ANALYSIS
Terrorism has been gaining ground in sub-Saharan Africa in the last decade. This does not mean that terrorism was non-existent in the region before this (the Lord's Resistance Army was formed in Uganda in around 1986), but the formation per se of Sub-Saharan organisations and their self-identification as terrorist groups is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Whilst the rise of terrorism has increased instability in several states on the continent, it is also evident that some regimes have used the fight against terrorism for their own political ends.
This article assesses the impact of the fight against terror in Sub Saharan Africa on the legitimacy of several regimes.
It highlights the fact that the fight against terrorism is a political investment for several leaders who have successfully used it as a tool to buttress their own legitimacy. This political exploitation is seen both in countries directly affected by terrorism such as Kenya and Cameroon, but also in countries that are indirectly involved, such as Chad.
Political exploitation: From Cameroon to Kenya
In Cameroon, the fight against Boko Haram, which began in 2013 and intensified from May 2014, has contributed to the re-legitimisation of President Paul Biya on the international scene; helping him to mount pressure on the opposition and civil society in the country.
After being re-elected for the seventh time in October 2011, an election that was plagued by many irregularities, Biya seemed isolated on the international scene.
Post-election, he was neither congratulated by France, nor the European Union, let alone the US. Whereas the Cameroonian president usually travels to France after his election, after the 2011 poll, he had to wait until January 2013 to be received by Francois Hollande.
French and American Heads of State and Government did not accept the official invitations by President Paul Biya to visit Cameroon. They did however find the time to visit neighbouring countries during the same period.
In 2013 Francois Hollande announced the end of 'Francafrique' (something his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, had also been keen to stress), whilst US President Barack Obama, for his part, declared that Africa did not need strong men, but instead required solid institutions.
During the 20th May celebration in 2011 and 2012 (which commemorates the unification of Cameroon), American and French presidents chose to send their messages of congratulations to the youth and civil society, whereas usually these congratulations were sent to the Cameroonian Head of state.
However, Biya seems to be gradually regaining international stature in the face of the Boko Haram threat in the north of his country.
In fact, with the kidnapping of the Tanguy Moulin Fournier family (who are French) in February 2013 in the far-North of Cameroon, France had no other option but to collaborate with Biya.
The Cameroonian president availed himself of this opportunity to strengthen relations with Paris by throwing all his weight behind the negotiations to secure the release of French hostages.[1] François Hollande personally thanked him and Laurent Fabius travelled to Yaoundé to take the hostages back to France.
The same scenario played out during the abduction of the French priest Gorges Vandenbeusch in November 2013, then two Italian priests and a Canadian nun in April 2014.