The relationship between indirect rule and Quranic education : considerations for the emergence of Boko Haram terrorism in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

This article reviews the historical legacy of the British policy of indirect rule and how its colonial policy of preserving the local traditions of the people through Quranic education contributed to the rise of Boko Haram terrorism. The narrative of hatred and anger against Western education is deeply ingrained and rooted in the political and religious culture of the region. Hence, the article traces the continuities between the colonial past and post-colonial Northern Nigeria and unveils the similarities contained therein. This article asserts that the policy of indirect rule and the official apathy towards Islamic and Quranic education in the region has led to this rise of unregulated and unreformed fundamentalist Quranic schools in Northern Nigeria. Under British rule, Quranic education in Northern Nigeria was left unregulated and unchecked due to fear of a backlash from the region’s religious and political leaders. The British needed these leaders to further consolidate colonial rule in the area. Although the colonial government was aware of the enormous danger of spreading Islamic fundamentalism, the region remained unregulated. This governmental apathy towards reforming the basic tenets of Quranic schools persisted in post- independence Nigeria. The article also suggests that efforts to combat Boko Haram terrorism in Northern Nigeria should involve policies to reform and regulate the thousands of Quranic schools in the north. These schools target desperately poor, unemployed and unemployable young men and women, who are recruited easily as foot soldiers by Boko Haram leaders.