TERRORISM AND NIGERIAS EXTERNAL IMAGE UNDER GOODLUCK JONATHANS ADMINISTRATION
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
According to Adebajo, (2014) the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan can at present be described as underperforming, and evaluation of its performance shows in quite a lot of sectors. This also could be described as unfortunate for a government which came to power on
the back of popular aid, then had less public goodwill in its early years (Adebajo, 2014). In the same vein,
Chinwokwu, (2013) asserted that Nigeria has certainly been confronted with internal security disorders corresponding
to acts of terrorism which has widely affected its foreign relations coverage in the past government. Based on
Adebajo statement in 2014, Alabi, had already brought to light in 2012 by saying that the influence of domestic events
on the foreign policy of a country cannot be over emphasized; this is on the ground that inner traits can steadily
metamorphose into disorders of worldwide concerns. Again, Chinwokwu opined that terrorism certainly has impaired Nigeria’s image there by undermining its impact in the international scene (Chinwokwu, 2013). To support Chinwokwu statement, Tsokwa in 2012 maintained that the emergence of terrorism in Nigeria owing to the
upward thrust of Islamic fundamentalism in Northern Nigeria has broadly undermined the nation’s foreign coverage
power. Boko Haram hobbies in Nigeria have led to terrible reactions from corporations and international positions
have been littered with its events, thereby leads to deterioration of international relations (Tsokwa, 2012). In addition,
terrorist acts in Nigeria using Boko Haram and others according to Madu, (2014) generated a lot of interest of the
world community raising questions about effective approach on how presidency could attack the issue, which
envisages that the audacity persevered no tirelessly effort among the trouble group as this allow daily victim, and
expanded an alarming rate after each assault to most people in which they lose confidence. Madu, further stated that
the attacks on the United Nation’s building at Abuja in 2011 resulted in undue stress on the world group and Nigeria
wanting to end the insurgency that began as a problem (domestic violence) which appearance showed more during
Goodluck Jonathan government. The foregoing has grown to be necessary because of internationalization of the
conflict, Boko Haram was indoctrinated in a takfiri in 2009 (Madu (2014) and it’s linked following the international
terrorist Al -Qaeda businesses in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
To shed more light, Alabi, (2012) opined that terrorism is not only a Nigerian drawback; it is a world obstacle. Neither
is it a solely Islamic crisis. Extremists are to be found in all religions. The crucial study is that, the increasing salience
of Islamist terror could also be defined by the special experiences of Arab-Muslim societies and how faith has
customarily been deployed as a weapon of political struggle. Globalisation and the applied sciences related to the
growing internationalization, facilitated the potential of terror groups to mobilise community and put into affecting their
projects throughout countries and communities (Alabi, 2012). Curiously enough, Tomis, (2011) maintained that no one
has ever been known to describe himself or herself as a terrorist. Terrorism might probably even be a term of abuse
(Tomis, 2011). Correspondingly, Bamgbose, (2013) brought to light that a principal challenge in seeking fully grasp
terrorism is the fact that views range, depending on where the country stands on a certain trouble. For example, both
Ronald Reagan in America and top Minister Margaret Thatcher in Britain brushed aside the imprisoned Nelson
Mandela and his colleagues as “terrorists”. To their possess persons and to most Africans, however, they were
‘freedom combatants’; heroes of an ancient wrestle for liberation against Apartheid and racial humiliation (Bamgbose,
2013).
More so, the African Union (AU) conference on Prevention and Combating Terrorism (A.U.C.P.C, 2012) defines
terrorism as “any act which is a violation of the criminal law that can endanger the existence, bodily integrity or
freedom of, or rationale critical injury or loss of life, factors may motive harm to public or exclusive property, natural
resources, environmental or cultural heritage and is calculated or intended to: intimidate, put in fear, coerce or induce
government image and create public emergency; or create general insurrection in a State (A.U.C.P.C. (2012).
However, Madu (2014) argued that in an era of terror in the face of terrorism, the Nigerian state is structured as an
area of security for the population. The Presidency, lawmakers and security agencies openly condemns terrorist
attacks as illegitimate action used by non-state actors. Consequently, the Nigerian government, the National
Assembly (NASS) undertook a statute to criminalize terrorism through the Act (Establishment) Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission in 2002 (Madu, 2014). On the other hand, the inchoate nature of the provisions to fight
Message us against terrorism led to the exploration of a more comprehensive legal framework, and in turn to the presentation of
terrorism prevention Bill to the Senate in 2006 (Oghogho, (2011). Five years later, the 2011 Terrorism Prevention Act
was passed by the Senate and the House on June 1, 2011 and June 2, 2011, he was sent by the Clerk of the National
Assembly to the President Goodluck Jonathan to sign the law.
