Globalization
Alasuutari posited that “the term globalization has been used to refer to a number of developments”; thus, the concept is considered very significant.[18] Tomlinson defines globalization as “a process whereby a global network of interconnections and interdependence, uniting different countries and regions is getting more and more dense.[19] Friedman conceives of globalization as “the the integration of everything with everything else”; that is, “the integration of markets, finance, and technology in a way that shrinks the world from a size medium to a small size.”[20] From the foregoing definitions of the concept of globalization, scholars agree that globalization is a process that enhances the destructions of barriers that previously existed among states of the world, thus integrating the world into a single entity or unit where barriers such as culture, communication, governance and geography are extinct. It should, however, be noted that the concept of globalization has come a long way, and “many precursors of modern globalization date back into history, even into antiquity”.[21] Marx and Engels, in their Communist Manifesto of 1848, discussed the concept of globalization especially in economic and academic terms:
The bourgeoisie has, through its exploitation of the world market, given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country to the great chagrin of reactionaries. It has drawn from under the feet of industry the national ground on which it stood. All old-established national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. They are dislodged by new industries whose introduction becomes a life and death question for all civilized nations, by industries that no longer work up indigenous raw material, but raw materials drawn from the remotest zones, industries whose products are consumed, not only at home, but in every quarter of the globe. In place of the old wants, satisfied by the production of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes. In place of local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal inter-dependence of nations. And as immaterial, so also in intellectual production. The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. National one-sidedness and narrow mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures, there arises a world literature.
These attest to the fact that globalization is not a new concept. Scholars have classified the term into several historical epochs, such as modern or contemporary globalization and pre-modern globalization. [22] Alasuutari asserted that globalization is both old and new. It is old in that the efforts of humans to overcome the distance and other barriers to increased interchange have long existed. The first canoes and signal fires are part of the history of globalization.[23] Rourke termed this stage of globalization particularly in the 1800s as “creeping globalization” where the world metamorphosed incrementally.[24] In our contemporary society however, globalization moves at a very rapid manner, far different from what I may term old globalization. Tomlison attest to this fact that modern globalization is a “rapidly accelerating process, and especially so from the early 1980s to the late 1990s.”[25] Alasuutari concluded that the pace of globalization refers to a long historical process, the contemporary stage of which represents a “distinctive historical form with a unique conjuncture of social, political, economic and technological forces.”[26]
Globalization has closed the gaps that existed among states. Today, various issues such as environmental degradation, diseases, and terrorism are not issues that affect one state alone, but all states. States are continually interdependent in political, economic, and socio-cultural terms. Rourke corroborated this viewpoint when he stated that “because security and prosperity of individual state are increasingly linked to politics, economy and environmental conditions, in other states, thus, the result is a true global village where states, must work together to achieve a common goal.”[27]
TERRORISM: A CONSEQUENCE OF GLOBALIZATION IN NIGERIA
The history of terrorism in Africa can be traced to the period of colonialism. Although, prior to colonialism, there has been evidence of violent clashes among various groups within African states fighting for one course or the other.[28] However, terrorism was more evident during the colonial period. Hübschle posited that, “Historical data shows that the African continent has witnessed a wide array of terror incidents including revolutionary, state sponsored and state terrorism.”[29] Past liberation movements that fought for independence in their countries, such as “Africa National Congress (ANC), The African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), The West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) and Frente de Libertaçãode de Moçambique (FRELIMO), are labeled as terrorist organizations.”[30] Anette Hübschle stressed the fact that it was ironical that terrorism perpetrated by colonialist powers was not recorded, while revolutionary activities of liberation movement in Africa were labeled terrorist. The colonialist committed atrocities upon the African populace. Hübschle termed this pattern of terrorism as “colonial terror” “a distinct form of terrorism perpetuated during colonial and post-colonial period.”[31]
Colonialism in Africa was largely facilitated by globalization. Pre-modern globalization ushered in the period of colonization in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In Africa, this historical epoch was the beginning of modern terrorism. Pre-modern globalization brought tripartite factors which are essentially linked. First, globalization brought about colonialism in Africa and other continents such as Asia and Middle East, which led to acts of resistance by the natives; thus, a culture of violence was created among the people till this day. In trying to suppress these violent resistances by the natives, the colonialists employed all manner of state terrorism to instill an atmosphere of terror and tension among the colonial people. Chinweizu, in his book West and the Rest of Us, best captures the relationship between globalization and colonialism and consequently terrorist activities by the colonial authorities:
