A RISING THREAT
Militants are described, according to the Webster’s Dictionary, “as a person actively engaged in war; fighting or who is aggressive or combative, especially in support of a cause”. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines them as “ a militant organization or person who is willing to use strong or violent action in order to achieve social or political change”. We can therefore surmise that militancy is the process of being aggressive or combative in the support of a cause.
Two things are common to, and can be deduced from, the above definitions; militants, as a rule, are violent or aggressive, and they tend to have a cause they are fighting for, whether real or perceived.
Militancy and other forms of extremism have an underlying cause which can be traced to large divide between two or more groups of people. This division could be based on a difference in opinion about a particular subject, for example politics, as can be seen between left- and right-wing groups. It could be a result of a difference in races as was found in pre-Nelson Mandela South Africa. It may also arise from a difference in cultural and religious affiliations as was observed in the Ireland of old between the Sinn Fein/IRA and Ulster.
Nevertheless, history has proven that the above reasons notwithstanding, the greatest and most important reasons behind militancy are a mutual lack of understanding and empathy between two parties, and a large and ever-widening gap between classes in a society. Militancy has been, and still is, the only way of expression for a particular segment of the society. This is not to say that there are no other means of expression but only to lay emphasis on the fact that the privileged classes have always seemed to be hard of hearing when it comes to the plight of the underprivileged majority. This was the major force behind the French Revolution which started spontaneously and saw a massive purging of the then British colony of its rich, urban elite.
Furthermore, in our present day, these same circumstances can be observed in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan who were ruled by a rich, upper class minority and are now in a state of perpetual turmoil and unrest. The ruling class, being insensitive to the poverty and resulting discontent amongst the poor majority unwittingly set the stage for their own downfall. The level of hatred and bitterness being exhibited by the fighting militants in these regions is a clear indication of the effects of the disenchantment of these groups.
Unfortunately, the intervention of the US in these conflicts has escalated the anger of the downtrodden that now see them as the ultimate tyrant of all. The level of violence and anarchy is directly proportional to the boiling rage of the people. The US has felt the impact of this bitterness in the number of casualties it has recorded, and still records daily, in its bid to secure the regions aforementioned.
At this juncture, I would like to tell you a story. This story is one that has a lot of connotations for interested parties, who may or may not like my own version. It is a tale of greed, corruption at its highest, and the resultant effects on a peace-loving people. This story is such that it sends jitters down the spine of the leaders of the people concerned whenever it is narrated to their hearing along the corridors of power. This story has a simple solution but one that continues to elude the principal actors.
Once upon a time, there was a small farming and fishing village. It was located on the Southwest fringes of a country which was then touted as ‘the most populous black nation’. It had fertile, arable land that was utilized in the planting of both cash and food crops. The harvest was always big and plentiful because there was a lot of rain all year round. They also had a fishing community which thrived on the surrounding creeks and rivers which had abundant aquatic life. The waters were clean and unpolluted and were therefore used for all manner of daily activities including drinking, washing, and bathing.
Suddenly, everything changed. Crude oil [petroleum] was discovered in its land and also in its waters. People stopped their normal occupations and joined the mad rush for the easy money that came with the oil boom. Suddenly there was no one to farm the land and fish anymore. With the increased spending power came inflation, caused by the increased spending power of those who were fortunate participants in the windfall.
Meanwhile, many miles away was another village which was the exact opposite of the village mentioned above. The land was dry, arid and barren. The village was unproductive as could be. The irony of the situation lay in the fact that that many years back when both villages were colonized by light-skinned men from across the seas, the former village was made subject to the latter for political reasons. This still existed as at the period of the oil discovery.
We can conjecture that it was therefore perfectly in place for the former to control the resources of the latter. As is natural, they used these resources for the development of their own village. Millionaires were made by the dozen, skyscrapers [unseen in that part of the world] sprung up in every available space, villagers lived on imported goods and generally tried to emulate their colonialists in every way.
The villagers of the Southwest looked on with envy and bitterness at all these developments but there was nothing they could do. Any attempt at a revolt was efficiently quelled by a standing army loyal to the former village. Gradually, a yawning gap was created between the two villages. While the former was wealthy and lived in glaring affluence, the latter lived in abject poverty.
This continued until a small group of elites arose and challenged the authority of the former village. They were hung despite pleas from all quarters. This became the undoing of the tyrants as a hitherto peaceful people became furious. Militias sprung up and from them militants, ready to battle the soldiers of the governors, came into being. Widespread violence, anarchy, killing of both soldiers and civilians alike became the order of the day. The man on the street had been pushed to the wall and he was now fighting back!
In conclusion, this is the story of Nigeria, a country blessed but on the verge of destroying itself because of the greed of a few. A country in which a few rule, in the process stashing away billions abroad while the majority languishes in poverty, living with below a dollar a day.