5

EXPLORING THE ATTITUDES OF NIGERIANS TOWARDS TERRORISM

IGUNDUNASSE, A. T

Department of Psychology, University of Lagos

(aigundunasse@gmail.com)

&

ODIASE, N

Department of Psychology, University of Lagos

(nathanosas@gmail.com)

Abstract

Nigeria as a country has been plagued with a spate of bombings and suicide terror attacks by the

Boko Haram sect over the past few years. This development has no doubt brought untold hardship

on the citizenry but it is not very clear how Nigerians feel about the impact of these terror attacks.

Based on available psychological literature, there is very little known about the attitudes and

beliefs of Nigerians towards terrorism in the present context of perceived insecurity, bombings

and suicide terror attacks. In a cross sectional design, using a convenience sample approach, a

36-item questionnaire on the attitudes towards terrorism developed by Abdolian and Tokooshian

(2003), was adapted and modified to conform to the present research context and administered to

participants who volunteered their time and met participation requirement. We explore the

findings and discuss the implications. We suggest the need for a baseline study in Nigeria to

understand the attitudinal direction of Nigerians to terrorism.

Keywords: Nigeria, Terrorism, Attitudes, Political violence

6

Introduction

As the world stands alert to receive information of the next terrorist attack or political violence,

governmental and national policy makers are constantly working out solutions as a way to

curtailing the global menace. This is due to the apparent evolution of terrorism and its impact on

the innocent people. (Zhirkov, Verkuyten & Weese, 2014). However, what is also crucial in

present day Nigeria is to understand in the first place how people feel about these acts of political

violence so as to support the basis of evidence - based solution to it (Andreescu & Balaban, 2014)

Empirical evidence has thus shown that terrorism has been inherent since the inception of society

(see, Hanhimaki & Blumenau, 2013: Miller, 2013). Therefore, what the world currently

experiences is one that has evolved with the contemporary nature of the society (Merari &

Friedland, 1985). Doing a comparative analysis of the modern society may reveal a whole lot. For

example, we see the emergence of concrete religious idealism and fundamentalism, the profound

changes in economic policies that have led to individual and societal clashes, the rise of a more

liberal and western society from the relatively conservative ones in the past and the emerging

nature of privatization of the world economies. These factors tend to promote directly or indirect

acts of political violence which informs in some cases the basis of terrorism and the challenges

that goes with understanding it as phenomena (Enders & Sandler, 2000).

Another major challenge to the comprehension of terrorism has been the conceptual clarification

of the term. One of the earliest attempts was by Schmid (1983), and it suggests several definitions

of the term terrorism as recorded in similar studies. Of the 109 definitions gathered by Schmid,

two germane paradigms seemed to emerge in understanding terrorism as a concept. One of these

7

involved understanding terrorism as the aggressive behaviour directed at a vulnerable or

defenseless population and the other the process of making statement of political propaganda

directed towards the ruling class or elite sometimes referred to as the battle of hearts and minds.

Some studies suggest that terrorism is one which is based on action towards eternal salvation which

is promoted by religious extremists (Newman, 2006; Sageman, 2004). In other words, there is no

clear consensus as to what terrorism really means even though individual scholar’s perspective

about the concept terrorism is an addition to the knowledge of the phenomenon. However, for the

purpose of clarity, it is important to emphasize that in this study, terrorism is seen as largely an

aspect of political violence meted out to a general populace.

A cursory look at available literature may reveal that there have been many studies on terrorism

from the legal, political, and sociological angles, among others. For example, some research in

terrorism attempts to explain terrorism through the principles of social change and identity. A

study by Kruglanskiand Fishman (2006) showed that terrorism involves the radical and violent

ways a minority group in the society seeks to persuade a non-conforming majority to take their

perspective and ideology into imperative considerations. The political approach to terrorism looks

at it from a central tendency to act towards the attainment of political power, goal or recognition.

A few studies have highlighted the psychological perspective through approaches like narcissism,

paranoia and the identity theories that seek to evaluate the mental and cognitive process of

terrorists in their bid to spur public attention (See Crayton, 1983; Horgan, 2005; Post, 1998).

However, the emphasis in this research is that there are observed gaps in existing literature within

the context of how the Nigerian public feels about terrorism. This study aims to fill in this gap.

