James Dalby

The Castrators - Behind the News Series James Dalby 2 Enlarged edition

The kidnapping of 300 Nigerian girls by Boko Haram horrified the Western world in 2014. Other atrocities have been perpetrated by this group, originally founded to follow a stricter form of IslamThe problem was exacerbated by a weak government in Nigeria, causing corruption at official and military levels. The difference in living standards between the poor north and the wealthy south did not help, as most of the wealth is to be found in the south. Boko Haram, was taken over by more extreme Islamists, to further their cause, and now they want to cleanse western values from the whole of Nigeria. The country is Africa's most populated state, where the economy has now surpassed that of South Africa, but with little benefit of this wealth seen amongst the indigenous, particularly in the north. Unfortunately, the current leaders of this sect have taken the stance of many of its type, where the destruction of everything including fine buildings, education, the rights of women, fair and proper law, freedom of speech and human rights are the casualty. Because the Nigerian Army was under funded arguably due to corruption, it had low morale and inferior equipment. It was in no fit state to succeed against a better-armed enemy that uses the porous northern border to flee when being pursued, only to come back the next day with a larger force to crush the government forces. The newly elected President, realising it will take time to reorganise the army, requested the help of the western world and the United Kingdom in particular.