All Politics is Local: Understanding Boko Haram

By

Kim Searcy

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Kano, Nigeria.

Kano, Nigeria, 2005

Kano, Nigeria, 2005

Niger soldiers after violent engagement with Boko Haram.

Niger soldiers after violent engagement with Boko Haram, 2015

Niger soldiers after violent engagement with Boko Haram, 2015

Weeping fathers of kidnapped girls in Chibok.

Weeping fathers of kidnapped girls in Chibok, 2014

Weeping fathers of kidnapped girls in Chibok, 2014

Illustration of Kanem-Bu warriors.

Kanem-Bu warriors, 1892

Illustration of Kanem-Bu warriors in the 1892 version of The Earth and Its Inhabitants, Africa

Dixon Denham and Hugh Clapperton meet the Shehu of Borno.

Dixon Denham and Hugh Clapperton meet the Shehu of Borno, Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanami 1823

Dixon Denham and Hugh Clapperton meet the Shehu of Borno, Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanami 1823

Tomb of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanami.

Tomb of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanami

Tomb of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanami, Kukawa, Nigeria

First Lady Michelle Obama making a plea for the return of the Chibok girls.

First Lady Michelle Obama making a plea for the return of the Chibok girls, 2014

First Lady Michelle Obama making a plea for the return of the Chibok girls, 2014

Typical Kanuri tribal marks.

Typical Kanuri tribal marks

Typical Kanuri tribal marks

Records of the formation of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Records of the formation of the Sokoto Caliphate, circa 1754-1817

Records of the formation of the Sokoto Caliphate, circa 1754-1817

Muhammad Al Amin ibn Muhammad al-Kanami.

Muhammad Al Amin ibn Muhammad al-Kanami

Muhammad Al Amin ibn Muhammad al-Kanami. Illustration by Edward Francis Finden, 1826

Bukar Garbai ibn Ibrahim.

Bukar Garbai (or Abubakar Garbai) ibn Ibrahim

Bukar Garbai (or Abubakar Garbai) ibn Ibrahim, was the Shehu of Borno from 1902-1922

Members of Sokoto Caliphate.

Members of Sokoto Caliphate

Members of Sokoto Caliphate, circa 1900

The workings of the oil industry in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

The workings of the oil industry in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The workings of the oil industry in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abubakar Shekau of Boko Haram.

Abubakar Shekau

Abubakar Shekau of Boko Haram

Mohammed Yusuf of Boko Haram.

Mohammed Yusuf

Mohammed Yusuf of Boko Haram

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Cite this Site

Kim Searcy , "All Politics is Local: Understanding Boko Haram" , Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

April, 2016

https://origins.osu.edu/article/all-politics-local-understanding-boko-haram.