05/11/2025
Boko Haram and the Hypocrisy of Northern Elites
For over a decade, Boko Haram has terrorised Nigeria, with mass killings, church bombings, school kidnappings, market raids, and the destruction of entire communities.
Yet beneath the violence lies a deeper, uncomfortable truth: the northern political elite helped groom the very monster that now threatens the region’s stability.
I'm trying to make a valid point with this article, which will examine how political games, selective morality, and silence from the North’s power structure have prolonged the insurgency and enabled devastation.
Boko Haram did not begin as the heavily armed terrorist organisation we know today. It started as a radical sect that northern politicians saw as a useful tool:
1. To mobilise angry youths, telling them that Western education is not useful, as such Western culture is forbidden.
This is why GEJ tried to appease them by creating what is known as Almajri Schools and this school is a blend of both Islamic education and Western Education.
2. To counter political opponents, indeed GEJ was later removed from power because the Northern Elites think infidels can rule them.
To retain power through fear and manipulation, the Chibok Girls were kidnapped, and many people cried out for their release after Buhari took over power. We were informed that Boko Haram is now technically defeated, according to Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
Many elites funded, protected, or strategically tolerated the sect during its early years. They believed they could control it. It was a short-term political investment with catastrophic long-term consequences.
They condemn terrorism show sympathy to the victims but give protection to its actors
They champion “Islamic values" Ignore the atrocities committed in the name of Islam
Blame the Federal Government for insecurity Reject local accountability and reforms
When Boko Haram kills, they blame poverty in the North. When people ask for accountability, they switch to religion. When the army intervenes, they shout “Northern marginalisation” Buhari himself said, an attack on Boko Haram is an attack on the North.
The moral leadership of the North, emirs, senior clerics, and respected scholars, holds enormous influence over millions. Yet, for years:
1. They refused to openly challenge Boko Haram’s ideology
2. They minimised the threat in the media
3. They allowed conspiracy theories to spread
4. They protected “untouchable sponsors”
This culture of silence empowered extremism more than any AK-47.
While elites enjoy security escorts in Abuja and overseas medical trips, the ordinary Northerner pays the price:
Farmers were laughed at in Borno and Yobe
Children kidnapped in Chibok and Dapchi
Villages wiped out in Adamawa
Churches and mosques were bombed
Millions displaced and hungry
They claim to defend the region, yet they betray the very people they represent.
Elites blame “global conspiracy”
Politicians say “It is poverty”
Clerics say “They are not Muslims”
But when Christians defend themselves or speak out. Suddenly it becomes “religious intolerance” or “Islam under attack.”
This one-sided narrative keeps the North oppressed while shielding its ruling class from accountability.
Ending Boko Haram requires more than bullets, it requires truth.
Northern elites must:
1. Publicly name and prosecute sponsors
2. Stop protecting extremists for political gain
3. Invest in education and economic empowerment
4. Reclaim the pulpit from hate preachers
5. Stand with the victims, not the benefactors of chaos.
Peace is impossible when hypocrisy is policy.
Boko Haram is not just a terrorist group;
It is a product of political irresponsibility.
Northern elites helped plant the seed.
Their silence watered it.
Their hypocrisy helped it grow.
And until they confront this truth, Nigeria will continue to bleed.
Eden Chinatu
Truth Advocate
