Boko Haram 'Is Not Just Anti-Western Education' — Borno Commissioner

The Boko Haram sect is against western education because educated people have not put their skills to solving the peoples' needs

Most people have a wrong perception of the true understanding of the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, says the Commissioner for Education in Borno State, Alhaji Musa Inuwa Kubo.

Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, Kubo, said the Boko Haram concept is not just about opposing western education.

"I want people to understand the concept of Boko Haram because I have noticed that many people do not understand the real meaning of Boko Haram. Let me say it today and let us accept the reality.

The concept of Boko Haram has a deep meaning and what it means is that those that have acquired western education have failed to come back to their respective communities and help their people, therefore the essence of their education (western education) is useless," he said.

Kubo said the sect is only against Western education because of the failure of educated people to put their education to meeting the needs of the people.

"It is not just anti-western education, rather those that have acquired western education but have not enhanced the lives of their communities using their education capabilities," Kubo said.

"If they had enhanced the lives of people in their communities, we wouldn’t have come into this problem.

"Boko Haram was brought up because of the existing disconnect between those that have acquired western education and those that have not."

The commissioner however stated that the Boko Haram insurgency "is a great challenge in the education sector".

He suggested that the government should dialogue with the Boko Haram sect in order to restore peace.

"The issue of insurgency was brought up by discontent and we feel that if it is the problem of disconnect, those people that feel offended we should sit down and dialogue with them and then find a solution," he said.

Several academic institutions have been targeted by the Boko Haram sect with the abduction of nearly 300 girls from Chibok, Borno state, the highpoint of the sects anti-education campaign.