The notorious Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is now dreaming of becoming Africa’s Osama Bin Laden, according to the latest profile that has been developed since the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls.
US counter terrorism officials and experts described the mysterious Shekau as having developed a sophisticated media operation to assist him achieve his goals.
The world`s now most wanted terrorist was further described as mentally unstable while others argued he was “crazy like a fox”.
Boko Haram has become the world`s most violent terror group with its list of atrocities in north eastern Nigeria.
“His entire on-stage persona is that of a bin Laden wannabe, from the weapon-wielding backdrops, the incessant video releases, etc.,” said Emmanuel Ogebe, a Nigerian human rights lawyer who has long studied Boko Haram.
In recent video messages, Shekau has also become increasingly anti-American, specifically denouncing President Barack Obama in angry and dismissive terms and making aggressive statements ” very much in the global jihadist vein, including threats against the U.S. from Shekau himself,” said one U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
That leads one former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria believes an attack on U.S. interests in Nigeria is “inevitable.”
Shekau is believed to be in his late 30s. Not only is his birthdate unknown, but there is doubt about where he was born. Most accounts have him being born in the nearby Republic of Niger, but Niger, which wants nothing to do with him, says he was born in Nigeria’s Yobe State. His mother has long lived in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, not far from where the girls were grabbed.
His early years also are wrapped in mystery. He received little formal education, but because of a photographic memory, learned to speak multiple languages — Hausa, the main language of north Nigeria, a little English, “very good Arabic,” as well as his native Kuneri, said one U.S. official.
In the latter half of the last decade, he gave fiery sermons in the main mosque in Maiduguri, which were taped and widely distributed. In them, he railed against Western education, music, and called for the imposition of sharia law, all now the tenets of Boko Haram.
Most violent terror group
He rose to prominence in 2009, when his mentor, Mohammad Yusuf, was killed by Nigerian police. At that time, Boko Haram leaders were involved “in a leadership tussle for who could be the most violent,” says Ogebe. Shekau won.
Once in charge, Shekau became far more radical than Yusuf and bolstered the group’s operational capability, revitalizing it, according to a U.S. intelligence official, who spoke with NBC News on condition of anonymity.
At the same time, say U.S. officials, he has attempted to shape the group in the mold of al Qaeda and its affiliates. In August 2011, for example, Gen. Carter Ham, then head of the U.S. Africa Command, stated that Shekau had forged increasing ties with the Mali-based Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) terror group.
“He has definitely been key not just to an ideological alignment with al Qaeda but also in adopting al Qaeda-like tactics,” says Michael Leiter, former director of the National Center for Counter Terrorism and now an NBC analyst, referring to his use of spectacular attacks. However, even al Qaeda has criticized some of those attacks for their brutality, particularly the burning of an elementary school filled with young boys.
“Shekau’s leadership style is as rigid as his ideology,” said the counterterrorism official. “He surrounds himself with yes-men and rejects as apostates anyone who would question his authority. Shekau’s bloodthirsty and unflinching campaign against largely civilian targets — including elementary school s—in part led to the emergence in 2012 of a splinter faction (of Boko Haram).”
“Any impartial observer — especially those who have watched his public statements over the years— would be left wondering about Shekau’s mental state, especially after his most recent video appearance,” said a senior U.S, counter terrorism official, referring to a tape in which a rambling, wild-eyed and gesticulating Shekau demandied the release of Boko prisoners before returning the girls.
But those who dismiss Shekau as deranged miss how resonant his overall message of greater commitment to Islam is to his target audience, the Muslims of northern Nigeria, says John Campbell, U.S. ambassador to Nigeria between 2004 and 2007. He calls Shekau “crazy like a fox. Look at his media skills.”
Comments
About Author
