When Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau made a pledge to ISIL with the words “We announce our allegiance to the Caliph …and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity”, admist speculations that the group was speedily loosing recruits and territories to the MNJTF, an unanswered question lingered: what do either group stand to gain from such allegiance?
In theory, for Boko Haram, there could be some perks that come with being an ISIL affiliate, one of which is that it places Boko Haram on the international Jihadi Map, making it easier to recruit. As an affiliate the group may also enjoy fringe benefits such as media strategy and logistics, perhaps even weapons and fighters. After all, ISIL now possesses a foothold in nearby Libya.
“We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa because the caliph… has accepted the allegiance of our brothers of the Sunni group for preaching and the jihad,” ISIL spokesman Mohammed al-Adnani responded to Shekaus plea in an audio release that must have come with such speed to surprise to even Abubakar Shekau.
A critical look at such an alliance reveals the intricacies & shortcomings of such a move; one being that it accompanies Boko Harams daily loss of foot soldiers and territories. For Boko Haram, this may mean taking a surbodinate role on the global terrorism journals.
Becoming an affiliate may grant Boko Haram international legitimacy, but clearly the space between Boko Haram territories and those under the control of the ISIL is significantly large. ISIL affiliates cannot convene for annual strategy meetings, nor can they travel or communicate easily. Even Shekau would have to admit that the ISIL, for all the fear that it inspires, is not the UN or NATO. It merely controls a few patches of hotly-contested turf in Iraq and Syria for now, nothing more.
But Baghdadi has already accepted pledges of allegiance from other armed groups in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Africa before. Unlike his predecessor Bin Laden whose once radical anti-western views can now be classed as a form of ‘gentlemans jihadism’. The ISIL is a group that already calls itself an Islamic State, applies beheading and blood spraying, and has a leader with a PhD in Islamic studies.
If this move by Boko Haram is reviewed with ongoing local configurations, then perhaps such a deal reflects a desperate attempt to remain relevant. One thing is clear, Boko Haram has been operating actively for over 6 years, perhaps long before the ISIL took centre stage. Although both groups are known to take captives, release videos, deal in arms and behead victims, independent of one another. If Boko Haram is pledging allegiance, and doing so after 6 years. Then perhaps it is safe to accept that the recent offensive by the Nigerian military could be responsible for that.
From a military point of view, the recent synchrony of attacks by Cameroun, Chad, Niger and South-African mercenaries has perhaps left the Boko Haram group with a strong desire for aid and who better to turn to but a bigger, and well funded terrorist group with an open door policy.
Either way Shekau has narrowed down the options to two acceptable propositions: the first being that the Boko Haram group is looking at imminent defeat and has taken a desperate alternative, the other option, if put lightly suggests that Shekau has embraced Baghdadi as a worthy leader.
After all, Baghdadi has declared himself to be a “caliph”, or ruler over all Muslims, and has even renamed himself in honour of the first Muslim caliph, Abu Bakr.
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Article written by Tahir Sherriff, in-house freelance reporter with NewsWireNGR in Abuja
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