2015年经济学人 叛乱给尼日利亚北部带来危机

Nigeria

Why northerners feel done down

A terrorist insurgency¹ has deepened a poor region's already grave problems

THE roads are thick with traffic and pavements throng² with hawkers selling phonecards, sunglasses and leather sandals.

At night, street corners are lit up with a red glow from grills³ cooking spicy⁴ meat.

But the bustle⁵ of Kano, Nigeria's second-biggest city and the commercial capital of the north,

masks an uncomfortable reality: northern Nigeria is in steep decline.

An increasingly bloody⁶ insurgency waged by Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group,

has sharpened frustration⁷ over the disparity between the jobless north and the oil-rich south.

In recent months Kano has been relatively⁸ stable, following a military offensive to contain the terrorists.

But though the pause in violence has brought people back onto the streets, they have rediscovered other problems.

“Stoves are gone, people selling beer have gone, there is no market,

there are few customers and I haven't been able to save any money in months,” says Chineu Abason,

sitting in her wooden-shack restaurant in Sabon Gari, a mainly Christian⁹ district,

where Boko Haram bombs have killed scores of people this year (see picture above).

The fear of terrorism continues to cast a long shadow over the city and across the north.

Bombings, kidnappings and bloody assaults by Boko Haram, as well as the army's efforts to keep a lid on the fighting, have deterred¹⁰ investment.

Farming, the north's main source of income, has been hamstrung.

Consumer-goods companies say that insecurity has forced them to retreat from some areas.

Commercial drivers say dangerous roads and military checkpoints add 5-10% to their costs.

Despite a construction boom across Nigeria, many foreign companies avoid the north.

In February seven employees of Setraco, an international construction company,

were abducted¹¹ in Bauchi state by Ansaru, a group that splintered from Boko Haram,

prompting an immediate¹² shutdown of the firm's operations up north.

PZ Cussons, the maker¹³ of Imperial Leather soap, and Guinness Nigeria are hanging on but have been hit by the conflict, too.

Even before Boko Haram's insurgency intensified¹⁴ nearly three years ago, the north was struggling.

Unreliable electricity, cheap Chinese imports, smuggling¹⁵ and counterfeit¹⁶ goods have made life hard for local companies.

Vast spaces on Kano's edges have become industrial graveyards¹⁷.

In rural areas the picture is bleaker¹⁸ still. Poor education puts off investors¹⁹ seeking skilled labour.

Whereas the literacy rate in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital on the coast, is 92%, in Kano it is 49%.

In the north-eastern state of Borno, where Boko Haram got going, it is 15%.

Without better education, the region will struggle to attract investment or create jobs.

The malaise is a useful recruiting tool for terrorists, as well as politicians with their eye on the top.

Northerners habitually²⁰ complain that politicians have made personal fortunes from the booming oil industry in the south,

while failing to share its benefits.

Mutterings of a north-south divide have grown louder with the prospect²¹ of President Goodluck Jonathan,

a southern Christian, running for a second term in 2015.

Northerners resent what they see as a violation²² of an unwritten rule that the presidency²³ should rotate every two terms between the largely Muslim north and the mostly Christian south.

A southerner has held the post for 11 of the past 14 years.

Nigeria's finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, insists that the government recognises the north's need.

Nigeria has courted $20 billion of foreign direct investment in the past three years, 10% of the African total.

Yet most investors set up shop in Lagos. “When we advise investors coming to Nigeria, they don't even talk about the north,”

says a South African banker in the plush Hilton Hotel in Abuja, the capital, which lies between north and south.

“It simply isn't a consideration. It's the sad truth and it isn't about to change.”

There are few signs of revival²⁴ in Kano, though it is nearly as big as Lagos.

“Shoprite OPENING SOON” is splashed on a red-and-orange sign where the Ado Bayero Mall, the north's first modern shopping centre, is going up.

It has been a long wait: Shoprite, a South African food distributor, has been operating in Lagos since 2005.

Kano's state governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has poured millions into infrastructure²⁵.

Taxis weave through huge concrete columns that will eventually support a flyover²⁶.

But while three-lane highways are being built, feeder roads from rural communities remain decrepit²⁷.

A multimillion-dollar development, the Mega Five Projects, will have three posh housing estates and two transport terminals.

Such projects make little sense when many northerners, struggling to make a living,

are deciding to leave Kano in search of better prospects—down south.

“It is the only logical way for the government,” says the owner of a big construction company.

“Visible development gives the impression of stability and progress.”

But it will not be enough to close the gulf²⁸ between Nigeria's two halves.

As a result, northerners are increasingly resentful.

1 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

2 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

3 grills   

n.烤架( grill的名词复数 )；（一盘）烤肉；格板；烧烤餐馆v.烧烤( grill的第三人称单数 )；拷问，盘问

参考例句：

• Backyard barbecue grills could be proscribed. 里弄烤肉店会被勒令停业的。 来自辞典例句
• Both side inlets have horizontal grills and incorporate impressive fog lamps. 两侧进气口的水平烤架并纳入令人印象深刻的雾灯。 来自互联网

4 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

5 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

11 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

14 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

16 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

17 graveyards   

墓地( graveyard的名词复数 )； 垃圾场； 废物堆积处； 收容所

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• "And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上，万古青蒙蒙。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

18 bleaker   

阴冷的( bleak的比较级 )； （状况）无望的； 没有希望的； 光秃的

参考例句：

• Horoscopes are merely harmless escapism from an ever-bleaker world. 占星术只不过是让人逃避越发令人沮丧的世界的无害消遣罢了。
• On the ground the mood is bleaker. 具体形势更加严峻。

19 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

20 habitually   

ad.习惯地，通常地

参考例句：

• The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。
• Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰，我来到他的椅子跟前。

21 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

22 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

23 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

24 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

25 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

26 flyover   

n.立交桥，天桥

参考例句：

• It took workers more than one year to build this flyover.建造这座立交桥破费工人一年多时间。
• All that came to his bakery should go over a flyover first.所有来他店的人都必须先经过一座立交桥。

27 decrepit   

adj.衰老的，破旧的

参考例句：

• The film had been shot in a decrepit old police station.该影片是在一所破旧不堪的警察局里拍摄的。
• A decrepit old man sat on a park bench.一个衰弱的老人坐在公园的长凳上。

28 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。