Is Nigeria weak on terrorists?

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: France wasn’t the only nation under attack from brutal Islamic extremists this month. A few days before two gunmen slaughtered editors and staff of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, a contingent of Boko Haram fighters armed with grenade launchers and guns swept into a number of northern Nigerian towns and villages and slaughtered their inhabitants, according to witnesses.

Boko Haram fighters reportedly killed civilians in and around the town of Baga, and set fire to hundreds of homes and other buildings. Nigerian soldiers in a small military outpost responded to the Jan. 3 attack by fleeing, witnesses said. While Nigeria is rightly calling for help from the international community, it needs to make sure that its elected leaders are treating the Boko Haram scourge with appropriate priority and that the Nigerian army is in fighting shape.

Nigeria can’t do it alone, making regional cooperation essential. However, its apparent incompetence and indifference in dealing with Boko Haram hardly invite partners in arms. Nigeria itself must get a lot more serious about battling these toxic extremists.