The Global Alternative Agenda is an international non-governmental organization established and funded as a project of Global Crusaders Service Limited in June 2001 to address the need of young people in Africa
“KNOWLEDGE IS CRITICAL to deter the threat of terrorism.” It is not a battle that could be won alone with guns and mortars. Join the GAA forum on Counterterrorism, Leadership, and Peace & Security in Africa.
Theme: AVIATION SECURITY IN AFRICA IN THE ERA OF TERRORISM WHERE: ACCRA, GHANA DATE: 18-20 JUNE 2013
Who should participate?
Government leaders and managers: (Local, State and Federal)
Security Personnel (Intelligence, Law enforcement agencies and Military)
Members of Academic Communities, including students
Emergency responders (Fire Service, Medics,)
Business Executives: Banks and Industries
Concerned citizens and Faith-based organizations
Politicians and political leaders
Members of Civil Societies and the Media
Please contact the organizer on info@globalagendaint.org for participation and sponsorship information.Online registration begins in November 2012
The Boko Haram released a video recently, saying Christianity is paganism and ready to force Islam on the entire nation.
The group claimed responsibility for all the attacks against Christians and security personnel in Nigeria, including the Christmas day bombing. However, people should know the terrorists only use religious beliefs to recruit their followers. Islam is a veritable platform and tool in Northern Nigeria.
We must realize that religious terrorism is not terrorism in the name of religion. It is not terrorism against another religion. It is sacramental terrorism.
Victim of Terror - Islam against killing of women in children
The series of attacks by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda against the United States was partly motivated by religious convictions. This group believes the terrorist act is justified because they interpret the Koran as condoning such acts against nonbelievers of their faith. This is a wrong interpretation of Koran because Islam never preached violence. That is why we are, saying they are not Muslims but mass murderers.
All acts of terrorism are motivated by the achievement of a certain goal. This goal may be related to some type of change—social, religious, or political. Although most people can agree that using violence as a means of coercion is wrong, a terrorist's mind is able to rationalize violent acts against innocent people as furthering their cause. Terrorists believe that they are justified in performing the violent act in order to accomplish a more important religious, social, or political change.
The group threatens to continue revenge attacks over the killing of Muslims in some parts of Nigeria.
Global Agenda brings the English translation to you below. Please read and tell us what you think.
“Greetings to you and greetings to fellow muslims and thanks be to God. This is a message to Goodluck and to the CAN president. Alhamdullahi, we are known as Jamatu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-jihad which some people derogatory term as Boko Haram. We have said all that needs to be said and everyone has seen what the security personnel have done to us. Everyone has seen why we are fighting with them. We hardly touch anybody except security personnel and christians and those who have betrayed us.
Everyone knows what Christians did to Muslims, not once or twice. Why I have come out to explain myself is because of the explanation Jonathan and the CAN president gave on us, including the various versions people give about us that we are like cancer (a terrible ailment) in this country called Nigeria. No, we’re not cancer, neither are we evil. If people don’t know us, God knows everyone. Everyone knows what happened to our leader. Everyone knows what wickedness was meted out to our members and fellow muslims in Nigeria from time to time in Zango kataf, Tafawa Balewa, Kaduna, villages, Lanngtang, Yelwa shendam.
Different things were meted out to muslims in this country. Everyone knows that democracy and the constitution is paganism and everyone knows there are some things that God has forbidden in the quran that cannot be counted, even western education! We have stopped everything apart from saying we should stay on the path of truth and peace and live right in the sight of God. There, we will have peace and that is what we have been preaching and because of that they said we should be killed and our mosques destroyed.
We decided to defend ourselves and God has said if you follow him, he will give you strength! That is why Jonathan, you should know that this is beyond your power. It is not our doing but that of God. It is beyond you. Wallahi, what you are saying is like you have not started saying anything! Before God created the earth, he knew what was going to happen and he has promised in the holy book that he will help his religion. It is beyond your power. What you see has been happening, God allowed it because you have refused to follow him and you have betrayed his religion. That is why Jonathan, this is beyond your power – yes, If a few in your Government say nice things about us, it is not surprising – it has happened many times – our hands are open! Anybody that says he will not follow God, even if he loves us, God has not said we should love such a person. God has said we should show such person the right path and embrace such person, you Christians should know that Jesus is a servant and prophet of God. He is not the Son of God. This religion of Christianity you are practicing is not a religion of God – it is Paganism. God frowns at it. What you are practicing is not religion.