For nearly six centuries now Western Europe and its Diaspora have been disturbing the peace of the world. Enlightened through their Renaissance by learning of the ancient Mediterranean; armed with gun, the making of whose powder they had learned from Chinese firecrackers; equipping their ships with lantern sail, astrolabes and nautical compasses, all invented by the Chinese and transmitted to them by the Arabs; fortified in aggressive spirit by arrogant, messianic Christianity of both the popish and protestant varieties; and motivated by the lure of enriching plunder, white horbes have sallied forth from their western European homelands to explore, assault, loot, occupy, rule and exploit the rest of the world. And even now the fury of their expansionist assault upon the rest of us has not abated.[32]
The Nigerian state had its own story to tell about colonial terror and other terrorist activities which were mobilized as a result of colonial policies. This came about as a result of revolutionary movements and violent inter-ethno-religious clashes. Suberu and Osaghae stated that, ethnic and violent clashes can be traced to colonialism and its attendant policies. Colonialism brought about socio-economic inequality through the institutionalization of classes and thereby class struggle. A state of mutual suspicion existed among the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. And violent clashes among these groups has economic undertone. The various ethnic groups are keen to control the central government because all resources are centralized, thus making positions in the central government highly lucrative.[33] Furthermore, Falola, in his book, Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria, argued that the root cause of violent activities in Nigeria today, such as Jos crisis, the Niger Delta violence in the southern and northern part of Nigeria respectively, can be traced to colonialism. At that time, the natives challenged colonial rule through violence. Therefore, a “public culture” was created in the Nigerian polity, in which the citizenry were inclined to commit acts of violence in response to exploitative colonial policies. Some of the notable violent protests during the colonial rule were the Aba women riot of 1929, and the Ekumeku wars, in which the guerilla form of resistance was used against the British occupation of Nigeria.[34]
These violent activities by the colonial people in Africa and Nigeria, in particular during the colonial period, can be traced to the policies of the colonial authorities, during and after the period of the great depression from 1929 to 1939. Before the depression of the 1930s, the economic depression in the 1870s was the major factor that led to the colonialism in some parts of Nigeria.[35] The economic depression of the 1930s was felt in various ways. There was the “falling export prices for crops and tin and declining trade profits and revenue, as British firms either ceased importing European manufacturers or sought tax relief.”[36] These economic development had an established economic pattern where the agricultural and other reserves are accumulated from the taxes paid the colonialist. The colonial authorities responded by introducing austerity measures aimed at cutting salaries, firing some workers, expanding taxation, an aggressive revenue drive, public works were suspended, price controls, and expansion of export crops.[37]
The people of Nigeria were prematurely integrated into the world market. According to Ochonu, “they were placed in the web of uncertainty, volatile and exploitative world market.”[38] He further stated that “during the depression, the British colonial authority implemented contradictory policy of both incorporation and imperial closure of colonially mediated globalization and deglobalization.”[39]
These economic policies of the colonial authority, which affected the income of colonial subject, stirred up all forms of violent and domestic terrorism against colonial authorities. These problems are attributed to the negative effect of globalization or pre-modern globalization. This is based on the fact that by the 1920s and the 1930s, the colonized nation’s economy had been fully integrated with the world economy, forming a center- peripheral-like relationship. Thus, the economic depression in Western developed states affected the colonial states.
Furthermore, in the 1980s, another economic depression hit the nation; that is, in the period of the “oil doom” there was a sharp drop in the sale of crude oil, which was rapidly becoming the major export earning of the country at that time. Responding to the economic crisis, the government, under the advice of the IMF, introduced the structural adjustment program. This austerity measure, which was aimed at wage cuts, dismissal, cuts in government expenditures, etc., resulted in severe hardship among the populace. The end product became violent protests and domestic terrorism towards the government. “In 1988, in response to an increase in the price of fuel, riots broke out in Jos and Sokoto state, which turned out to more intense….”[40] Moreover, in May and June of 1989, several towns such as Lagos, Ibadan, Benin City, and Port Harcourt revolted against the IMF’s plans, which resulted in destruction of hundreds of lives and property worth millions of naira (the Nigerian currency).[41]
The economic crisis in the 1980s saw the emergence of groups who were involved in terrorist activities in the country. They include: Ogoni Youth, Niger Delta Volunteer Force, (NDVF), Odua People Congress (OPC), Arewa Youth Consultative forum, Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MASOP), Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Egbesu Boys of Africa (EBA), Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV), Isoko National Youth Movement (INYM), Egi Women Movement. “[S]everal factors underline the growth and development of these groups… economic recession of the 1980s, falling commodity prices, OPEC price increases, privatization, economic liberalization, deregulation, currency devaluation, cold war politics, trade barriers”[42]
