According to persecuted Christians charity, the Barnabas Fund, which co-sponsored the visit in August to Washington DC by Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Primate of the Church of Nigeria, the US State Department considers that 'Boko Haram is motivated by poverty and marginalization rather than by the religious motives that Boko Haram themselves have often declared' (Barnabasaid magazine - November/December 2012).
That view, Barnabas Fund believes, accounts for 'the reluctance of the US State Department to designate Boko Haram a foreign terrorist group', compounding 'fears that the attacks will not be effectively counteracted'.
Whilst there may be elements in the US State Department who buy that 'poverty and marginalization' line, the real reasons for Boko Haram escaping the FTO designation that it deserves are more complex. There are powerful vested interests in Nigeria itself that do want the FTO label on a group within their country. Wealthy Nigerians travelling to the US do not wish to be subject to the inconvenience of a more rigorous entry regime.
Read it all here.
Related reading: Nigerian Muslims Condemn Boko Haram; Maiduguri Buckles Under Boko Haram Attack
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