Scan barcode
A review by maketeaa
Eat the Heart of the Infidel: The Harrowing of Nigeria and the Rise of Boko Haram by Andrew Walker
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.0
four stars in terms of content. but the commentary of said content... hm.
i think this is incredibly well-researched and very, very detailed. walker takes us through the historical landscape of northern nigeria, the petridish in which boko haram was cultivated. from the early political divisions between the fulani and hausa people, to the first colonial excursions, and the christianising and subsequent secularisation that came with it. we see the fallout of this, the fear of losing one's indigenous identity leading to a banding together of northern nigerian muslims against the threat of losing their perceived right to being subject to sharia law, and the anger against democracy across the rest of nigeria. then, he shows us what he describes as the 'crisis of epistemology', giving examples of how grassroots politicians are nowadays elected on the basis of personal favours because people lack trust in them to make substantial changes, the aspect of 'godfathers' between government members, and the manner in which communication and journalistic reporting does not always provide a clear-cut answer to the questions of the populace. overall, his thesis is that there is so little we know of boko haram and why boko haram continues to proliferate because of the lack of transparency there is, because there are so many conflicting claims and perspectives which seem to be pushed based on each ethnic group, religious group, or political party's agenda. he gives the example of stephen davis, one of the only people who managed to talk to boko haram and try to negotiate for the chibok girls, only for them to be taken back by the group before they could be rescued due to the delays in the rescue team.
and i think it IS valuable to take a look at the layers in nigeria's conmunication system making so many of these things confusing and opaque. but there were certain times where the author sounded like he was some travel writer venturing into the depths of the Politically Fraught Africa, you know? i'm thinking specifically of a line where he was watching disputes sprout among a crowd exiting a political meeting and simply ended the passage with 'i stood back and watched'. like? make the commentary, sure, but treating an entire nation like it's characterised entirely by 'chaotic idiocy' (THOSE WERE HIS WORDS) is just very bad taste imo. at least from someone who is NOT nigerian themselves.
anyway, regardless, still a very informative book. i do certainly have some gripes about the reductive way he sometimes referred to islamic beliefs but that's a whole other story.
i think this is incredibly well-researched and very, very detailed. walker takes us through the historical landscape of northern nigeria, the petridish in which boko haram was cultivated. from the early political divisions between the fulani and hausa people, to the first colonial excursions, and the christianising and subsequent secularisation that came with it. we see the fallout of this, the fear of losing one's indigenous identity leading to a banding together of northern nigerian muslims against the threat of losing their perceived right to being subject to sharia law, and the anger against democracy across the rest of nigeria. then, he shows us what he describes as the 'crisis of epistemology', giving examples of how grassroots politicians are nowadays elected on the basis of personal favours because people lack trust in them to make substantial changes, the aspect of 'godfathers' between government members, and the manner in which communication and journalistic reporting does not always provide a clear-cut answer to the questions of the populace. overall, his thesis is that there is so little we know of boko haram and why boko haram continues to proliferate because of the lack of transparency there is, because there are so many conflicting claims and perspectives which seem to be pushed based on each ethnic group, religious group, or political party's agenda. he gives the example of stephen davis, one of the only people who managed to talk to boko haram and try to negotiate for the chibok girls, only for them to be taken back by the group before they could be rescued due to the delays in the rescue team.
and i think it IS valuable to take a look at the layers in nigeria's conmunication system making so many of these things confusing and opaque. but there were certain times where the author sounded like he was some travel writer venturing into the depths of the Politically Fraught Africa, you know? i'm thinking specifically of a line where he was watching disputes sprout among a crowd exiting a political meeting and simply ended the passage with 'i stood back and watched'. like? make the commentary, sure, but treating an entire nation like it's characterised entirely by 'chaotic idiocy' (THOSE WERE HIS WORDS) is just very bad taste imo. at least from someone who is NOT nigerian themselves.
anyway, regardless, still a very informative book. i do certainly have some gripes about the reductive way he sometimes referred to islamic beliefs but that's a whole other story.