8

In view of the observed gaps in this aspect of research in Nigeria, we seek to explore cross section

of the attitude towards terrorism. We offer to approach terrorism from a social psychological

perspective and this is because of the relationship between the psychological, sociological and

political implication of terrorism. The study also aims to lay a foundation for the further

exploration in this field of endeavour in view of the long run policy implication for the Nigerian

state

In particular, Boko Haram, terrorist as a group, has threatened the corporate and national existence

of this country in all ramifications. Available evidence has shown that this sect has claimed a total

of 20,000 lives and has led to the destruction of over 2.3 billion worth properties in the northern

area of Nigeria (New York Times, 2015). The governments and the people have been at a loss as

to what Boko Haram actually represents. The sect kills both Christians and Muslims, young and

old. But the Boko Haram sect have often affirmed their desire for the creation of an Islamic state

which they feel prevents them from the infiltration of western and liberal ideologies. The irony of

the Boko Haram claim is that they often use Western technology or tools of the West to propagate

their ideals even though they are against the ideals of the West. However, what is significant to us

as researchers is to understand the psychological issues of the victims and those indirectly

involved. There is the need to understand the perception and attitudes of Nigerians towards Boko

Haram and terrorism as phenomenon.

A reason for the undertaking this study is the lack of substantial literature of this subject matter

earlier observed in the Nigerian context. Past studies on terrorism have often tilted towards

understanding terrorism with the basic idea that people will generally reject terrorism. However,

studies have shown that terrorism been acceptable in recent times (Takooshian & Verdi, 1995;

9

Silke, 2001). But it is not known how Nigerians will react on this subject. This paper is an attempt

to fill this gap. It is common knowledge that people who have been wronged or treated unfairly by

the state may believe that terrorist activities are some kind of nemesis or vendetta against the state.

People who also believe in the purpose and goals of terrorists may also be prone to be receptive to

their activities. Therefore, the only difference between these kinds of people and active terrorists

is the inherent lack of will or strength to carry arms. (Crenshaw, 2001; Sageman, 2004). But the

question is, do we have people in our population who are sympathetic to these terrorists? If so,

what is the dimension of these feelings and likely support for these terrorists in the Nigerian

populace? Therefore, the essence of this study is most timely because it could help in

understanding the social-psychological perspective that may influence public policy.

Review of Literature & Theoretical Framework

One major theoretical model that could be used to understand the attitudes and perceptions towards

terrorism is the social learning theory (Bandura, 1973). Although this theory wasn’t developed to

address issues concerning terrorism and its specifications, studies have shown that teenagers and

young people may observe terrorist activities and may decide to model this behaviour (Kelly &

Rieber, 1995; Armstrong, 2000). Young people who are predisposed to this sort of situations are

those who are most likely raised with intense religious conservative ideologies that teach them that

these activities are necessary to exterminate those who are perceived to be treats to their spiritually

and healthy society (Mar-shall &Danizewski2001). For example, the teachings of Jihad by Islamic

extremist and the special school dedicated for the education of Muslim boys called the Madrasas

may be likely sources of these kinds of teaching. Evidence suggests that those who are actively

involved in these teachings and sometimes those who watch by the stands and believe that these

10

trainings are imperative to the preservation of the Islamic fundamentalism may then begin to model

the violent behaviours (Sageman, 2004; Taylor & Quayle, 1994; Zhirkov et al., 2014)

As noted earlier, terrorism has evolved to a point where large economic variations amongst

members of a nation may be significant to the preponderance of terrorist activities. The relative

deprivation theory suggests that the effects of poverty and deprivation of basic amenities may in

turn affect the probability that terrorism would be reinforced (Hasisi & Pedahzur 2000; Krueger

&Maleckova2002). Looking at the case of Boko Haram in Nigeria, evidence has shown that the

areas this sect operates from are stricken with extreme poverty and minimum survival resources.

Therefore unavailability of suitable employment that may keep these people busy may make them

envisage potential ways they can announce their deprivation (Dowden, 2012; Will 2004). Thus

public perception towards terrorism could tilt towards the positive angle as the unfavourable

economic prospect or opportunities may spark up terrorism or thoughts towards that direction

(Krueger &Maleckova, 2002). Further understanding of the relative deprivation theory on

terrorism shows that these terrorists may not really be deprived. This logical link can be drawn

from the fact that these terrorists cannot effectively function without proper funding (Canetti

&Pedahzur, 2002). In view of this, we may be tempted to discountenance the essence of relative

deprivation theory; it will suffice to say that poverty may play a role in terrorism. For example, a

study by Bennet (2004) suggested a link between the idle hand and the terrorism in Pakistan.