As a result of the severity of insurgency in Nigeria most especially during Goodluck Jonathan regime happens not to
be new, in that Olalekan, (2012) argued that terrorism took a different dimensions since 2009 when internal terrorism
in Nigeria moved from ethnic militancy to suicide bombing, a situation that has claimed over 3,000 lives, led to the
declaration of state of emergency in five northern states, and the sack of the Defence Minister, Police Chief and
National Security Adviser (Olalekan, 2012). According to the United States Department’s Global Report on
Terrorism, Nigeria ranked 2nd with 593 deaths in 2011 from terrorist killings on the African continent, second to only
the failed state of Somalia. On the global level, Nigeria was placed 5th in the ranking of casualties (Country Report on
Terrorism, 2010).
Nigeria is no stranger to terrorism, having experienced the activities of the extremist sect Maitatsine movement that
became violent in the early 1980s under the first democratically elected civilian government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari.
Yan Tatsine (followers of Maitatsine) was actually a quasi-Muslim fringe group who preached Islamic doctrines that
were contrary to the teachings of the Islamic leadership and orthodox society. Muhammadu Marwa Maitatsine, the
leader of the sect, was a Muslim scholar Marwa city in northern Cameroon who migrated to Kano in Nigeria (Danjibo,
2000). The ideology of Maitatsine sect appealed to poverty – stricken young people seeking the opportunity to
confront the conservative governments of domination and traditional Islamic state. Directive by the Federal
Government to the police force to crush the movement, which had large followership of unemployed young people,
has led to clashes with the police in Kano. Encouraged by the ‘defeat’ of the police, the sect marched in Kano city
chanting “Yau zamu sha jinni”, meaning “today we shall drink blood” in Hausa.
Historically, Bamgbose, (2013) maintained that no terrorist group has ever been created in a vacuum; there are
political dynamics, contexts, social, economic, temporal, spatial, and even religious-which must be taken into account.
Thus, a considerable amount of emphasis on the identification of the range of environmental conditions and
grievances of members of the local population facilitated the possibilities of domestic terrorism in Nigeria to gather
support and orchestrate acts of political violence. Similarly, Alabi, (2012) opined that Nigeria’s government has
struggled to effectively deal with these complaints and sources of tension across the country, and there is a
widespread belief especially among Nigerians North that the government continues to meet the critical needs those
who aspire to a better future. Although Tomis, (2011) asserted that resources are certainly limited, it is the inequitable
distribution of resources, and widely recognized levels of corruption of elites, which undermine the effectiveness of
the government. In turn, favoritism and corruption feeds a general perception that government officials (to include the
application of the law) cannot be trusted, and this further undermines the government’s ability to influence the
behavior of members of local communities in positive directions, away from the appeal of the radical extremist
ideologies such as Boko Haram (Tomis, 2011).
On the other hand, as stated by Oghogho, (2011) Nigeria, a key strategic ally of the U.S., has come under attack by a
radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram (a Hausa term for “Western education is forbidden”). Oghogho, maintained
that it officially calls itself “Jama’atul Alhul Sunnah Lidda’wati wal Jihad” which means “people committed to the
propagation of the Prophet’s teachings and jihad.” As its name suggests, the group is adamantly opposed to what it
sees as a Western-based incursion that threatens traditional values, beliefs, and customs among Muslim
communities in northern Nigeria (Oghogh, 2011). Similarly, Laolu, (2013) opined that in an audiotape posted on the
Internet in January 2012, a spokesman for the group, Abubakar Shekau, even accused the U.S. of waging war on
Islam, the group is largely a product of widespread socioeconomic and religious insecurities, and its ideology
resonates among certain communities because of both historical narratives and modern grievances (Members of
Boko Haram are drawn primarily from the Kanuri tribe roughly 4 percent of the population), who are concentrated in
the northeastern states of Nigeria like Bauchi and Borno, and the Hausa and Fulani (29 percent of the population)
spread more generally throughout most of the northern states. Balogun, (2014) disclosed that since 2009, the group
has attacked police stations and patrols, politicians (including village chiefs and a member of parliament), religious
leaders (both Christian and Muslim), and individuals whom they deem to be engaged in un-Islamic activities, like
drinking beer. Boko Haram has also carried out several mass casualty attacks and is the first militant group in Nigeria
to embrace the use of suicide bombings (Balogun, 2014).
Hence, the study realize terrorism to mean all varieties of violent motion by clandestine and semi-clandestine actors
aimed at attaining criminal, army, religious, political or different objectives, with such movements always directed at executive and non-combatant populations with the deliberate objective of spreading worry, anxiety and terror.
TERRORISM AND NIGERIAS EXTERNAL IMAGE UNDER GOODLUCK JONATHANS ADMINISTRATION