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The terror is escalating in northern Nigeria. When nearly 200 people perished in attacks recently in the city of Kano, Frank Roger was only one kilometre away. In an interview, the Goethe staff member talks about his shock and about a wealthy nation with poor prospects.

A large-scale terror attack by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram shook the north Nigerian city of Kano on 20 January. Almost 200 people were killed. Mr. Roger, you are head of the Liaison Office of the Goethe-Institut in Kano and were in the city. What did you hear of the attacks?

Roger: At the time, I was en route in a quieter section of the city and didn’t hear the initial explosions, but was informed immediately by calls and text messages from friends. Then, I headed home in my car and got stuck in traffic. I was amazed at how the people reacted in spite of their panic. Usually traffic is very chaotic, but on that day the drivers were considerate. While I was sitting in my car, I heard a bomb explode nearby, maybe one kilometre away. The explosion was so loud it went right through my gut. All of the cars shook. The nerve-wracking thing was that we couldn’t get away and didn’t know where the next bomb would go off.

Were you frightened?

I have never before felt as unsafe and vulnerable in the street. When I arrived home early in the evening, I immediately talked with my neighbours and tried to reach friends and colleagues on the phone. The explosions and especially the shootings lasted another few hours.

Where are you now? Are you and your staff all right?

I’m now in Lagos. I arrived safely and was immediately relieved. It’s good to be here now. All of my friends and colleagues in Kano are fine, but it was hard for me to leave them behind there.

Do you feel safe in Lagos?

At the moment, I don’t feel I’m in danger here. But there are fears that the wave of violence might one day also reach the southern part of the country.

Are Germans and Europeans targets to a particular extent?

That now seems to be the case. On Thursday a German construction engineer was abducted in Kano. It’s not yet known by whom. Until now, I didn’t have the feeling that whites were particular targets in the north; this used to be a problem restricted to the oil fields in the Niger delta. But now I’m not so sure.



What do the attacks mean for your work in Kano?

We closed the institute on the Monday after the attacks, as we could not guarantee the safety of our guests. Unfortunately for the time being that’s the way it will have to stay.

What do you know about the motives for the actions?

There are thousands of rumours going round and the population is very nervous. It is known that the Islamist group Boko Haram, which was previously more active in the northeast, is behind the attacks. The attacks occurred almost simultaneously at at least six places in the city and were very well coordinated. They must have been planned a long time in advance and were a qualitatively different type of attack. The attackers wore police uniforms when they stormed police stations. This is why the number of casualties was so high; the subterfuge was perfect. Otherwise very little is known. The situation is very unclear. There are many questions that have to be answered: How do the Islamists get the uniforms, weapons and ammunition? Who trains them? All of this is costly; who are the sponsors?

Did you expect attacks?

There were repeated warnings, even for Kano, but no one really took them seriously. That’s why it was such a shock.

Are the attacks a sign that Boko Haram’s power is growing?

Yes, that’s the impression. The government doesn’t seem to have any idea of how to grapple with this violence; that’s the worst part of the whole thing. There is no recognizable strategy.

What role does President Jonathan Goodluck play in all this?

In Nigeria, the widespread attitude is that you can’t expect much from the government. Nigeria is a very wealthy nation because of its oil deposits, but the infrastructure is in a miserable state: the railways are idle and the electricity and often even the water supply is a catastrophe. Nigeria is Africa’s largest nation by population, and no government – whether military or democratically elected – has ever managed to deal with these problems.

What is Boko Haram’s violence directed against?

Against the state. At Christmas there were also attacks on churches, but this time government institutions were the targets. Most of the employees in these institutions are Muslims. In the northern states sharia has been the legal system since 2000, but for the radical Islamists, the law is not enforced strongly enough. When sharia was introduced, the people hoped it would help contain corruption. This hope was not fulfilled. The leaders of Boko Haram want to eliminate corrupt leadership. Many people support this intention, including intellectuals. But with the latest attacks a threshold has been crossed. I don’t think the group did themselves a favour with this. Most of the victims in Kano were Muslims. Now Boko Haram is under pressure and is attempting to justify these acts to its Muslim supporters, as can be seen in its latest messages on the internet.

Corruption, mismanagement, terror – is there any hope for Nigeria?

Actually, there was much hope. A week before the attacks, people in many cities went on a six-day strike. They were peacefully protesting the rise in petrol prices. The government stopped subsidizing the price of petrol on 1 January. One litre more than doubled in price and became unaffordable for most Nigerians. Costs for foodstuffs and generally all goods requiring transportation to the markets rose immediately, too. The same is true for public transport rates. Petrol is imported from other countries, for although Nigeria has huge oil deposits, it has no functioning refineries. During this general strike, a large citizens’ movement arose for the first time in Nigeria, crossing the boundaries of regions as well as religions. The movement also became known as Occupy Nigeria. It looked like finally all problems would be talked about and that the citizens would enter a new kind of dialogue with the government. But due to the attacks, these themes faded into the background.

Is the country facing anarchy?

I hope not. Yet the danger exists now in Kano. What will the future bring? The north and south of Nigeria are so entirely different that more and more Nigerians can only see a solution for their country à la Sudan – division.