Bennet explained that those involved in terrorism in Pakistan may have suffered from idleness for

years due to the inadequate economic prospects in that nation.

A germane approach to terrorism that encompasses psychological principles is the development of

self-identity. In a study by Taylor and Quayle (1994), terrorists that were based in some parts of

11

Europe and Ireland were interviewed as participants. Findings in the Taylor and Quayle showed

that most of the participants were involved in those terrorist activities due to their intrinsic

motivation to seek a sense of purpose and goal in life. This is evidence that self and identity may

be implicated when terrorist activities are successful. This view is consistent with one of the

epigenetic psychosocial stages of Erikson (1959) theory of personality development. Erikson

posited that during the period of adolescence, people have a major psychosocial task of clinging

to an identity which is a platform for their sense of worth. Comparing this study with the recent

findings by Rosenberg, Waddell and Smalley (2002), we can conclude that the search of sense

identity might move the followership of an extremist leader who is perceived to be the ideal model

for self-actualized person. Therefore exhilaration and self-esteem can only emerge if the leader’s

behaviours are successfully modelled even if it involves engaging in terrorism. Therefore, a careful

evaluation of how this principle works in shaping societal attitude towards terrorism may offer a

fresh understanding towards terrorism (Bar-Tal, 2000; Taylor & Quayle, 1994).

The emergence of the Self-Psychology perspective of terrorism is one which cannot be

overemphasized. Kohut (1972) consolidated the Freudian ego psychology theory that reinforces

the necessity for infants or children to have a healthy maternal empathy. Thus if this isn’t the case,

the child might develop what Kohut (1972) referred to as “narcissistic injury” where they fail to

adopt parental ideal self-image and may develop a sense of personal aggrandizement. Kohut

suggested that they may begin to elevate themselves above others and may subject themselves to

terroristic activities to compensate for the lack of maternal care and empathy. On the flip side, the

mechanism of this theory is also at play in when it comes to the attitudes towards these activities.

We see the emergences of followers and supporters whose lack of early childhood affection might

12

cause them to sacrifice their will and sense of self on the altar of a terrorist leader who they believe

can compensate for it (Crenshaw, 2001; Gabbard, 2000).

An injured ego has also been noted to have grave consequences on an adult’s ability to develop

meaningful social relationships and to empathize with those who are suffering. The question of

narcissism being a root of terrorism has also been called into questions by researchers, due to the

fact that some believe that these love deprived childhood experiences may be a good reason why

they would rather withdraw from society than place themselves above anyone in society (Corrado,

1981; Reich 1998). Critical juxtaposition of these two narratives is thus out of the scope of this

study but we can draw arguments from both sides by concluding that public attitude towards

terrorist activities would be contingent on their personal subjective early childhood experiences

which could be positive, negative or indifferent. It may also be important to see if gender has a

role to play in any of these.

The principle of cultural identity is one that gives us clearer understanding as to why people would

support terrorism or would have a positive perception towards it. Cultural identity tells us that

societal collectivism is expedient in the affiliations of people with similar beliefs and values. Thus

it enables the evolution of the social psychological narrative of “Us versus Them” with us

representing people with concurrent values and interests and them representing those with

disparities in values (Horgan, 2005). The need to protect religious interest then emerges giving

those who may not be directly involved with the terrorist activities a reason to get involved

passively which is most times through support. This support can also come financially as they may

fill it is the best way they can effectively contribute to the preservation of their cultural identity.

This is thus the difference between those who engage in suicidal terrorist attack and those who do

13

not. Those who do have been trained from inception to believe that the only way to ensure their

salvation is to be remembered as one who preserved the absolute goal of the group, and to do that

the person must be ready to pay the ultimate prize (Armstrong, 2000). Then you are considered as

a hero and a symbol of religious liberation. These ones then place the value of the terrorist ideology

above their lives and families. Those who do not still feel a sense of responsibility to families and

relative and thus may be inclined to just support by the stands. They can do this trough financial

donation to the cause, engaging in public protest, civil movement or violent activities that are not

inclusive of suicide.

