Using King’s nonviolence approach in Northern Nigeria.
Could King’s Nonviolence Approach Work For Northern Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram
Martin Luther king Jr's 'Approach to Nonviolence' in the US in the 1960s is considered a successful movement. As a result, there is a group of people in northern Nigeria that are trying to appropriate his Theology and Strategy to overcome the challenge they face with Boko Haram’s terrorist insurgency.
A look at the theology and strategy of Martin Luther King Jr.; how they could apply and relate or how they cannot relate to the cause of Christian peacemaking in northern Nigeria in the year 2015
The civil rights movement of the 1960’s did not take long to gain momentum, it gained its peak when four African American males attempted to place an order at a diner located inside the Woolworth shopping center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The men were refused service due to their color, and they immediately staged a sit-in at the lunch counter. The action not only encouraged Woolworth to integrate its dining facilities, but also spurred the many changes that followed.
The 1960s witnessed the birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which attempted to alleviate racial discrimination in the South, and passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1960. These rights guaranteed criminal penalties for obstructing an African American's right to vote, the desegregation of buses and the lunch counter.
These successes are prompting a group of people from Northern Nigeria, Muslim’s and Christians, who seek to incorporate what they see as the underlying Theology, Strategy, Principles, and Practices that were carried out by Dr. King and his allies during the civil rights activities of the 1960’s.
Before I proceed in explaining the connection between the movement of the 1960’s and the conflict in northern Nigeria, it is important to have an understanding of what is going on currently amongst Christians and Muslims in northern Nigeria that has resulted in many casualties. Whether there would be synergy between these two faiths to tackle Book Haram, is a topic of investigation.
Western readers might have difficulty understanding who Boko Haram group is, where they come from, and what they mean in the context of Nigerian history. Nigeria is really two distinct countries, a Muslim North and a non-Muslim South. These two distinct cultural and religious entities were artificially fused by the British empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in what historians now call the “scramble for Africa,” a period of about forty years when England, France, Portugal, Belgium and Germany occupied almost all of North and Sub Saharan Africa. Most of the members of Boko Haram hail from the northern Islamic states of Nigeria.
The most notable effect of the “scramble for Africa” resulted in Nigeria becoming one of Britain’s colonies. In the 1900’s, the British Empire, and the Fulani emirs (tribal chiefs) had agreed to establish the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. The North was further divided into provinces, one of which Borno was taken from the former Kanuri inhabited area of Borno Empire. In that agreement, it was stated and agrees that the “Christians missionaries would be allowed to proselytize only amongst the pagan tribes not Muslims.”[1]
Those agreements were not enforced and there were no means of monitoring its execution. Nigeria went on to gain its independence from Britain in 1960, which at the point the missionary activities have grown amongst all the inhabitants the North ignoring the agreement that was agreed upon earlier. Missionary activities proceeded with Proselytizing Muslims and pagan tribes. But in 1964 there was a reaction against the Christian conversion of the tribesmen, the government then sent out “Islamic missionaries” to forcibly circumcise and convert pagan tribesmen to the Muslim faith.
The act of converting pagan tribe’s men into the Christian faith, or the forceful conversion to the Muslim faith, continued to plague Northern Nigeria, particularly the North East corner of the country. Today most of Boko Haram’s acts of insurgency continue the use of forceful conversion of tribesmen, whom nowadays consist mostly of Christians, forcing them to adopt to their radical brand of Islam.
This brief historical background is in no way a total sum of Nigerian history in relation to the British Empire (as it colonial master). It is merely a broad picture of what is going on in Northern Nigeria.
Why is this happening now? The political climate in Nigeria has not helped the situation; thus, propelling the rise of Boko Hara. It addition, the lack of a democratic way of life has propelled the growth of the Boko Haram. Boko Haram’s initial attack was targeting Christian churches, tribesmen, and schools, gradually moving into any governmental institutions i.e Police, Military institutions of learning. Their attacks have gone from the groups mentioned above to attacking Muslim’s who refuse to buy into their brand of radical Islam.
Boko Haram, which stands for “Western Education is Forbidding” 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 any form secular of education. Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country has a Muslim president. And recently they have extended their violent campaign by targeting neighboring states surrounding the Borno State to other west African countries with the intent of creating a caliphate.
In my interaction with some Nigerians that are working on introducing Kingian A nonviolence approach to the region as way to confront the violent act using nonviolence, some of the responses are: “Boko Haram did not just come out of nowhere, they came into existence following a break down in the Nigerian democratic institution, the institution that could be the way citizen express their concern no longer listens to its citizens. The political system is so corrupt, some also argue that religion is a cover for or a surface aspect of deeper antagonisms that’s causing and driving the conflicts to include a complex mix of history, political, economic, ethnic and other factors. Some people feel that the politicians are responsible for the violence, either by using gangs of young men for political thuggery or by stirring up trouble in order to seek a payoff from federal authorities.
