BOKO Haram leader Sheikh Abubakar Shekau has warned that the war against the West has only just begun and will enter into a new phase now following the election of Donald Trump as the US president.
Last week, Mr Trump was declared the winner of the US presidential elections and is due to assume office in January at the end of President Barrack Obama's tenure. During his campaign, Mr trump promised to bar Muslims from entering the US and made several other inflammatory comments infuriating the adherents of Islam.
Following his surprise victory, protests have broken out across the US, creating fears that Mr trump's government will face a bitterly divided country. There are also indications that he will face a torrid time with the Middle East and Arab world, having said that the US will be very tough on the region.
Sheikh Shekau said: “Do not be overwhelmed by people like Donald Trump and the global coalition fighting our brethren in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and everywhere. We remain steadfast on our faith and we will not stop and to us, the war has just begun.”
Boko Haram is waging a seven-year-old uprising against the Nigerian state that has claimed more than 20,000 lives, with the insurgency spilling over the West African nation’s borders into neighbouring states. Boko Haram, which pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State group last year, has been on the back foot of late though.
During a visit to Nigeria in August, US Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated the government for reclaiming swathes of territory and releasing thousands of hostages from Boko Haram, while warning against the use of excessive force to fight extremists. In August, Islamic State said Sheikh Shekau had been replaced as leader by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the 22-year-old son of Boko Haram’s founder Mohammed Yusuf but it now appears that the sect has two factions.
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