In order to empirically measure the attitude towards terrorism a scale was developed by Abdolian

and Takooshian (2003) in light of the prestigious 9/11 terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda. The scale is

one which is inclusive of 36 items. This scale contains four factors that include; authoritarianism,

personal reception of terrorist activities, acquiescence of activities an existence of Al-Qaeda, and

predilection of individual liberties in the place of needs. Measurement of the factors showed that

sores were assigned on a bipolar basis where a participant either scores high or low on any factor.

Abdolian and Takooshian (2003) revealed that authoritarianism showed by a person correlated to

reception of terrorism. Kumari (2011) also had similar findings thus a person who is receptive

towards terrorist activities would possess a less authoritative personality. People with the

preference for individual liberties affirm that terrorist activities are not necessarily bad as the

society should be one to tolerate and listen to the plights of the minority. This study thus reveals

that while some may not be open about their support for terrorism; they might hide their resentment

for the government and society by acting in socially desirable ways which involves clearly and

outwardly detesting terrorism.

14

This study adapts and modifies the scale developed by Abdolian and Takooshian (2003) to fit our

local settings by adjusting the items containing Al-Qaeda to Boko Haram. Using the social and

psychological theoretical framework in place, we test the following hypothesis:

1. Gender differences will negatively influences attitude towards terrorism.

2. Religious background will negatively influence attitude towards terrorism.

3. There will be low acceptance of activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria

Methodology

This is a cross sectional design that had measures of terrorism including Religiosity,

Authoritarianism, Acceptance of terrorism, Boko Haram and Civil liberties as independent

variables. The dependent variable was the responses of the questionnaire on attitude towards

terrorism.

Respondents in the survey were recruited in using the convenience sampling approach. This

meant that any person who was available and willing to complete the questionnaire but above

the age of 16 year was given the questionnaire to complete. 16 as age was used as bench mark

because this the official age allowed for entry into Nigerian universities. Participants were

largely recruited in and around the University of Lagos consisting of mostly undergraduates.

A total of 327 respondents completed the questionnaire. Age range was between 16-55 years

old with a Mean = 18.72, Median = 18.00 and Mode = 17.00but 7 participants did not complete

the age column. 114 Males participated in the study representing near 35% of the sample and

211 Females participated in study representing over 64% of the sample. One participant did

not indicate male or female on the questionnaire.

15

Questionnaire

A 36-piont questionnaire measuring attitudes towards terrorism initially developed by

Abdolian and Tokooshian (2003) was adapted and modified for conform to the present research

context. For example, the word Al-Qaeda was replaced with Boko Haram. The questionnaire

consisted of measure terrorism with sub-scales on Acceptance to Terrorism, Boko Haram,

Authoritarianism and Civil liberties. Some items on the sub-scale were reverse coded as

indicated the original article. In addition, the questionnaire had a sub-scale on change of

behaviour/personal impact. Respondent were further required to state the overall impact of

Boko Haram in Nigeria. The questionnaire used a five point Likerttype scale Strongly Agree,

Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly Disagree for all sub-scales except the questionnaire item

on the overall impact of Boko Haram in Nigeria. A high score indicated a) acceptance for

terrorism b) acceptance of Boko Haram c) authoritarianism d) and Preference for civil liberties

over security in Nigeria. And each item was scored between 1-5.

Procedure

The study took a convenience sampling approach as stated earlier. So any person above the

age of 16 willing to participate in the study was allowed. The first author went to class rooms

in the university and explained the purpose of the research. Thereafter, prospective participants

were told they were at liberty to complete the questionnaire or decline at any time. Research

assistants engaged in the study also adopted his approach to questionnaire administration.

People were contact on the streets and other public places around the Akoka campus of the

University of Lagos.

16

Results

The results in this study were analysed with the view to understanding public attitude towards

terrorism in a Nigerian university setting. The scale developed by Abdolian and Takooshian

(2003) was adapted and modified for this purpose. The questionnaire was used to assess the

attitudes to terrorism in and around a university. The results were analysed using descriptive

analyses, independent t-test, and Pearson Correlation to measure attitudes and correlation

between variables. In table one, a summary of the attitudes towards terrorism is shown.