The lack of a democratic rule of law gave rise to the group. Since 1999, more than fourteen thousand Nigerians in the central and northeast have been killed, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced, and thousands of churches, mosques, and other properties destroyed. However, the lack of political wills to prosecute perpetrators of these violence causes fear and doubt in the minds of people in communities of Northern Eastern Nigeria.as this terrorist group remains free.
Rather than prosecute, the federal and state officials have repeatedly formed commissions of inquiry to review the causes of the violence and make recommendations to prevent further violence. However, these recommendations are rarely implemented. John Campbell in his report to the US council on Foreign Relations on Religious Freedom said, “The failure to prosecute has created a climate of impunity with dangerous consequences”[2]. Boko Haram then uses this culture of impunity as a recruitment tool amongst young Muslim men, angered by the government’s failure to address the violence, by responding to the call of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau to attack.
The shadowy nature of Boko Haram as well as its resilience has made it difficult to craft an effective strategy to end the group’s campaign of terror. The Nigerian government initially responded by pursuing a strategy of military confrontation. Which did little to end the attacks. Also troubling was the manner in which government security forces pursued the group. The pursuit were always in a manner that was often rife with Jungle justice and excessive use of violence and killings. The troops sent did not always discriminate between group members and civilians. The government’s response made Boko Haram’s approach more appealing to young Muslims that already felt marginalized for lack of any social or educational connection to their peers from the Southern part of the country.
What should be happening?
The understanding of the causality that calls for an Islamic state or sharia in Nigeria should not be taken too seriously, despite media hype, and despite the violent act perpetrated by Boko Haram. In my work I have come across Muslims and Christian from the North that are seeking an alternative to the government approach to address the rise of Boko Haram.
In the interim, people are calling for a military solution to stop Boko Haram in their tracks of merciless killings and abduction of children, but at the same seeking for a nonviolence approach and as Dr. King puts in these form of nonviolence “is a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love, in the faith that it is better to be a receiver of violence than inflictor of it.”[3] For a vast region beset by social and economic problems, the absence of widespread conflict is as notable achievement in the part of those community leaders that are working on conflict prevention.
There is a public policy response that is being used to counter violence in the region, which could be grouped into two categories: community level initiatives and security and legal responses. At the community level, a series of dialogue is taking place between Muslims and Muslims and between Muslims and Christians. The later of the groups, which is the group that I am writing about, is working to implement lessons-learned from Dr. King’s 1960’s Civil right movement as they try to contextualize is to in Nigeria 2015.
It is important to note that this is a work in progress about the events in northern Nigeria although I am reporting it as a finished work .Sometimes progress seems to be moving along fast and at other times slower than expected. What then is Dr.King’s theology and strategy that have a potential key in this work?
King outlined in his pilgrimage to nonviolence how he arrived at the path to nonviolence and that involved the study of the different views and philosophies that were available for him at the time. He read an essay “On civil disobedience” by Thoreau, the works of Walter Rauschenbusch’s Christianity and Social Crisis.”[4]
He went as far as studying Communism, but rejected their materialist interpretation of history and the depreciation of individual freedom. In his study of capitalism, which is essentially a struggle between the owner of productive resources and the individual but conclude that each of these represent some partial truth but came to the conclusion that, “the Kingdom of God is neither the thesis of individual enterprise not the antithesis of collective enterprise but a synthesis which reconciles the truth of both.”[5]
King’s study of Ghandi, as he claim was, “the first person in history to display the ethics of Jesus that is beyond interaction with mere individuals.”[6] King found Ghandi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance as a morally and practically sound doctrine to the oppressed people and their struggle for freedom. King, as well as Ghandi, was convinced, that “true pacifism is not nonresistance to evil, but nonviolent resistance to evil.”[7]
King’s studies led him to develop what is call the six principles of nonviolence and conflict reconciliation. These six principles are guiding the nonviolence community organizing and reconciliation work in Nigeria.
I will show what the six principles and how appropriate application of these principles are reshaping the way Nigerians are working to address Boko Haram’s activities.
1. Nonviolence is a Way of life for courageous people; one common misconception about nonviolence is that it is a weak, passive philosophy. However, Kingian Nonviolence is about taking a stand against injustice, making a commitment to looking injustice in the face and confronting it with the power of Agape love, of unconditional love for humankind. To confront any conflict directly in the face takes courage, and to do so without resorting to violence takes even more courage, compassion, and a deep desire for justice.
