Terrorism in Africa is the New Name of the Game

For millions of Africans, terrorism had been a deadly experience for decades and centuries long before the 11 September attack on the symbols of the US economic, military and political might, or the 1998 bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar Salaam. Therefore, it can be argued that the new interest in terrorism in Africa is neither motivated by the terrorist massacres of ordinary Africans by governments and rebels alike, or to eliminate the root causes of this terrorism in the continent. In Africa, this “war” has all the elements of a classic scramble for the mother continent in the name of fighting Islamist groups from the Middle East. For their own short term political interests, some African rulers are eagerly taking advantage of the new scramble to roll back democratisation and entrench themselves in power for life. Some seem to have joined the ‘war’ purely to save their own skin. Some have expressed concerns that the ‘war’ could further divide Africa between those with the US versus those with the invisible terrorists.This article examines the nature, background, the players and effects of terrorism in Africa.