The War on Terror and Securitization of Africa

Abstract

The African continent has, in recent times, come to be associated with terrorism and terrorists’ activities and the fight against terror. This prevailing order can be traced to the post-Osama Bin Laden era which saw an upsurge in the proliferation of terror organizations and their deadly attacks on the continent; thus, resulting in the killing and maiming of innocent people across the continent and in kidnapping of mostly female school children as exemplified by the Chibok and Dapchi school attacks in Nigeria. This trend has in turn led to the increase in security spending among African states and their foreign partners on the continent; therefore leading to the securitization of Africa. This study highlights the efforts by African nations and their foreign allies to rid the continent of terrorist groups and how such collaborative efforts has led to the securitization of Africa; and further how this emphasis and increase in security spending has impacted the development of other areas of life and indeed the entire economy of the continent. The chapter is a historical study which relied on such secondary data as books, academic journals, newspapers, news magazines and internet sourced materials. The findings of this endeavour indicates that, as necessary and important as the war on terror is, especially in the wake of the multiplicity of terrorists sects on the continent, attention and focus have been shifted from developmental quest by African nations to security concerns; thereby leading to escalating security spending at peace times. The chapter ended with a call for a more collaborative efforts and the deployment of latest technology in warfare in order to quickly put an end to the terrorists’ attacks and the fight against terrorism on the continent.