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Isdore Guvamombe
Reflections

THE bombing of a Somali hotel that killed 28 people early this week signposts that no one is safe from terrorism and that there is an increase in terrorist activities.The last decade has seen a serious increase in international terrorism and honestly no one is safe from this blood-letting scourge that has seen many people die or lose limb.

Terrorism has sent shock waves, especially given the fact that the world has become a global village, where people easily travel, mingle and mix. It is therefore, apparently easy to be caught up in between and lose life or limb.

During the same period, the fight against terrorism has picked but history has taught us that no country can fight terrorism alone. This is fact not fiction. It goes without saying, therefore, that the fight against terrorism needs putting together a hodgepodge of strategic mechanisms for joint ventures.

So far, the United States of America and Western Europe have cried the loudest and have “championed” anti-terrorism projects throughout the world. Africa cannot claim to be safe because it has its own fair share of terrorist attacks.

But Africa as a continent has the capacity to nip terrorism in its budding stages, without necessarily enlisting the services of foreign international military organisations such as Nato and Africom or individual Western countries. Those organisations, if accommodated on the African soil, in fact, attract terrorism as some terrorist organisation seriously have unfinished business with those military outfits who have a history of spilling blood, in the disguise of anti-terrorism operations.

Africa must come up, through the African Union structures, with homegrown solutions to growing terrorism threats. Besides, there is really no positive example of where Nato and Africom did a good anti-terrorism job. All the world has learnt with sadness, is that the superior military outfits, use protection of local people as an entry point on the soil of a sovereign state but once they come in they start involving themselves in scouting and subsequent looting of that country’s natural resources.

As soon as they enter they start looking at whether the ruling Government allows them to loot natural resources and if they are not satisfied, they quickly effect regime change and hoist into power puppet governments that allow them to loot resources. That has been the tactic. Regime change.

History has it that after looting they leave the local populace to sort itself out and then the member states that own the military outfits give themselves huge contracts for reconstruction and rehabilitation. Soon they create another opportunity by going into another country. The drones and superior weaponry work in their favour.

There is indeed no place where Washington, which has been the world self-appointed anti-terrorist fighter managed to fulfil its promises. All the countries with US footprints are crying foul. Look at Libya, look at Iraq, look everywhere.

This brings into question the reason why Africa should accept hosting Africom, the US superior military outfit, specifically formed for Africa. Its main focus is creating business opportunities for the US by removing all leaders who do not toe US foreign policy.

For one to see, you ask yourself a huge national debt that the US has yet it establishes a multi-million dollars military outfit, Africom?

It is clear that the fruits will come with the exploitation of Africa’s vast untapped natural resources. It is an investment into the US’ future. Once Africom comes to your country, you lose your power not only to tell them what to do but also to tell then when to leave. If you dare them, you will be history. This is a monster that every sane African leader should detest. It is akin to allowing a lion into your backyard. Afghanistan is a pretty example. Ask them.

Africa in particular has a clear alternative. Africa must stop looking at other countries for solutions because it has the capacity to deal with its trouble spots. African leaders should concentrate on strengthening the African Standby Brigade. African leaders should put maximum effort on the standby brigade because its gives them control of the continent. It gives them independence. It gives them comfort. This has the net effect of making African leaders accountable to AU not foreign organisations. It unites them and makes them work cooperate with each other.

It is probably a fallacy to end this instalment without talking of how civil wars sponsored by Europe and US in Africa have a serious effect on national security and terrorism. Civil wars by their nature shed blood and displace people. Civil wars cause migration and among those who migrate are terrorists. Look at the after effects of the war in Libya and Tunisia: It sparked illegal migration. The only irony is that even Europe, which itself sponsored and organised the Arab Spring is now suffering from the same effects of migration. It is a lesson to many African leaders.