BY HUGO ODIOGOR

Terrorism  is defined as “the use of violence or threatened use of violence against vulnerable and defenceless people in non-combat situation, to strike fear in the large populace and make political statement”.

Although there is no universally accepted definition of the term, the United Nations (UN) came close to adopting a common position in 2005, but a last minute objection by the United States (US) forced a stalemate. This lack of universal acceptance of the use of the term “terrorism” and what constitutes “acts of terrorism” remains a problem in the eye of international law and jurisprudence.

This  lack of consensus on “what is terrorism and the objectives of its use” is a fallout of what Dr. Ademola Adeleke of University of Lagos described as “the in-group vs out-group” projection and transference of negative feelings and emotions in social relations.

This manifests in  the complex of the oppressed vs the oppressor, in terms of projection of feelings of frustration, marginalisation and other forms of social discontent, against the perceived  oppressor. This is usually a tactic  used by the in-group to force the out-group to come to the negotiating table. Terrorism, like guerrilla warfare,  is a tactic employed in the prosecution of asymmetric war where there is a disproportionate balance of force between the combatants.

THE MEDIA FACTOR
With 24-hour online and live telecast of events, the people can watch live pictures of acts of terrorism as was the case last week when Anders Behering Breivik  trapped youths at a camp in Utoya, Norway where he killed at least 76 people in mindless cold blood. The same spectacle was witnessed during the 2009 Mumbai  terror attacks  and the 2001 Al-Qaeda inspired attacks  on the World Trade Center,  New York.

The sight of such tragic occurrence attacks a horrifying spectacle in the minds of the watching public. This gives the terrorists the expected feeling of awe and power over their victims. The media becomes a magnifier of terrorism and an unconscious propaganda tool for the terrorists.

The objective of terrorism is to spread fear and influence public opinion to their cause and in the process force a negotiation.  Terrorism as a tactics was first used during the French revolution when the famous ‘reign of terror’ was instituted by Robespeirre, the leader of the  revolution. Terrorism thrives on the philosophy that “the end justifies the means”.

The Palestinian groups used hijacking of passenger planes and blowing them up mid air, attacks on social and economic infrastructure, kidnapping ,in the 1970s to prosecute their campaign for global attention to their plight in the Middle East. The African National Congress employed sabotage of economic infrastructure during its campaign against institutionalised racism in South Africa. The other liberation movements in Africa employed similar tactics to achieve their goals. In effect, the in-group / out-group projections created a situation where one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
During the East -West  ideological conflict, the use of terrorism was either justified or condemned based on ideological disposition. Groups fighting capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America employed this tactic. There are different classifications of terrorism namely home grown terrorism such as the type that Breivik unleashed on Norway and the Oklahoma bombings of 1992 by Tim  McVeigh .

There are trans-border acts of terrorism, international terrorism and other forms of conceptualising acts of terror and carrying it out in another jurisdiction. The Al-Qaeda terror attacks  were  conceptualised outside the US by foreigners who hijacked airlines in the American suicide attacks. Other forms of terrorism such as narcotics and religious terrorism have been added  to the lexicon of terrorism . Breivik listed his revulsion to multi-culturalism and the growing influence of Muslims in Oslo as his motives for the last week horrific action in Utoya.

Nigeria is today contending with its own home grown religion and politically motivated terrorism spear headed by the Boko Haram fundamentalist religious sect based in the north  eastern part of the country.  We also  had  militancy  in the Niger Delta, where a campaign for social and economic justice, resource control and balancing of the ecological terrorism  perpetuated by the multinational oil companies was  initiated.

THE BOKO HARAM INVITATION
According to Dr. Rasheed Akinyemi of University of  Lagos, the Boko Haram  is waging a battle against the Nigerian state which it perceives as corrupt, inept and irresponsive to the needs of the citizenry. This  explains why it has been attacking agents of the state such as the  police and the army and government infrastructure  in the north.

Contrary to popular belief,  Akinyemi said Boko Haram is not made up of a bunch of illiterates, but consists of intellectuals, members of the ruling political elite, traditional rulers, retired military chieftains and those elites who feel sidelined by the power game at the center.