Abuja

Kevin's favourite capital of the week (May 18, 2014): Abuja, the Capital of Nigeria (that's right, Lagos is not the capital of Nigeria)

On May 1st, a car bomb went off in Abuja, killing 19 and injuring at least 60 other people. Two weeks before, on April 14, an even more deadly bomb went off close to the same area. Both were set off by Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group from the Northeast of the country, whose stated aim is apparently to set up an Islamic state, with the expectation that this will stop the crippling corruption in the richest of West African Countries. They gain little sympathy from the people of Nigeria, Muslim or Christian, by setting off these car bombs (which has killed Muslim and Christian alike) and even less for the kidnapping of about 250 girls near their stronghold, shortly after the April 14^th bombing. While the Nigerian government's response to the kidnapping was rather sluggish, social media campaigns (such as #BringBackOurGirls) has gained wide support from around the world. The international outcry appears to have helped spur action as a summit on Boko Haram was held in France, with many of Nigeria's neighbours attending, was held yesterday. West African leaders have pledged a “total war” on the terrorist group, with the aid of America, Britain and France, who are sending advisors and high tech kit. RAF search planes are already flying over the area in which Boko Haram appears to be hiding the girls.

Despite the words of Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, at the summit, who claimed that the reason for Boko Haram's new brazenness was because of the success of his government, under which Nigeria has seen stellar economic growth, many people both in and out of Nigeria, remain almost as unsympathetic to the government as to the terrorist group. Take for instance the arresting of the leader of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, Niomi Mutah Nyadar, on May 5^th (she was released just before the summit in France) who was, and continues to be, an outspoken critic of the government's lack of response to the kidnapping. It appears the arrest is in connection to the ongoing street protests that she was leading in Abuja, not far from Transcorp Hilton Hotels, which hosted the World Economic Forum 48 hours later. It was done so in the interest of security, apparently. The Nigerian government also shut down most public offices and schools in Abuja for the forum. The WEF was hailed as a success by the government and as something that would help the kidnapped girls, though there appeared to be no tangible evidence of this. Ms. Nyadar's group was one of many to highlight that fact. A timer on the Premium Times website, a Nigerian online newspaper, continues to count the time since kidnapping. One wonders how long it will be until they can take that it down. As I write this, it is at 34 days and 9 hours.