The
first part of this article highlighted the local dynamics of terror
groups operating in Nigeria and the challenges of tackling the menace.
This aspect concentrates on international dynamics, anti-subsistence
theories and our potential struggle for survival. We have undoubtedly
established Boko Haram aren’t ghosts, they do exist- the collateral
damage is proof of that. I have been discussing with some locals in
parts of these affected regions and there are not exactly happy with the
government, neither are they excited about the insurgency. They are
caught in-between the perceived insouciance of the supposed
Commander-in-Chief coupled with the ineptitude of JTF (Joint Task Force)
and the mayhem of Boko Haram.
As some Jonathanians continue to praise the government’s approach to fighting terrorism, including the ironic sending of troops to Mali- not to mention their alleged starvation, it may be interesting to note the President stated “it is Nigeria’s turn” to face the war on terror.
So from a global perspective, what is the “War on Terror”? For the purposes of attaining global peace and way before this brand of ‘terrorism’ emanated in our realm, I have been studying the concept of Jihad in Islam and the emergence of terrorism on a global scale. I already knew of figures like Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, The Mujahideen, USSR- Afghanistan War, Soviet Union disintegration and the US/CIA connection, way before 9/11.
The origins and manifestations of such ideologies are often misconstrued; a genesis subconsciously or deliberately overlooked. Of important note is a book that analyses the issues from a factual perspective.
“Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story” by Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald
The above mentioned book is a must read for those who really want an in-depth, factual and unbiased analysis of the war in Afghanistan. It dissects the true intent of the U.S, its sponsoring of Islamic fundamentalism and its subsequent growth, plus introspection into the so called ‘War on Terror’, albeit hypocritical and belated.
Robert Dreyfuss, author of “Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam” comments about the book:
"From the dawn of the Cold War onward, generations of conservative strategists have eyed Afghanistan as a launching pad first for the subversion of the Soviet Union and then to checkmate Russia in central Asia. To that end, as Gould and Fitzgerald show, since the 1950s the CIA has played games with both reactionary, feudal landlords and wild-eyed Muslim fundamentalists. In their exhaustively documented book, Gould and Fitzgerald reveal how that sort of gamesmanship played havoc with a battered nation of twenty-five million souls—helping to spawn, in the process, the virulent strain of violent Islamism that reaches far beyond the remote and landlocked territory of that war-torn country."
In my critical analysis of the history and politics of the Middle East, with the importation/exportation of extremist ideologies across the globe, I have had to research and read a lot of books written from all sides of the ideological spectra. One of such authors is Bernard Lewis who despite his critical analysis of Islamic culture, Sharia Law, Jihad and the modern day phenomenon of terrorism, in his text, “Islam: The Religion and the People.” Lewis states Jihad as a distinct "religious obligation", but suggests that "it is a pity that people engaging in terrorist activities are not more aware of their own religion: Muslim fighters are commanded not to kill women, children, or the aged unless they attack first; not to torture or otherwise ill-treat prisoners; to give fair warning of the opening of hostilities or their resumption after a truce; and to honour agreements... At no time did the classical jurists offer any approval or legitimacy to what we nowadays call terrorism. Nor indeed is there any evidence of the use of terrorism as it is practiced nowadays."
In Lewis' view, the "by now widespread terrorism practice of suicide bombing is a development of the 20th century" with "no antecedents in Islamic history, and no justification in terms of Islamic theology, law, or tradition." He further comments that "the fanatical warrior offering his victims the choice of the Koran or the sword is not only untrue, it is impossible" and that "generally speaking, Muslim tolerance of unbelievers was far better than anything available in Christendom, until the rise of secularism in the 17th century."
Now that we have all these issues in perspective and the paradigm of thought processes expanded, I do not subscribe to mere lamentations without the proffering of excogitative remedies; the sooner we realize our problems are politically motivated the sooner we will start to identify pragmatic solutions. It is no longer news there’s a power tussle going on between some regions in Nigeria. Contemporary Nigeria is witnessing the manifestations of malfeasance of public office holders, the myopic bigotry of former rulers and the general corruption of the polity. Many issues the entity has not addressed; the aftermath of civil war has not been dealt with, some still feel like second class citizens, poverty is rife, some regions have low literacy rates, with women living in subjugation and children in deprivation.
All that I have mentioned are the consequences of corruption and the insatiable greed of the corrupt with religion utilized as a convenient pawn, so these problems aren’t totally religious.
Religion is a convenient way to divide the populace and cause mayhem, more so, a complex ethno-religious entity like Nigeria.
Some theories have originated trying to explain the genesis of these terror attacks in Nigeria. There’s a local theory that political machinations of 2015 have begun; and those that are behind these attacks know their aims and objectives vis-a-vis power and tenure elongation.
