By Tordue Salem
DR Joseph Moneke, a British-trained anti-terror scholar, holds a masters degree in Critical Sophistry in terrorism and a doctorate degree in Criminal Law.In this interview with vanguard, he adviced government on how best to tackle terror in Nigeria, and feared terror may be a new dimension to politics in the country if not properly handled. Excerpts:

DR Joseph Moneke

As a Terror Scholar What Approach Should Government Take To Nab these Merchants of Terror?
I think, the best Approach to this is that ethnicity and sectionalism should be buried at this material time, because we are facing a National disaster; a national crisis, so every mind should be focused on how to move the Country forward out of the quagmire.

The politicisation of the issue should not arise at this time. We .should be thinking of getting out of the situation, and the only way to get out of the situation is to collaborate. When we put up communal or collective efforts, then we will able to achieve something better. It is a case that threatens us. It is an absurd issue that is confronting us and there are better ways we can go about it.

For example we should exploit collective ideas and so on. Nobody should be blamed in particular. Blame should not be apportioned to anybody yet. The only thing is that how do we look at the things that happened in the past, then move forward.

I remember when America was attacked, and I remember the words of George Bush, where he said ‘we should live behind the attacks and then move forward’. He promised to make America impenetrable to the enemy.

He reasoned that ‘this is a war we have to fight once and for all, that if we don’t fight this war, our children will live to fight the same war, so it is better we fight the war now’ that was the word of Bush when America came out of that situation.

How Do You Read Statements Emanating From The Presidency & The Reactions From His Opponents?
You are already making a statement that can be analysed in several ways as to where the attack is coming from. In terrorism studies, there is what we call pseudo_publicity. That is where individuals or groups that do not have any affiliation to what happened, would just own up, to divert the attention of government or security agencies and so on, so that is what could be happening in the case of MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) and other happenings in the world.

But also, if you go globally about the happenings in the world, there are two terrorist organisations that are very deadly: One is Al Qaeda, and it is recorded second, behind the most dreaded terrorist group in the whole world is LTE, the Tamil Tigers, who are rated to be even worst than Al Qaeda.

If you check the way these terror groups operate, that is when you would say ‘yes’ this particular investigation is pointing towards this direction, so I as an terror scholar, if I were to analyse the situation and so on, it had the trade mark of Al Qaeda. Because Al Qaeda is the only terrorist organisation in the world that specializes in multiple single_day operation and that is exactly what happened on that particular day.

If you go down to what happened in New York , it is the same thing. If you go down to Nairobi (Kenya ) it is the same thing, if you go to Uganda bombings, it is the same thing it is the same thing.

But the issue is same thing. So when you talk of indirect terrorism, then you cannot rule out the hand of the opposition they may want to attack the current tenants of power to discredit them, so that the electorate will lose confidence in them, so that is what I think. So a combination of these will lend credence to the fact that the opposition may actually not be part of it.

The Counter Terrorism Bill is still pending in the National Assembly, In the Face of All this, As Lawmakers Are Yet to Grapple with Some Clauses in the Bill, Some of Which Bother on Money Transfers and Modes of Tackling Terror

I tend to side with the National Assembly on some of the clauses in the Counter_terrorism bill. Some of the clauses on the ways to tackle terror may be alien to our traditions and culture and should be amended, but passed as a matter of urgency. Because I am also an economist by orientation and I know what it means to be a cashless and a cash economy.

Britain operates a cashless society and other Countries in Europe, but in Nigeria , never! Nigeria is a cashless society and we are not properly structured yet for that kind of clause that would ban people from carrying more that N500, 000 in their pockets. That is why I said what they are doing, is in the right direction and then there are other critical issues also that are also coming up, so they want to be sure that all these would not be used against political opponents, so National Assembly is in the right direction, as far as I am concerned.

The only thing is that efforts should be made to expedite action on that matter. The last time we attended public hearing on that matter, I spoke at learnt about it. But I also talked about expediting action on it.
Could Nigeria not Be headed for the Politics of Terror? And What Do You Think of The Linking of Dr.

Raymond Dokpesi and so forth in the web of terror?

There is definitely, no personality profile for a terrorist, some people can even go to the University and study up to a PhD level and still the tendencies would still be there, but I would not talk too much on that, i would rather leave it to the security agencies to determine. But going back to your question, I would say my apprehension is that we are going down to that level where terrorism will take centre stage. One thing is that the indices that will usher in terrorism are already there.

It has gone to unbearable stage which is suicide bombing; every other thing is already existing in the system. The Primary Stage has been experienced, the secondary stage has happened and now the Tertiary stage where we are experiencing bomb attacks. Another danger is that we don’t even know areas that may have been designated for further attacks, if we had known that, some of these areas that came under attack would have been saved.

But Security Agencies Said Notice of the Attacks Got to Them Five Days Before the Attacks?
But you must know that intelligence did not fail in Nigeria , there is a total package in this. Information on terror is shared internationally and locally. Intelligence is complementary, so intelligence did not fail in Nigeria .

But the security agencies in Nigeria need bigger funding, because the agents of terrorism are well funded and the only way to beat them to it, is to fund terror fighters quite as well.

What Do You Think Should Be Done in the Interim before the Counter_Terrorism Bill is Passed?

The Federal Government should appoint a Special Advisor on terrorism and what we call a third force, the 1st force is the Army, the Police and then the third force.