During the Civil Rights movement, movement participants joined in marches and rallies, knowing that the police may attack them with viscous acts of violence: police dogs, fire hoses, beatings. Furthermore, they knew that if the police used overt levels of violence, they as a movement had committed themselves to acts of nonviolence, and they would not strike back.
As a result of this practice of courageous confrontation, a group and Muslims and Christians in Gombe, have taken this to a higher level by banding together in the spirit of oneness. Courageously guarding and patrolling their communities at night, they make no use of weapons as a means of protection. They do this knowing that Boko Haram’s method of attack often happens at night, and they feel much more powerful when they are repelled by heavy artillery fire by using their pure commitment to non-violence and courage.
2. The Beloved Community is the framework for the future; Kings vision of a beloved community is a reconciled society, a society that has found true peace and justice for all. This vision includes those who are currently considered enemies. The group in Nigeria has found this framework helpful. First of all, they no longer acknowledge themselves as neither Muslim nor Christian, but see each other as members of the same community that share a common vision for a peaceful community.
It is the framework of the future because the ideals and the values that form the Beloved Community cannot only be a distant goal, but a blueprint of how to get there. It is an understanding that the values that make the Beloved Community possible must be reflected in our efforts to achieve it.
3. Attack the forces of Evil not the people doing evil; Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not individuals. Dr. King said that the Civil Rights movement and the issue of segregation was not an issue between white people and black people, but an issue between justice and injustice. Just like the challenge of Boko Haram in Nigeria, it is not just an issue of Muslim vs. Christian, but an issue of injustice to all. From the moment this group embraced this concept, they discovered that the perpetrators of evil are not themselves evil, but it is the evil system that makes them evil. The recognition of the humanity of Boko Haram perpetrators has led the secret admirers to reconsider their choice of being potential recruits.
4. Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of achieving this goal; Voluntary suffering can be redemptive. It can give you strength, and inspire others to join. Going back to the first principle of this community’s courageous night time patrol, this practice take sacrifice i.e. sacrificing one’s sleep for the sake of achieving peace. The group’s actions are inspiring other communities to start similar practices.
5. Avoid internal violence of the Spirit as well as external physical violence. Violence is not only a physical act. The old saying that, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”[8] may be one of the biggest lies ever told. Mental and psychological scars from verbal and emotional violence can severely hurt and have a long-term affect more than mere physical acts of violence.
The group in Nigeria practices a form of group meditation and prayers. It is fascinating to see Muslims and Christians sharing a common space to pray and counsel each other. Imams and Pastors sharing with each other their personal internal struggle as they wrestle with news of another Boko Haram. Addressing internal violence as a shared community continue to be a bond that makes their work and town experience the peace they are witnessing.
6. The Universe is on the side of Justice; “believers in nonviolence has deep faith in the future”[9] This goes across faith or traditional line of beliefs. This is still a hope that the group holds on to, that justice and reconciliation would be achieved someday soon.
Looking at how these six principles developed by Dr. King which helped with the organizing and galvanizing the Civil Rights movement, I initially hoped these same principles could have taken effect in Nigeria in the year 2015. In conclusion, I want to say that these six principles have proven to be timeless. There is an ongoing conversation that I continue to have with the group in Gombe, and there is a second group that is being formed as I write this paper in Maiduguri, hoping to use them in their work on conflict Transformation in Nigeria.
What makes this work exciting is the fact that, some of the folks implementing these principles in Nigeria have visited the US for a week-long training session. Others have attended the training using skype. In respect of how these groups took to the training is a topic for further discussion.
Bibliography
Robert L. Holmes, Nonviolence in Theory and Practice: University of Rochester, Waveland Press, 2001
Bernard LaFayette ,Jr and David C Jehnsen, Kingian Nonviolence: The Philosophy and Methodology, Institute of Human Rights and Responsibilities. November 1996
Charles E Collyer and Ira Zepp, Jr. Nonviolence: Origins and outcomes, Hardback limited edition 2003
Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict Africa Report N°168, International Crisis Group, Working to Prevent Conflict Worldwide, 20 December 2010 report.
Martin Luther King,Jr. Stride Toward Freedom, The Montgomery Story. Harper & Row Publishers, San Francisco, 1986
Martin Luther King, Jr. Why We Can’t Wait, Penguin Group, New York, 2000
[1] John Hare, National Geographic, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150314-boko-haram-nigeria-borno-rabih-abubakar-shekau/ March 2014
[2] John Campbell, http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/USCIRF%202014%20Annual%20Report%20PDF.pdf
[3] Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Towards Freedom.98
[4] ibid. 91
[5] Ibid., 95
[6] Ibid., 97
[7] ibid., 98
[8] unknown
[9] Stride towards freedom .106