Table 1

Public Attitude towards Terrorism, Boko Haram, Civil Liberties, Authoritarianism and

Change in behaviour/Personal Impact

Percent

5 4 3 2 1 Mean

4.6 19.2 7.6 24.2 43.7 3.86 It is sometimes understandable if people resort to terrorism

as a way to be heard

0.6 2.1 0.6 7.0 89.3 4.83 If terrorism involves killing innocent civilians to achieve a

political goal, then I feel the tactics is morally acceptable

59.3 20.5 7.6 4.6 7.0 1.78 Terrorist must be considered the enemy of civilised

society, regardless of their motives

57.8 21.1 8.9 4.9 6.4 1.79 Only a cruel, cowardly group would resort to terrorism to

achieve its goals

4.0 11.9 12.2 24.2 45.9 3.97 Terrorism is sometimes morally justified

17

31.2 43.1 13.5 7.6 4.6 2.11 Most terrorist seem like disturbed people who would act

violently even in an ideal society

4.9 11.0 7.3 22.3 54.1 4.10 If terrorism involves the killing innocent civilians to

achieve a political goal, then it has been an effective

tactics

22.47 Accepting Terrorism

74.0 16.2 4.3 2.8 2.8 1.44 The government should aggressively eliminate Boko

Haram

network inside the Nigeria

7.6 18.0 16.5 17.1 49.8 3.63 I feel Boko Haram has some legitimate basis for their

anger against the Nigerian government and its citizens

53.2 30.0 9.2 6.1 1.5 1.72 Boko Haram are the enemy of all civilised people,

including moderate Moslems

53.2 32.2 8.9 4.9 1.5 1.69 I feel if Boko Haram had nuclear weapons, they would

explode it if they had the chance to do it

54.4 29.7 10.4 2.8 1.8 1.66 The government should aggressively eliminate Boko

Haram network outside Nigeria

10.15 Boko Haram

71.3 26.6 1.2 0.3 0.6 1.32 Government should check the profile of people at Nigerian

airports, seaports or borders if it can increase public safety

18

47.7 32.7 14.7 3.7 0.9 1.76 Nigerian government should check the private files of

Nigerian students and other workers/immigrants from

other nations

30.9 37.0 19.3 9.5 3.1 2.16 Government should torture Nigerian detainees linked to

Boko

Haram if the information could save lives

46.2 36.17 11.6 2.8 2.8 1.79 Government should secretly tap the phone line/internet of

terror suspects in Nigeria

21.7 29.4 21.1 10.1 12.8 2.67 Government should ensure access and other legal rights to

terror in Nigerian security services custody

9.74 Civil Liberties

30.9 49.8 12.8 4.3 0.9 1.93 Human nature being what it is, there will always be war

and conflict

39.4 33.6 17.4 5.8 3.1 1.98 A few strong leaders could make this country better than

all the laws and talk

38.8 31.8 18.7 6.4 2.1 1.99 People cannot be trusted

13.8 29.4 32.4 19.3 2.8 2.67 Most people who don’t get ahead just don’t have enough

will power

12.2 28.7 25.7 22.9 7.6 2.84 An insult to your honour should not be forgotten

11.47 Authoritarian

27.1 41.0 19.9 11.0 5.2 2.36 Since Boko Haram Started I have felt more fearful and

anxious

19

22.9 31.2 24.8 14.4 15.2 2.15 Since Boko Haram started I have felt more angry

34.6 37.0 17.1 8.6 2.1 2.06 Since Boko Haram started I have felt more suspicious of

strangers

17.7 26.3 29.4 17.4 8.0 2.71 Since Boko Haram started I have felt more spiritual

4.3 8.6 27.2 28.4 30.3 3.73 Since Boko Haram Started I have felt more proud to be a

Nigeria

13.03 Change in behaviour/Personal Impact

As shown in table 1, the mean score for terror acceptance is high. This means that the sampled

population had a general acceptance for terrorism to some extent. For example, that “terrorism

is sometimes morally justified” among other factors. However, results indicated opposing or

non-approval of the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria. The results also indicated a preference

for civil liberties over the infringement of fundamental human rights to secure people.

However, on the authoritarian sub-scale, the sampled population appeared to be slightly below

the authoritarian threshold. Apart from that the results did indicated that there was some change

in behaviour due to Boko Haram activities. The implications of these findings are explored in

the discussion section. Next we look at gender differences among key study variables as

indicated in table two below.