Aside that, you Christians cheated and killed us to the extent of eating our flesh like cannibals; you did all you wanted to us. We are trying to coerce you to embrace Islam, because that is what God instructed us to do. Even at that, without provocation, you slaughtered us and took our wives and humiliated us. Now, you CAN president, you come out to say your people should come out and do whatever they want to do! Any right thinking person knows what you mean, any right thinking person knows what you are saying. This is why as leader of this sect, I tell you to repent and to you Christians, repent! This path we’re taking is God’s path.
Fellow muslims, understand us, our objective is not to kill or humiliate or steal. This explanation has become necessary, even if i don’t explain, i can decide to keep mute because the person i love to know me like this is God. I have no objective than to help the religion of God, that is all i can explain. But if you want further explanation, we have tapes you can listen to and know our objectives. This is also my message to the President of Nigeria, Jonathan, who has come out to say negative things about us and also a lot of harm to us – God has given us victory and we have done what we want to do. This is almost 11 years our members are being killed. Anything people want to say or do, we say enough is enough!
We serve God and we do not harm anybody, but anybody that looks for our trouble, we will face such person or persons. We follow the tenets of the Quran and anybody that thinks he can fight God, should not think his prayer or praying in the mosque can save him. Any muslim that cheats and hides under the cloak of religion, if we know such person, we will not hesitate to eliminate him. Yes, I am saying so because it does not take 5 minutes to kill just as we are being killed. We follow the teachings of the Quran. This is what God has told me to explain. Allhamdulillah”
What are you thinking?
credit: translation culled from the www.nigeriansfornigeria.com
Nigeria is passing through a phase in the history because the “homegrown” terrorist risk is on the rise, but the Aso Rock has been slower to respond to the threats. Also, the leaderships of the appropriate agencies responsible for public safety are still struggling to provide answers in the last two years. Effective political and public safety leadership is the first compulsory requirement for a successful counterterrorism operations strategy to attack and defeat terrorism.
Of course, the real danger lies not with what the terrorist can do to us but what we can do to offer essential leadership and do our best to improve our ability to weather the age of terrorism and disasters. Therefore, the country needs political leadership that will inspire people and take them out of the turmoil.
Nigerians are cognizance of the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan inherited these problems from the past administrations, including inept law enforcement agencies and the highly politicized Nigerian military.
Nevertheless, it is natural for people to look up for a way out in a time of crisis. Every crisis always produces leadership that may come in the form of individual or organization to give hope to people in the midst of their trouble and inspire them to triumph over their problems. President George W. Bush did not create the problem that led to the tragedy of 9/11 but he provided needed leadership. He never blamed Muslims because the suicide bombers were Muslims by name but accused al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden and declared war against them. Winston Churchill did not create the problem of the WWII but one of his major contributions that eventually led his country to victory was the ability to inspire the British people to greater effort by making public broadcasts on significant occasions. A brilliant orator, he was a tireless source of strength to people experiencing the sufferings of the Blitz.
President Jonathan must personally engage Nigerians through constant media broadcast to educate citizens that the ongoing war is neither a religious nor struggle between the South and the North.
Hence, below are “to do” lists for President Jonathan’s consideration in 2012:
First, presidency must set up a terrorism advisory system that effectively communicates information about terrorist threats by providing timely, detailed information to the public, and government agencies. The government would have minimized the casualties of Christmas day bombing if there are NTAS in place to warn people about the threat level.
Second, the president should rejuvenate the security agencies by retaining the performing leaders and remove the incompetent officers and replace them with dynamic, competent and effective leaders.
The president should remove the National Security Adviser and replace him with a capable person from the North.
General Andrew Owoeye Azazi, is no doubt a competent and one of the best security experts in Nigeria today. However, three things are presently working against him:
1.Nigerians have lost faith in his leadership as a security coordinator; people will no longer appreciate his effort no matter how he tries.
2.He is a Christian from the South. The terrorists are already using it as propaganda that the Christian South is waging war against the Muslim North. When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003; the choice of Gen. John Abizaid, a senior military officer of direct Arab descent, born in the United States of a Lebanese family was a strategy by the U.S. government to appease the Muslims world that the war on terror is not war against Muslims.
