Blog 6 "26 College Students Killed at Nigerian College in Africa"

Kaleesha Knox

October 02, 2012  11:39 AM

“Gunmen Kills 26 Students at Nigerian College in Africa”
       A radical Islamic group notoriously known as Boko Haram originally started out as a non-violent group back in the year of 2002, but is known for killing hundreds of people in shootings and bombings and is considered to be the biggest security threat in Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates to “Western education is sinful” and many spectators believe that the radical group launched the attack as a result of student union elections concerning campus politics. The killers savagely went from room to room, slaughtering at least 26 students one by one by the use of a handgun and others were killed with machetes. Authorities believe that this crime was planned being that the names of victims were called out as they exited the room and were murdered, whereas other students were not bothered at all. Last week when police authorities raided the halls of the school, a grenade, bombs, knives, and rifles were discovered. In conclusion, the leader of the radical group vowed to continue fighting by stating that “no peace talks with the government would happen” unless military raids against group members came to an end.
      This article demonstrates global issues within the economy concerning society’s needs to feel secure and protected by the government. The fact that many government officials are suspected to be tied to the Boko Haram group identifies how and why the perceptions of the citizens’ view of homeland security are distorted. College students and their parents have worked extremely hard, academically, physically, and financially to be able to gain a degree at an institution and improve their lives by obtaining a college education. For a group of murderers to go to the extremist point, slaughtering every student that voted against their wishes shows how the ethnocentric view remains relevant in the Nigerian culture because the members of the Boko Haram group are intolerant to the differing views of each student. Both students and parents are hesitant when it  comes to staying on campus versus going to a local college because of the media’s influences about crimes that occur in college. One incident such as this affects students, parents, faculty members, the institution’s reputation, and the federal government because the precious lives of students were snatched away at the hands of low down criminals in the blink of an eye.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/10/02/world/africa/02reuters-nigeria-shooting-college.html?ref=world&_r=0