20

Table 2

Summary statistics of gender differences on key study variables

Variable

Gender N Mean SD

Religiosity Male

Female

106

191

5.90

6.58

2.11

1.92

Accepting

Terrorism

Male

Female

111

200

22.70

22.35

3.32

3.04

Boko Haram

Male

Female

111

200

10.38

10.01

2.68

2.61

Civil Liberties Male

Female

106

202

10.02

9.54

3.07

2.50

Authoritarianism Male

Female

105

197

11..75

11.32

2.63

2.77

Behaviour change Male

Female

110

207

13. 75

12.62

3.38

2.78

As shown in table 2 the research also aimed understanding gender differences of attitudes towards

terrorism. The one-way ANOVA indicated significant differences between male and female on the

religiosity scale F (2, 295) = 6.32; p ˂ 0.01. Females were religious than males. There was no

significant difference between male and female on the accepting terrorism and Boko Haram; F (2,

21

309) = .546 & F (2, 316) = .773 respectively. However, there was a significant difference for civil

liberties for males and females. F (2, 306) = 8.25; p ˂ 0.01. Males preferred more restrictions for

civil liberties than females. With respect to authoritarianism and change in behaviour there was no

significant difference, F (2, 300) = .858 and F (2, 315) =1.27 respectively. Table 3 below examines

religious differences and the attitude sub-scales.

Table 3

Summary statistics of religious differences on key study variables

Variable

Religion N Mean SD

Accepting

Terrorism

Christian

Muslim

African Religion

Others

261

42

1

5

22.39

22.88

26.00

22.60

2.99

4.04

-

2.70

Boko Haram

Christian

Muslim

African Religion

Others

266

44

1

5

10.24

9.68

14.00

9.40

2.67

2.40

-

2.88

Civil Liberties Christian

Muslim

African Religion

257

43

1

9.82

9.16

11.00

2.84

2.47

-

22

Others 5 10.00 2.00

Authoritarianism Christian

Muslim

African Religion

Others

254

40

1

5

11..53

11.02

12.00

11.20

2.71

2.69

-

3.83

Behaviour change Christian

Muslim

African Religion

Others

265

45

1

5

13. 00

12.57

16.00

16.00

7.00

2.73

-

2.54

Table 3 examined the impact of religious background and attitude towards terrorism. Results

showed that religious background had no significant influence on attitude towards terrorism.

Accepting Terrorism F (3, 305) = .713; Boko Haram F (3, 312) = 1.40; Civil Liberties F (3, 302)

= .786; Authoritarianism F (3, 296) = .735 and Behaviour change F (3, 312) = .693

23

Table 4

Summary statistics of Inter-correlations between variables

Age Level of

Religios

ity

Accepti

ng

Terroris

m

Boko

Haram

Civil

Libertie

s

Authoritaria

n

Change

in

behaviou

r

Age

1

-.215** .047 -.092 .013 .147* .031

Level of

Religiosity

-

.215**

1 .116 -.026 -.103 .064 -.016

Accepting

Terrorism

.047 .116 1 .187** -.035 .250** .034

Boko Haram -.092

-.026 .187** 1 .289** .342** .028

Civil

Liberties

.013 -.103 -.035 .289** 1 .127* .065

Authoritarian .147*

.064 .250** .342** .127* 1 .089

24

Change in

behaviour

.031 -.016 .034 .028 .065 .089 1

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Table 3 is a Pearson Correlational analysis to understand the relationships between accepting

terrorism, Boko Haram, age, level of religiosity, civil liberties, authoritarianism and change in

behaviour. The results indicate there is a negative correlation between age and religiosity (r = 0.21;

p ˂ 0.01). There was also a positive relationship between age and authoritarianism; accepting

terrorism and Boko Haram; accepting terrorism and authoritarianism; Boko Haram and civil

liberties; Boko Haram and authoritarianism and Civil liberties and authoritarianism(r =14; p ˂

0.01, r =0.18; p ˂ 0.01, 0.25; p ˂ 0.01, r = 0.28; p ˂ 0.01, r = 0.34; p ˂ 0.01 and r = 0.12; p ˂ 0.

05) respectively. Further implications of these correlations are explored in the discussion section.

And finally we looked at the overall impact of Boko Haram on the sampled population. See figure

1 below.

25

Based on the bar chart in Figure 1, over 4 % of the sample felt Boko Haram had positive impact

on them; over 69% felt Boko Haram had a negative impact on them. But near 3% felt Boko Haram

had no impact on them while over 16% felt Boko Haram had both positive and negative impact.

