From the very onset of the Boko Haram’s insurgency, it was alway known that most of Boko Haram’s members were outsiders fighting in Nigeria. So the question of whether they found Tuaregs amongst their rank and file is not surprising. There are more foreigners than native Nigerians fighting with Boko Haram. This is because, in the warped thinking of their supporters, foreigners are more disposable than natives. These supporters may have very strong beliefs about eliminating Christians in their midst, but that strong belief does not extend to sending or allowing their own children to fight in any uprising. The down-trodden, the poor, the homeless, and the orphans have been used for most Islamic uprising in Nigeria, and these people abound in the North.

The down trodden see these outbreaks as their means of livelihood, and some see them as a way out of poverty. Unless their leaders are killed off, which is usually the case, these shadowy sponsors will have them to contend with at the end of all this. These people are used and disposed off at the end of every excursion. They are usually faceless, and voiceless, hence the disguise. That their leader this time is not only showing his face, but making his voice heard is a clearly telling us that he is a dead man walking. If he is not killed before the end of Boko Haram’s demise, he will be dead notwithstanding.

This can begin to explain their brutality, and lack of respect for life and property. They never lived and they never owned anything in their lives, so they are taking their revenge for the deprivations of their lives before Boko Haram. This is no justifications for their brutality.

(We will continue.)