3.Gen. Azazi’s military approach to repress terrorists without options for diplomacy is a minus for the war. While terrorism will be our enemies’ tactics of choice, it does not automatically follow that we need to rely primarily on traditional offense-based military forces to fight back. Government should adopt open-ended policies beginning with visionary leadership for our public safety, military, intelligence, law enforcement, and emergency services agencies.
In addition, the Nigerian police will perform better if government inspire, train, equip and motivate them to work under a command of an experienced, well-educated and dynamic inspector general of police. President Jonathan must look for a new IGP as soon as possible. This may not be a popular advice but we may see the gain of effective leadership if the president recalls Nuhu Ribadu and give him the position of the IGP. Ribadu is qualified to assume the position as a retired Assistant Inspector General of police. Plus his youthfulness, experience, bravery, and doggedness are assets for the office of IGP.
Nigeria is presently operating in the blind because Nigerian intelligence agencies are not firing from all cylinders. It may require another 10-year to develop the type of human intelligence capabilities needed to support the ongoing counterterrorism operations if there are no major changes or reforms.
In conclusion, we cannot attack and defeat terrorism by using same old styles of leadership that brought us to where we are today. Leaders are accountable to the public. The public expects and deserves top-notch, ethical service conducted in an objective manner. When service is not delivered or is of poor quality, it is ultimately the leader's responsibility. The public may or may not put pressure on the leader to correct the situation. However, if the public perceives that no correction is taking place, pressure will be applied for that leader to either make suitable changes or to resign. Where this becomes difficult for the leader is when there is a difference between what the leader's legitimate course of action is and what the public desires.
Oludare Ogunlana is a security analyst and member of the International Association for Counterterrorism & Security Professionals. (IASCP)
It will be a year very soon after the major terrorist incident recorded in Abuja, Nigeria. The October 1, 2010 Independence Day bombing of Abuja during the Golden Jubilee anniversary of Nigeria was not the first incidence of terrorism in the country. Nevertheless, it was the first and a symbolic attack in the capital city since General Babangida hurriedly relocated the administrative center to Abuja in 1990 after the Gideon Orkar abortive bloody coup detats.
The Abuja terror attack plotted by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, MEND, is not a story narrated to me, but I witnessed it life because I was among the privilege few at the presidential villa with President Goodluck Jonathan for the Golden Jubilee anniversary breakfast on October 1, 2010. Of course, just like the way Americans failed to imagine the possibility of attack in their homeland, we also failed in our imagination that our home-grown terrorist groups have developed the capability to carry out daring attacks in few yards away from the Aso rock Presidential Villa.
The October 1, bombing further confirmed the assertion that the 21st century terrorist organizations can attack anything, anywhere, and at any time. Therefore, there is a need for strong leadership at all levels to prepare the nation and reduce the vulnerability of Nigerians to terrorism. But what, in turn, has Nigerian government done in response to the risk of terrorism since October 1, 2010?
We have not seen our security agencies working as a team since October 1, 2010. The rivalry among our agencies is too obvious to the extent that Nigerians do not actually know who is in charge and who to listen to and even who to trust. Working as a “Team” in order to continue to work cooperatively to ensure that all of the instruments of national power – including leadership, specialized technical expertise, research, and development investments – are brought to bear on the challenges the office of the president face in a coordinated and unified manner will go a long way to make all our security agencies to be effective and potent.
“Team that has clear goals and standards and effective structure and decision making will have higher task performance”. (Northouse 2007, p. 214). Adoption of organizational leadership that communicates internally and externally to maximize cooperation builds and leads effective teams while working effectively with partners and enables staff to achieve their full potential and fully supports staff development. Therefore, there is a need for “intelligence and operation fusion center” where activities would be coordinated. Empathizes and values input from others, Giving clear direction and focus, skilled in planning and arrives at right strategy to meet needs. Good media and public relations, manages resources efficiently and effectively; good organization skills with effective use of personnel and good operational knowledge and experience
On December 25, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdul Muttallab announced himself to the whole world when he attempted to bomb a Northwest Airline jet on the soil of the United States of America. The operation was carefully planned by the Al-Qaeda group in Yemen and their deadly gift was to be delivered by Mutallab - a young Nigerian - on Christmas Day. Nigeria was immediately and erroneously branded a terrorist-breeding nation. Of course, the action of Mutallab is called terrorism and he is a terror agent of Al-Quada.
Who should participate?
