OPINION TERRORISM IN NIGERIA IS NOT RELIGIOUS BUT COULD BE

OPINION

TERRORISM IN NIGERIA IS NOT RELIGIOUS BUT COULD BE

From all the information available in the open space which me who write this physically have learnt about the terrorism in The Federal Republic of Nigeria it is clear that the terrorists do not mostly spare people irrespective of their religion. This makes it clear that the terrorism is not religious.

However, with more accurate and legal determination it may be feasible to legally and accurately determine if the terrorism is intended to actualise religious ends or not. This would be arduous to legally and accurately determine based on the casualty figures alone.

Therefore with more information it is possible that the terrorism in Nigeria could be religious. How this can be feasible is very easy to understand.

In every society and nation there are moderates, extremists or ultraists and what me who write this physically call 'nothing concern me people'.

If an extremist or ultraist religious group want to impose their religion on a people or a location they usually seek to get rid of or defeat the following types of people at a minimum. 

First, are the moderates and the 'nothing concern me people' in their own religion. These people will not accept extreme versions of their religion but will oppose the extremist religious group with moderation or lack of concern, that is show no interest in extemism. Therefore the extremists see them as traitors of the religion and adversaries even though they are of the same religion. Therefore when the moderates are killed people say that they are of that religion so it cannot be a religious form of terrorism because more of the religion of the people trying to impose religious extremism are being killed. The question is, who are these people that are being killed of that same religion? Is there any pattern? This level of information is critical to legally and accurately determine if the terrorism has a religious inclination and not just relying on mere casualty figures. In fact, if there is a clandestine effort to impose religious extremism, the terrorists may prefer to murder their own moderates to achieve the aims of creating an extremist radical following as well as giving the impression that they are non-religious.

Secondly, the group trying to impose an extremist or ultraist version of a religion would seek to eliminate the extreme and or strongest people in other religions that they feel may contend with their extremist or ultraist agenda. They may not attack moderates so much because the moderates of another religion may not go to extreme or very deep lengths to prevent the actions of the those trying to impose extreme religion on others and or them. Why do they do this? Because the moderates and 'nothing concern me people' of other religions are easier to compel and coerce and offer less resistance to those trying to impose an extreme or ultraist version or versions of a religion on other people.

However, the extremists, fundamentalists or very strong people in that same religion may resist the extremist religious imposition with everything they can making it more or less impossible for the extreme people trying to impose a religion to achieve their objectives. Therefore those who want to impose extreme religion are really after those in the other religion who will oppose them and make their religious imposition arduous or not feasible. This is why it is important to legally and accurately determine who are actually being killed. For instance a religion may have many different denominations or groups but if proper in depth analysis is done it may be discovered that those seeking to impose extreme religion are basically only targeting a percentage, sometimes a small percentage of the denominations or groups of that religion which they see as an opposition to their extremist or ultraist religious objectives. This should be legally and accurately determined because it is a strong indicator that the strongest resistance is being targeted within the opposing religion or religions. This just like in the situation of the moderates of the extremist's own religion is meant also for deceptive purposes. Because people would say that it is not a religious violence because the violence is targeted at only a few or some denominations in the other religion it sure can't be religious! That is basically hogwash! The essence of that is to once again give the impression that their violence is not religious inclined because most of the denominations or groups in the religion are not being targeted. Careful legal and accurate assessment of the casualties and buildings destroyed and the locations will give a clearer insight into whether the resistance is being targeted so that the rest can be easily conquered. If a religious group that is headquartered outside the location of the intended religious imposition for instance outside that nation and or Continent, it is not too uncommon to see such being targeted especially if they have a strong leadership and reputation. If there have been reputational attacks on such a denomination or group for years or decades at very high levels that may be an indicator that those trying to impose extreme religion are very well supported and also that such has been planned for quite some time. It is certainly important to legally and accurately prove and determine in a timely manner if attacks on the credibility and reputation of a denomination or group are just happenstance or part of a larger effort to weaken that denomination or group and its ability to help protect its members and or congregants in a location where there are efforts to impose an extreme verison or extreme versions of a religion. The reason is that such denominations or groups would be seen by the ultraists as very strong resistance and therefore from the perspective of the extremists or ultraists they do not want such resistance. 

Therefore it is not feasible for me who write this physically to legally and accurately say without a doubt that the violence from terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is religious but rather with higher and more nuanced legally obtained data it would be possible to completely, legally and accurately make this determination in a conclusive and timely manner. 

Written by Abiodun Mohammed Adeyemi Ajijola