58 people at a camp in northern Nigeria. The victims were among the more than 50,000 people

seeking refuge from the terrorist organization, which was recently named the deadliest in

the world by the Global Terrorism Index. On average, Boko Haram’s attacks are twice

as deadly as the Islamic State’s; however, they’ve only received about a fifth of the

media coverage, and considerably less western military intervention. So why has so much

been done to stop ISIS but not Boko Haram?

Boko Haram’s name loosely translates to "Western education is forbidden". In 2002,

the group gained popularity by exploiting public frustration with Nigeria’s corrupt

and increasingly Westernizing government. Boko Haram attacks were mostly small and unreported

until 2009, when a violent uprising shifted the group into jihadist extremism. The terrorist

organization is often compared to ISIS, as both are inspired by Wahhabism, an ultraconservative,

extremist branch of Sunni Islam. In fact, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS in March

2015, as a way to further expand and legitimize their terror operation.

Attacks by Boko Haram are generally more deadly than those by ISIS, as the group is known

to target crowded areas like schools or markets. In fact, in 2014, Boko Haram carried out about

half as many attacks as ISIS, but killed roughly 600 more people in total. That same year,

the group kidnapped nearly 300 Nigerian school girls, sparking a global campaign to save

them.

But overall, world leaders have united to fight ISIS. In just 10 months, the US spent

more than $2.74 billion dollars on the war against ISIS. That’s compared to roughly

$50 million dollars and a few dozen armored vehicles to fight Boko Haram overall. The

Islamic State also trumps Boko Haram in terms of global media coverage. When ISIS and Boko

Haram each committed an act of mass terrorism in early January 2015, according to a Washington

Post analysis, America’s news outlets published more than 3,200 articles mentioning ISIS,

but only about 500 mentioning Boko Haram. Yet, Boko Haram killed as many as 2000 people

in their attack, compared to 17 deaths as a result of ISIS during this same time period

All things considered, our question remains: why isn’t there more military and media

attention focused on Boko Haram? Well, it sounds overly simple, but Western media is

predominantly concerned with Western issues. ISIS has threatened Europe and the US, and

is linked to attacks in 20 countries outside Iraq and Syria. Boko Haram, on the other hand,

is localized to West Africa where there’s considerably less western involvement. And

while the US has an enduring military and economic stake in Iraq and Syria, the same

just can’t be said for Nigeria.

Boko Haram shocked the world when it kidnapped over 300 young girls from a Nigerian school.

To learn more about that attack and more about the group’s deadly mission, watch the video

at the top. To learn more about why Boko Haram pledged its allegiance to ISIS, check out

the video at the bottom. Thanks for watching TestTube News make sure to like and subscribe

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