Terrorist attacks have claimed more lives in Africa than in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq — the countries known for frequent attacks — in the last two weeks. On November 25, a market in Maiduguri, Nigeria, was bombed, killing at least 78 people. Days later, on December 1, the same market was attacked by two female suicide bombers thought to be Boko Haram recruits, according to eye witnesses. That same day, a police base in Damaturu was also raided. The two attacks left five people dead and 32 injured. There was also the bus attack in Kenya on November 22 during which 28 people, all non-Muslim, were ordered off the bus and shot by Al-Shabaab militants. About a week later, another attack was reported in the same area, Mandera, near the Kenya-Somali border. Like the victims of the bus attack, the 36 stone quarry workers were singled out because they were not Muslims. Woken from sleep in the early hours of Tuesday, some of the victims were beheaded while others were shot in the head. You have probably seen the pictures - dozens of bodies lined, facing down. A day before, gunmen had hurled grenades and sprayed bullets inside a night club in Wajir, a town in north-eastern Kenyan, killing one person and injuring 12. On December 3, at least four people were killed when a car-bomb targeting a UN convoy exploded in Mogadishu, Somalia, close to the airport. When does it stop? It’s almost like we’re trying to break a record. How many more must die before sanity and peace returns to our continent? It’s sad, tragic and I dare say, un-African since we are known for our hospitality and kindness, even to strangers. With HIV/Aids, Ebola, malaria, cholera, floods, famine and all the other issues we have to deal with already killing millions, we don’t need this kind of violence. Even scarier is that women and young girls are joining terrorist groups, voluntarily or otherwise, at a time when we’re still trying to stop the recruitment of child soldiers. Some people say that militants offer incentives, which unemployed youths find hard to resist. I understand how teenagers can be coerced into throwing grenades at markets or nightclubs because they’re at the end of their rope. I don’t condone it, and wouldn’t do it, but we all know some people would do anything to survive. I don’t have the answers to how Africa and the world can and should fight terrorism, because like many have said before, you can’t kill an idea, which is what terrorism is to jihadists. They are working for a reward in the afterlife and you can’t talk all of them out of killing infidels, which is how they view all non-Muslims. The way I see it, all we can do is hope and pray that sanity returns to our communities. But for those living in troubled regions, those intending to visit Somalia, Nigeria, Central African Republic and indeed everywhere else since we’re all susceptible to terrorist attacks, I think it is wise to prepare for the worst. Like you learn to swim or take up a new language, we should all make an effort to educate ourselves about Islam just in case. In at least three of the attacks in Kenya, survivors recounted how they were asked to recite the Quran and the fate of those who couldn’t was sealed. Like I said, I hope a day comes when we can all live in peace regardless of differences in faith we profess; but until then, I’m signing up for lessons in Arabic.
