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Gunmen Kidnap 317 Schoolgirls In A Night Time Raid In Northwest Nigeria

Boko Haram?
Most likely not. Just one of the countless bandit groups operating in the area. Over the last decade while everybody has been focused on Boko Haram, the government has been losing control over the northwest as banditry spreads further and further and eventually the increasing insecurity will eventually result in jihadi groups seeking to exploit the situation.
 
Most likely not. Just one of the countless bandit groups operating in the area. Over the last decade while everybody has been focused on Boko Haram, the government has been losing control over the northwest as banditry spreads further and further and eventually the increasing insecurity will eventually result in jihadi groups seeking to exploit the situation.
I hope the situation will not result in another Iraq and thousands us soldier lives losses due to intervention
 
I hope the situation will not result in another Iraq and thousands us soldier lives losses due to intervention
The situations are very different. Though in the future if things keep getting worse I wouldn't be surprised if drone strikes were to start happening.
 
Most likely not. Just one of the countless bandit groups operating in the area. Over the last decade while everybody has been focused on Boko Haram, the government has been losing control over the northwest as banditry spreads further and further and eventually the increasing insecurity will eventually result in jihadi groups seeking to exploit the situation.
Here's the question. Why are they losing power in the first place? What lets these bandits just... do things?
 
Here's the question. Why are they losing power in the first place? What lets these bandits just... do things?
A combination of factors. Conflict between pastoralists and farmers, some of Nigeria poorest states being located in the region and the government not having a presence besides the major cities and towns. The military in the past has launched operations to deal with the bandits but they simply haven't had enough troops to reduce the banditry problem due to being stretched thin by various conflicts in Nigeria and peacekeeping missions abroad. Lots of boots on the ground and anti poverty programs are needed for the region. As mentioned earlier, not enough boots and with the COVID recession, Nigeria will have less revenue for its budget and 7 million people were thrown into extreme poverty last year, so a major infusion of money into the region seems very unlikely.
 
A combination of factors. Conflict between pastoralists and farmers, some of Nigeria poorest states being located in the region and the government not having a presence besides the major cities and towns. The military in the past has launched operations to deal with the bandits but they simply haven't had enough troops to reduce the banditry problem due to being stretched thin by various conflicts in Nigeria and peacekeeping missions abroad. Lots of boots on the ground and anti poverty programs are needed for the region. As mentioned earlier, not enough boots and with the COVID recession, Nigeria will have less revenue for its budget and 7 million people were thrown into extreme poverty last year, so a major infusion of money into the region seems very unlikely.
Can no good loans be arranged from Washington or Beijing? Nigeria collapsing as a stable state may be unlikely now, but things are getting dicey for the human race lately.
 
Can no good loans be arranged from Washington or Beijing? Nigeria collapsing as a stable state may be unlikely now, but things are getting dicey for the human race lately.
Don't know about getting loans from them, but Nigeria has been working to get a loan from the World Bank. A few weeks ago they got an agreement with the World Bank for them to provide 500 million to improve electricity distribution in Nigeria.
 
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The slave trade is alive and well I see :(

Almost 10% of the population of Niger is supposedly slaves. The slave trade and slavery are very alive and well in parts of Africa. Especially in the Sudan and Mauritania.

Ghana and Benin still have ritual slavery in which people sell family members to the priest caste to atone for religious transgressions.

I know this because I've been watching a very good youtube channel by a specialist in African history that I recommend to everyone. And it's kind of amazing that this stuff is going on and I didn't know about it before.
 
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Almost 10% of the population of Niger is supposedly slaves. The slave trade and slavery are very alive and well in parts of Africa. Especially in the Sudan and Mauritania.

Ghana and Benin still have ritual slavery in which people sell family members to the priest caste to atone for religious transgressions.

I know this because I've been watching a very good youtube channel by a specialist in African history that I recommend to everyone. And it's kind of amazing that this stuff is going on and I didn't know about it before.

The long history of colonialism and its aftermath makes it both perilous and unprofitable to make documentaries or articles that would paint Africa in a bad light in the West.

Nobody wants to deal with the twitterstorm something like that and to be honest I agree.

Its the Africans problem. Let them deal with it if the want and can.
 
The long history of colonialism and its aftermath makes it both perilous and unprofitable to make documentaries or articles that would paint Africa in a bad light in the West.

Nobody wants to deal with the twitterstorm something like that and to be honest I agree.

Its the Africans problem. Let them deal with it if the want and can.

I'd like to qualify what I posted before with the statement that a friend of mine who lived in Niger and travelled around the area tells me that while you will see slavery there, the 8% figure is wildly overstated and comes from one NGO. (The actual 2002 census said that there were 40 thousand, which is much less.)

The same source tells me that when he was in Ghana everybody knew about it but nobody talked about it. I think he meant the "sell your daughter to the priest to remove bad magic" practice.

