New York Times Editorial: February Elections Should Not Be Shifted.

         

    

NEXT months’s elections taking place in Nigeria  should not be shifted, The New York Times has cautioned. The elections are due on Febuary 14 and 28.

There have been suggestions in some circles that the polls be postponed because of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.

The editorial reads:

“They commanded global attention for a fleeting few days last spring. Across the world, millions prayed for and tweeted about the plight of the more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted in northeastern Nigeria by the vicious militant group Boko Haram. The first lady, Michelle Obama, joined the cause, posting a selfie looking downcast and demanding that the militants “#BringBackOurGirls.” The United States government hastily put together a task force of experts and dispatched drones to search for the hostages.

“Soon, though, the world largely moved on.

“In recent months, the horrors in remote districts of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, have multiplied as the insurgent group has taken new hostages, carried out bombings and scorched entire villages in a quest to wrest territory from government control.

“Newly released satellite images taken in early January corroborate chilling accounts of the recent assaults on Baga and Doro Gowon, two small towns that came under attack on Jan. 3. Researchers with Amnesty International, which released the images, said that roughly 3,720 structures, including homes, were destroyed or damaged by fire.

“On Jan. 10, a girl witnesses described as being about 10 years old detonated explosives hidden under her veil in a market in Maiduguri, a teeming commercial district in an area controlled by Boko Haram, killing an estimated 20 people.

“While some of the girls taken hostage in April by Boko Haram escaped, the terrorist group, whose name roughly translates to ‘Western education is forbidden,’ has taken hundreds of other female hostages, according to the Human Rights Watch Nigeria researcher Mausi Segun, who interviewed several of the students who fled.

“The number of towns under Boko Haram control has expanded from 11 last fall to 17, according to Human Rights Watch. In recent weeks, it has become harder to get an accurate measure of the scale and death toll of attacks because the militants have dismantled telecommunications systems in the areas they have seized. Death toll estimates for the recent attacks on villages ranged from a few hundred to thousands.

“Until relatively recently, the Nigerian government consistently downplayed the strength of the group, which seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria. As it ramped up attacks last year, Boko Haram laid bare the weakness of the country’s security forces, which have failed to mount an adequate response.

“Last spring, the United States dispatched some 80 Air Force personnel to neighboring Chad to fly drones in an effort to help the missing girls. It also sent a Pentagon-led team of some 30 specialists tasked with advising the Nigerian government on intelligence and operational matters. The drone team is long gone. A Pentagon spokesman said last week that surveillance drone flights over Nigeria have become “infrequent.” Only three Pentagon officials remain on the task force.

“Washington and others in the international community could do more to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians in areas controlled by Boko Haram by providing humanitarian aid and building up the capacity of the Nigerian security forces. But fighting this insurgency will require a Nigerian government willing and able to take on the security challenge effectively. This will require institutional reforms to bolster governance in remote parts of the country and curb heavy-handed practices by the security forces that have alienated many civilians.

“The presidential and legislative elections are scheduled to take place next month, but some Nigerians have suggested that the balloting be put off until the violence ebbs. Delaying the elections would be a mistake, however. Newly elected Nigerian leaders might have a chance to chart out a plan to reassert government control in areas lost to the militants.”