Temitope Ojedele-
English Dept, 200L
The casualties are not only those who are dead, they are
well out of it. The casualties are not only those who are wounded; though they
await burial by installments. The casualties are not only those who have lost a
person or property, hard as it is to grope for a touch that some may not know
is not there...
But that touch is possible only if we try our best to
eradicate terrorism. The effects of terrorism in the contemporary world cannot
be underestimated. Every country, developed or
not, suffers from one form of
terrorism or the other. The difference being that the effects are varied, as
recent studies shows that terror acts are easily overcome in the scientifically
advanced Nations and tend to be potent in the poor countries.
Terrorism, in its denotative meaning is the act of causing
fear. In a political sense, it is the violence or threat of violence carried
out for political purposes. In the old ages, terror was associated with
visitations from powerful gods, who had control over life and death in an
utmost indiscriminate manner. But as mankind became more sophisticated, some
individuals perpetuate the act of terrorism through the manipulation of events
and expectations.
In contemporary society, terrorism could occur in the form
of bombing of air crafts, cities or government infrastructures by terrorists. These
heartless individuals do not consider if the victims in this cruelty are
innocent or not. A typical example of terrorist attacks is the bombing of the
twin towers at the World Trade Center-New York on the 11th of September, 2001
and the recent Boko Haram bombings in Nigeria.
According to Samuel Zumue, ''the contemporary Nigerian
society is engulfed by terrible acts of terrorism which occurs in the form of
kidnapping by the terrorists of the Niger delta, or in the form of bombings
which is the common practice of the Boko Haram of the North.
This act of terrorism has made living, a hell of an
experience as a consequence of the proclamation of emergency rule in Bornu,
Yobe and Adamawa states causing untold hardship on the citizens as restriction
of all kinds have been placed; even food is not allowed to be transported to
the villages.
In the past, terror has been the basis of tyranny. Over
time, political leaders have adopted terror as a tool used in the fight for
power. Examples are the Nazis in Germany in the 30's and 40's, the Soviets,
during the reign of Joseph Stalin and other dictators around the world.
Terrorism, in a few cases, is also influenced by religious
and ethnic variables, coupled with official corruption and state neglect of the
masses. The most pervasive amongst these prerequisites are official corruption
and state neglect of the people.
It is crucial that we ask ourselves what needs to be done to
eradicate this pervading malaise which is at the verge of devouring the world.
What strategies are to be adopted in order to combat this arch enemy that has
turned our society into rubble? Our answer to these questions is found in the
slogan ''IT BEGINS WITH YOU.''
We must learn the need to respect the view of one another as
regards our various views. For it is only when we are able to tolerate the
attitudes of one another that we would be taking our first step to eradicating
this societal problem.
Another strategy that had proved to be effective is the
fishing out of the various sources of funding and putting an urgent end to
their sources of funds. It has been said that some countries support
international terrorism through a network of charitable and humanitarian
organizations, criminal enterprises, illicit and unregulated banking systems and
the personal incomes from individual militant.
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