders threats afflicting Nigeria. \u00a0The conference aimed to achieve a better understanding of what is happening in Nigeria, a country that...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-26T09:25:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Fulani-tribesmanv3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"237\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"353\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ACN Malta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ACN Malta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/\",\"name\":\"European Parliament debates Nigeria and Boko Haram threat - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Fulani-tribesmanv3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-26T09:25:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-26T09:25:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#\/schema\/person\/f770d78fd03dbb385e4841f5fd9b386c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Fulani-tribesmanv3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Fulani-tribesmanv3.jpg\",\"width\":237,\"height\":353},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/26\/european-parliament-debates-nigeria-and-boko-haram-threat-acn-malta\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"European Parliament debates Nigeria and Boko Haram threat &#8211; 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