The irony of all this stuff is that the same European powers who had been the main customers of the West African slave trade would, a hundred+ years later, use "we need to suppress the slave trade in Africa" to justify colonialism.

EDIT: wait a second. Aren't you Greek? Your media should be able to talk about this stuff just fine -- I mean, the Greeks and East Africans both suffered from the Ottoman slave trade.
 
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I'd like to qualify what I posted before with the statement that a friend of mine who lived in Niger and travelled around the area tells me that while you will see slavery there, the 8% figure is wildly overstated and comes from one NGO. (The actual 2002 census said that there were 40 thousand, which is much less.)

The same source tells me that when he was in Ghana everybody knew about it but nobody talked about it. I think he meant the "sell your daughter to the priest to remove bad magic" practice.

The irony of all this stuff is that the same European powers who had been the main customers of the West African slave trade would, a hundred+ years later, use "we need to suppress the slave trade in Africa" to justify colonialism.

EDIT: wait a second. Aren't you Greek? Your media should be able to talk about this stuff just fine -- I mean, the Greeks and East Africans both suffered from the Ottoman slave trade.

We have problems much closer at home to occupy our time.

Turkey, the economy, Turkey, the pandemic, Turkey, the EU relations, Turkey, relations with the rest of the Balkans, Turkey...

You get my drift.

There is no stigma here but there is also absolutely no interest in whatever happens in Africa.
 
We have problems much closer at home to occupy our time.

Turkey, the economy, Turkey, the pandemic, Turkey, the EU relations, Turkey, relations with the rest of the Balkans, Turkey...

You get my drift.

There is no stigma here but there is also absolutely no interest in whatever happens in Africa.
Lol, Turkey seems to be a recurring issue. Aren't you guys EU?
Just threaten to set the French and Germans on them.
 
Lol, Turkey seems to be a recurring issue. Aren't you guys EU?
Just threaten to set the French and Germans on them.

Ah, the naivete. :) As if Turkey had no influence.

I remember reading a joint EU/Turkish study a year or so ago explaining how Albanians (a population that is 95% Muslim) are "islamophobes" because they have a negative attitude to the Ottoman past.
 
Lol, Turkey seems to be a recurring issue. Aren't you guys EU?
Just threaten to set the French and Germans on them.
Germany is a joke when it comes to the military or to have an actual response. It's more like France and Italy breathing down on Erdogan's neck when he annoys Athens. Which is why Greece is buying duckies now, because unlike Berlin, Paris has no qualms sending warships and planes to tell Ankara to get lost.
 
Lol, Turkey seems to be a recurring issue. Aren't you guys EU?
Just threaten to set the French and Germans on them.

The Germans?

The same Germans that have like 5? 6? million migrants of Turkish descent many of which are eligible to vote?

The same Germans that have refused all calls to stop selling weapons to Turkey despite the later having turned the Middle East in to a charnel house and repeatedly threatened 2 EU members with war?

The same Germans that have refused all calls for sanctions against Turkey and Erdogan despite them having invaded or sent murderous mercs to half a dozen countries?

Let us be absolutely clear here.

Turkey is a semi fascistic rogue state that for the last decade is displaying the same behavior as pre WW2 fascist Italy. Wanton invasions, destabilazation of neighboring countries, sending murderous mercs all over the place, ethnic cleansing, the works.

Unfortunately many EU countries, Germany leading, seem to think appeasement is the way to go even now that for the last 2 years Turkey is trying to drag both Greece and Cyprus to war or at least a war like incident.
 
Turkey is a semi fascistic rogue state that for the last decade is displaying the same behavior as pre WW2 fascist Italy. Wanton invasions, destabilazation of neighboring countries, sending murderous mercs all over the place, ethnic cleansing, the works.

Hey, that's pretty much the same behavior as the United States!
 
Hey, that's pretty much the same behavior as the United States!
Difference of 4x the population and 32x the GDP. The EU cannot sanction the world's biggest economy into submission, but if a third of the G8 combined cannot take care of Turkey.....well, then they are a paper tiger that seems to be holding their members back.
 
Difference of 4x the population and 32x the GDP. The EU cannot sanction the world's biggest economy into submission, but if a third of the G8 combined cannot take care of Turkey.....well, then they are a paper tiger that seems to be holding their members back.
Nah, just Germany being a complete naive idiot when it comes to power projection. Italy and France sent warships and got Turkey to back the fuck down pretty quickly. Cue Erdogan raging as Greece is going to get Rafale less than a year after showing interest.
 
Just as well. From our own experience with Modi, you should never let these kinds of wannabe fascists grow root because they don't look dangerous right now.
 
Hey, that's pretty much the same behavior as the United States!
So? The United States is an incredibly powerful nation capable of easily smashing governments to pieces or at least put a very tight squeeze on any economy which defies it. Power brings with it privileges.
 
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