1.) Problem Statement Boko Haram Has Become A Rapidly

1.) Problem Statement: Boko Haram has become a rapidly increasing threat to Northern Africa and the surrounding areas. There radical Islamic ideology has made them a serious threat to many North African nations who share similar ideologies, as well as a serious threat to the South African nations who are predominantly Christian. 2.) Background: Boko Haram is an Islamic terrorist organization that originated in Nigeria in 2002. Since the conception of Boko Haram, various attacks have been upheld against Christian venues as well as many organizations that associate with Western values. Since 2009 Boko has claimed attacks on Nigeria’s police, military, rival clerics, politicians, schools, religious buildings, public institutions, and†¦show more content†¦The current leader of Boko Haram is Abubakar Shekau. Shekau took over power in 2009 after the death of Boko Haram former leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Yusuf is credited with being the founder of Boko Haram back in 2002. He worked closely with Shekau from 2002 until 2009 when he was killed in a Boko uprising, where he was detained by the Nigerian police and killed. Shekau then took the reins of the Islamic radical group. Since 2009 Shekau has been reported dead multiple times, yet he remains alive. The most recent case of this has occurred when the Nig erian Air Force bombed the radicals and reported Shekau as â€Å"fatally wounded†. Shekau then released a video of himself months later proving that he was alive and well. Shekau has pledged allegiance to ISIL and loyalty does their work across Northern Africa in an attempt to establish an Islamic caliphate in Africa. b.) Military Capabilities: It is very difficult to determine the strength of Boko Haram. They do not report any formal information on strength or capabilities. All data is merely a speculation. â€Å"Local and international experts put the number at anywhere between 5,000 and 50,000 active fighters. This latter figure is almost certainly far too big.† (War is Boring). These speculations do not provide any pertinent information regarding the Boko Haram regime. They are far too vague to provide any use. This has forced analyst to be more creative in how they go about determining the capabilities of the radicals. They do