Other internationally oriented theories have elucidated the genesis of groups like Al Qaeda and affiliation with the US, as many are now suspecting the so called ‘War on Terror’ was orchestrated and perpetuated for purposes of oil siphoning; even US citizens have started to challenge the veracity of many events following 9/11- the death of the former US ally Osama Bin Laden (the freedom fighter turned terrorist), the alleged looting of Libyan oil following the usurpation of Ghadaffi through the arming of terrorists; same armed terrorists currently involved in the Syria conflict, and available for hire.
Also, the illegal invasion of Iraq with no evidence of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) or it’s correlation with 9/11. It is such disconcerting situations that lead the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to condemn both Bush and Blair for their role in the loss of innocent lives. For Blair especially, it was this illegal invasion that tainted his tenure as Prime Minster and still haunts him presently. Ironically 10 years of the Iraqi invasion was recently marked and it was concluded nothing has been achieved but death and destruction- I am seriously hoping the Nigerian crisis doesn’t degenerate into a similar situation.
Many theorists posit the Boko Haram debacle in Nigeria is strictly political manoeuvrings in motion, with more local than international objectives. However some contend we live in a 'smash and grab' neo-colonialist era and Nigeria’s oil serves certain economic interests. Interestingly our break up has been predicted by some and a balkanization agenda after 100 years of the 1914 amalgamation is also being discussed in some quarters. One of such theories is an article titled “Nigeria: Targeted for destruction” by Gordon Duff. Basically, it’s saying think Iraq and Libya, that there’s a lovely romance between Oil, War, Invasions and Arms Trade- Nigeria not an exception.
Recently, there's been news about a supposed French Businessman and Islamic activist ready to dialogue with Boko Haram on our behalf, though laudable- but what exactly is the federal government doing in this regard. I don’t suppose if this individual’s gesture materialises, it would be a meeting with ‘ghosts’.
Whatever our intricate challenges; local, international or a combination of both- it is surmountable if we stay united. There’s no better time for us to rise above ethnic and religious bigotry, see our size and diversity as God given blessings that can be harnessed by any visionary leadership to attain global greatness.
We must desist from the usual blame game and misdirected opprobrium, we must see the bigger picture and ask the right questions, who benefit’s the most from the destruction of our lands? - It’s definitely not the Nigerian masses.
POLITICS is THE GAME & RELIGION is the TOOL: BEWARE & UNITE!!!
GOD Bless Nigeria.
www.momonologues.blogspot.com
m.b.o.owolowo@gmail.com
Twitter: @Owoism
- M.B.O
2013©
As some Jonathanians continue to praise the government’s approach to fighting terrorism, including the ironic sending of troops to Mali- not to mention their alleged starvation, it may be interesting to note the President stated “it is Nigeria’s turn” to face the war on terror.
So from a global perspective, what is the “War on Terror”? For the purposes of attaining global peace and way before this brand of ‘terrorism’ emanated in our realm, I have been studying the concept of Jihad in Islam and the emergence of terrorism on a global scale. I already knew of figures like Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, The Mujahideen, USSR- Afghanistan War, Soviet Union disintegration and the US/CIA connection, way before 9/11.
The origins and manifestations of such ideologies are often misconstrued; a genesis subconsciously or deliberately overlooked. Of important note is a book that analyses the issues from a factual perspective.
“Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story” by Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald
The above mentioned book is a must read for those who really want an in-depth, factual and unbiased analysis of the war in Afghanistan. It dissects the true intent of the U.S, its sponsoring of Islamic fundamentalism and its subsequent growth, plus introspection into the so called ‘War on Terror’, albeit hypocritical and belated.
Robert Dreyfuss, author of “Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam” comments about the book:
"From the dawn of the Cold War onward, generations of conservative strategists have eyed Afghanistan as a launching pad first for the subversion of the Soviet Union and then to checkmate Russia in central Asia. To that end, as Gould and Fitzgerald show, since the 1950s the CIA has played games with both reactionary, feudal landlords and wild-eyed Muslim fundamentalists. In their exhaustively documented book, Gould and Fitzgerald reveal how that sort of gamesmanship played havoc with a battered nation of twenty-five million souls—helping to spawn, in the process, the virulent strain of violent Islamism that reaches far beyond the remote and landlocked territory of that war-torn country."
