Africa Up Close

May 16, 2013

French Article Translation of the Week

“Le président nigérian déclare l’état d’urgence dans trois Etats”

“Le président nigérian Goodluck Jonathan a déclaré mardi 14 mai l’état d’urgence dans trois Etats frappés par les attaques du groupe islamiste extrémiste Boko Haram, en assurant qu’il fallait adopter des “mesures extraordinaires” en réponse à la violence.”

“On Tuesday, May 14, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan announced a state of emergency in three states hit by the attacks of extremist Islamist group Boko Haram, making it necessary to adopt ‘special measures’ in response to the violence.”

This article has been translated from French. Click here to read the original version on Le Monde.

“I declare the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa”, said the Head of State in a televised speech, referring to the three northern states of the country, the scene of a series of bloody attacks by Boko Haram. The Chair presented the latest violence claimed by the group as a “declaration of war”.

Uncertain Impact

In a video received Monday by the AFP, the alleged leader of Boko Haram had claimed two very deadly attacks: the Baga attack on April 16, followed by a violent crackdown by the army, creating a total of 187 deaths, as well as the Bama attack on May 7, which had resulted in at least 55 deaths. The president, in power for three years, had already declared a state of emergency in January 2012 following a wave of violence by extremist Boko Haram, but the decree was then applied only to certain areas in four states.

In seeking to impose this measure in entire states, the head of state must first obtain permission from the Nigerian parliament, which he promised to do. For now, the practical consequences of the state of emergency have not been clearly presented. When former President Olusegun Obasanjo declared a state of emergency twice, in 2004 and 2006, he had removed the democratically elected state governors and replaced them by former military officers, appointed as administrators to manage States.

But President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged not to use such a method. “Governors and other members of the political leadership in the countries concerned will continue to meet their responsibilities,” he said. Boko Haram intends to establish an Islamic state in the predominantly Muslim north. The uprising it launched, and its repression by the security forces, have resulted in 3,600 dead since 2009.