Why Counterterrorism Hasn’t Stopped Boko Haram and Al Shabaab.
Why Counterterrorism Hasn’t Stopped Boko Haram and Al Shabaab.
by Odhiambo Franklyn
Between 2009 and 2015, Nigeria and Kenya have collectively lost anywhere between two and thirteen thousand citizens, depending on who you ask. The death toll has continued to mount even in the face of a continental force in both countries with the ECOWAS force in Nigeria and AMISOM in Somalia. From the onset, it seems obvious that the only realistic way of decimating these terror groups is by thoroughly executed counterterrorism approaches. Taking cue from America’s war on terror, the two African states have intensified their counterterrorism in both rhetoric and strategy, but why is success so slow, if at all present?
The short and rather simplistic answer is that these countries have followed the American brand of counterterrorism that stands discounted by hindsight. Let’s get to the long answer. Counterterrorism strategy in most of affected countries tends to assume that the only proble…
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