Radical groups operating across the world, with bases in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Somalia among other countries have been recruiting from the fringes of society. This is the realm occupied by the unemployed, disillusioned and those with little or nothing to live for. Regrettably, this fringe is massed by thousands, if not millions. And their ranks are swelling. Alongside the AlQaeda and AlShabab, the emergence of Boko Haram in Nigeria and the ISIS in Iraq paints a grim picture for government and society, especially in Africa, which will be hard pressed to use their meagre resources to fight wars waged by these insurgent groups. An idle mind no doubt is the devils workshop. The trend has been that idle youth get indoctrinated and recruited into terror cells where they find fulfilment and acceptance that seemingly lacks in conventional society. They emerge out of these cells ready to main, kill and destroy. Somalia, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya have suffered the most. While Boko Haram in gaining ground in Nigeria, Kenya in the recent past has been the target of terrorist attacks, with tens of casualties. Yet in all this is the fear of home grown terrorism. In Kenya as in most places, the job market has not absorbed the high number of school leavers whose training lays emphasis mainly on white collar jobs. Government initiatives to keep the youth engaged in tasks that build their lives have been slowed by politics, corruption, government wastage, paralysis and red tape, nepotism and greed. At the end of the day, unemployed youth are left to their own devices in a world that runs on money. It is therefore quite easy for terror cells to recruit from these disillusioned groups who could do anything to survive.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 15:33:33 +0000