In my critical analysis of the history and politics of the Middle East, with the importation/exportation of extremist ideologies across the globe, I have had to research and read a lot of books written from all sides of the ideological spectra. One of such authors is Bernard Lewis who despite his critical analysis of Islamic culture, Sharia Law, Jihad and the modern day phenomenon of terrorism, in his text, “Islam: The Religion and the People.” Lewis states Jihad as a distinct "religious obligation", but suggests that "it is a pity that people engaging in terrorist activities are not more aware of their own religion: Muslim fighters are commanded not to kill women, children, or the aged unless they attack first; not to torture or otherwise ill-treat prisoners; to give fair warning of the opening of hostilities or their resumption after a truce; and to honour agreements... At no time did the classical jurists offer any approval or legitimacy to what we nowadays call terrorism. Nor indeed is there any evidence of the use of terrorism as it is practiced nowadays."
In Lewis' view, the "by now widespread terrorism practice of suicide bombing is a development of the 20th century" with "no antecedents in Islamic history, and no justification in terms of Islamic theology, law, or tradition." He further comments that "the fanatical warrior offering his victims the choice of the Koran or the sword is not only untrue, it is impossible" and that "generally speaking, Muslim tolerance of unbelievers was far better than anything available in Christendom, until the rise of secularism in the 17th century."
Now that we have all these issues in perspective and the paradigm of thought processes expanded, I do not subscribe to mere lamentations without the proffering of excogitative remedies; the sooner we realize our problems are politically motivated the sooner we will start to identify pragmatic solutions. It is no longer news there’s a power tussle going on between some regions in Nigeria. Contemporary Nigeria is witnessing the manifestations of malfeasance of public office holders, the myopic bigotry of former rulers and the general corruption of the polity. Many issues the entity has not addressed; the aftermath of civil war has not been dealt with, some still feel like second class citizens, poverty is rife, some regions have low literacy rates, with women living in subjugation and children in deprivation.
All that I have mentioned are the consequences of corruption and the insatiable greed of the corrupt with religion utilized as a convenient pawn, so these problems aren’t totally religious.
Religion is a convenient way to divide the populace and cause mayhem, more so, a complex ethno-religious entity like Nigeria.
Some theories have originated trying to explain the genesis of these terror attacks in Nigeria. There’s a local theory that political machinations of 2015 have begun; and those that are behind these attacks know their aims and objectives vis-a-vis power and tenure elongation.
Other internationally oriented theories have elucidated the genesis of groups like Al Qaeda and affiliation with the US, as many are now suspecting the so called ‘War on Terror’ was orchestrated and perpetuated for purposes of oil siphoning; even US citizens have started to challenge the veracity of many events following 9/11- the death of the former US ally Osama Bin Laden (the freedom fighter turned terrorist), the alleged looting of Libyan oil following the usurpation of Ghadaffi through the arming of terrorists; same armed terrorists currently involved in the Syria conflict, and available for hire.
Also, the illegal invasion of Iraq with no evidence of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) or it’s correlation with 9/11. It is such disconcerting situations that lead the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to condemn both Bush and Blair for their role in the loss of innocent lives. For Blair especially, it was this illegal invasion that tainted his tenure as Prime Minster and still haunts him presently. Ironically 10 years of the Iraqi invasion was recently marked and it was concluded nothing has been achieved but death and destruction- I am seriously hoping the Nigerian crisis doesn’t degenerate into a similar situation.
Many theorists posit the Boko Haram debacle in Nigeria is strictly political manoeuvrings in motion, with more local than international objectives. However some contend we live in a 'smash and grab' neo-colonialist era and Nigeria’s oil serves certain economic interests. Interestingly our break up has been predicted by some and a balkanization agenda after 100 years of the 1914 amalgamation is also being discussed in some quarters. One of such theories is an article titled “Nigeria: Targeted for destruction” by Gordon Duff. Basically, it’s saying think Iraq and Libya, that there’s a lovely romance between Oil, War, Invasions and Arms Trade- Nigeria not an exception.
Recently, there's been news about a supposed French Businessman and Islamic activist ready to dialogue with Boko Haram on our behalf, though laudable- but what exactly is the federal government doing in this regard. I don’t suppose if this individual’s gesture materialises, it would be a meeting with ‘ghosts’.
Whatever our intricate challenges; local, international or a combination of both- it is surmountable if we stay united. There’s no better time for us to rise above ethnic and religious bigotry, see our size and diversity as God given blessings that can be harnessed by any visionary leadership to attain global greatness.
We must desist from the usual blame game and misdirected opprobrium, we must see the bigger picture and ask the right questions, who benefit’s the most from the destruction of our lands? - It’s definitely not the Nigerian masses.
POLITICS is THE GAME & RELIGION is the TOOL: BEWARE & UNITE!!!
GOD Bless Nigeria.
www.momonologues.blogspot.com
m.b.o.owolowo@gmail.com
Twitter: @Owoism
- M.B.O
2013©
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