About 10% of respondents did not answer this question.

Discussion.

This paper aimed at understanding attitudes towards terrorism in and around Nigerian university

setting using an adapted but modified questionnaire developed by Abdolian and Takooshian

26

(2003). The study examined three main hypotheses that aimed at assessing the attitudes towards

terrorism. The study found that religiosity and religious background had no significant influence

on attitude towards terrorism. This position is contrary to findings of Kumari (2011) in a similar

study in the United Kingdom. However, the study did find that there were gender differences on

the religiosity scale. Females were generally more religiously inclined than males in the sampled

population. It is not very clear why this is so but an exhaustive review of existing literature may

even show the nature of female acquiescence towards religions but that is out of the scope of the

present study.

On the broader differences between males and female on the terrorism sub-scales, an independent

t-test indicated that there was no significant gender difference in terms of acceptance for terrorism

and sympathy for Boko Haram. But there were significant gender differences with respect to civil

liberties. While females had a more liberal attitude towards human rights, males in the sampled

population indicated more need for the restriction of human rights to curb terrorism in Nigeria.

However, the results did show that males were more predisposed toacts of terrorism than females

but it was surprising to note the overall sample was largely receptive to acts of terrorism as a means

of achieving things. But the sampled population was largely not sympathetic to Boko Haram as a

group. There can be several implications to these findings. Acceptance of terrorism as means of

achieving a purpose may be an act of defiance and protest towards authorities. This is so because

the sampled population was largely undergraduates. It may suffice to say that given the nature of

the sample, it would be most advisable to treat the results with some caution.

The finding that sampled population were not sympathetic to Boko Haram was not surprising but

accepting terrorism as means to achieving a desired point on the other hand is a little disturbing.

27

For the average reader this may appear contradictory but what this suggests is that people must be

heard by government although the ways and means of Boko Haram as organization is not

approved.

Further findings showed that there was negative correlation between age and religiosity. This

meant that the higher the age, the lesser the level of religiosity. In other words, the older a person

gets does not necessarily mean that the person will be more religious in his or her views towards

certain events and developments. But it was found that there was a positive correlation between

age and authoritarian personality type. This indicated that the older a person gets, there

authoritarian personality will displayed in such a person disposition towards events or

developments.

Earlier, it was observed that the sampled population accepted terrorism as a means of achieving

things but disapproved of methods of Boko Haram. The results further showed that there was

positive correlation between accepting terrorism and Boko Haram. It must be noted that correlation

observed does not necessarily mean accepting terrorism is synonymous with approval for methods

of Boko Haram as entity. What can be said here is that even in the event of some implicit support

for terrorism as mean achieving political goals, this kind of correlation is merely showing a likely

disposition to terrorism and not tacit support for methods of Boko Haram. Apart from that there

was a positive correlation between accepting terrorism and authoritarianism in sampled

population. This suggests people who are of the authoritarian personality type to be more disposed

to accepting terrorism that people who are authoritarian by nature and this finding was consistent

with finding of Kumari ( 2011)

28

Additional findings also indicated a positive correlation between Boko Haram and restriction civil

liberties. This suggested people in general had more preference for restriction of civil liberties and

males showed a higher disposition to restriction for civil or human right on the war on terror.

On the overall impact of Boko Haram, about 4 % indicated that Boko Haram had a positive impact

on them, while over 69% indicated that Boko Haram had a negative impact on them. But about

16% of the sampled population felt that Boko Haram had both a negative and positive impact on

them and near 3% felt it has little or no impact on them. Although less that 9% of the sampled

population did not answer this question, it can be seen that majority of the sampled population felt

that Boko Haram had a negative impact. The implication of this finding is that most people have

not seen anything good about the activities of Boko Haram. Rather the Boko Haram scourge has

affected them negatively in most ramifications.

However, it must be noted as earlier stated that the sample used in this study was largely an

undergraduate sample. Apart from that the sample was not weighted against that entire University

of Lagos population and surroundings. Therefore, findings here may not be generalized to the

broader Nigerian population. It is advised that further studies should adopt a more probability type

of sampling approach that would support the need for generalization of findings. In addition,

further research in this area should include a broader sample encompassing a wider coverage of

the Nigerian society. At this point, it will suffice to suggest that what is needed is a baseline study.

A search of available literature so far and to the best of our knowledge, there has been no clear

baseline study on the attitude of Nigerians towards terrorism in Nigeria. This kind of study

conducted on a longitudinal basis would study whether attitude of Nigerian towards terrorism are

changing or not over a period of time.

29

Conclusion

This study was aimed at exploring the attitude of a cross section of Nigerian towards terrorism.

This is largely against the backdrop of recent suicide bombings and sundry attacks by the Boko

Haram sect in Nigeria. The study looked broadly at aspects that assessed attitudes towards

terrorism in Nigeria especially the supposed religious dimension and implications for the war

against terror.

This study found out that both religiosity and religious background had little or no influence.

Hitherto, there was a pedestrian assumption that the Boko Haram attack may have a religious

dimension. The issue of significance here is people do not feel that it has religious dimension,

rather it seen more like a band people who seek to unleash political violence on the Nigerian

people.

However, with these findings notwithstanding, it is recommended that the veracity of the findings

in this study will be better validated in a wider study involving a bigger sample. For example,

variables such ethnicity could be looked into so as to understand the ethnic dimension of attitudes

towards terrorism. Apart from that it would also make a lot of sense to try and understand how the

various geo-political feel about terrorism. This is to suggest that we can try to understand the

attitude towards terrorism by comparing the people of North-East Nigeria with South-west Nigeria.

In this respect, we may know better if we compare findings of people experience terror first hand

and people who have largely experienced very little of terror in view of the impact of Boko Haram

in Nigeria.

30

It must be stated that this study was largely exploratory and it offered a basis for further research

at understanding the direction of attitude towards terrorism in Nigeria. By this expose, we believe

that we have contributed to growing body of political violence in Nigeria.

31

REFERENCES

Abdolian, L. F. and Takooshian, H. (2003). The USA Patriot Act: Civil Liberties, the media

and public opinion. Fordham urban Law Journal, 3, 1, 429-1, 453.

Andreescu, A. &Balaban, M.C. (2014).T trans-disciplinary analysis of suicidal terrorism.

Strategic Impact, 52, 59-78.

Armstrong, K. (2000). Islam.New York: The Modern Library.

Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. New York: Prentice Hall

Bar-Tal, D. (2000). Shared Beliefs in a Society.Social Psychological Analysis.Thousand

Oaks: Age.

Canetti, D., and A. Pedahzur. (2002). The effects of contextual and psychological variables

on extreme right wing sentiments. Social Behaviour and Personality30:317-34.

Corrado, R. R. (1981). A critique of the mental disorder perspective of political terrorism.

InternationalJournal of Law and Psychiatry4:293-310.

Crayton, J. W. (1983). Terrorism and the psychology of the self.In L. Z. Freedman and Y.

Alexander, Perspectives on terrorism, edited by, 33-41. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly

Resources, Inc.

Crenshaw, M. (2001). Theories of terrorism: instrumental and organizational approaches. En

D. C. Rappoport (Ed.),Inside terrorist organisations. Londres: Frank Cass Publishers

Dowden, R. (2012). "Boko Haram – More Complicated Than You Think". Africa Arguments.

Erikson, E. (1959). Identity and the life cycle.Psychological Issues Monograph 1. New

York: International University Press.

Enders, W., &T. Sandler. (2000). Is transnational terrorism becoming more threatening? A

timeseries investigation. Journal of Conflict Resolution44, 307-32.

Gabbard, G. O (2000). Psychoanalysis. In Kaplan and Sadock, Psychiatry, (7th ed).

Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &Wilkins.

Hanhimaki, J.M., & Blumenau, B. (2013).An International history of terrorism: Western and

Non-Western experience.New York: Routledge

32

Hasisi, B., & A. Pedahzur.(2000). State, policy, and political violence: Arabs in the

Jewish state. Civil Wars 3:64-84.

Horgan, J. (2005). The psychology of terrorism.London: Routledge

Kelly, R. J.,& R. W. Rieber. (1995). Psychosocial impacts of terrorism and organized

crime: The counterfinality of the practico-inert. Journal of Social Distress and the

Homeless4, 265-86.

Kohut, H. (1972). Thoughts on narcissism and narcissistic rage. Psychoanalytic Study of the

Child27, 360- 400.

Krueger, A. B., Maleckova, J (2002). Education, poverty, political violence, and

terrorism: Is there a connection? Working Paper No. w9074,National Bureau of

Economic Research. Retrieved from: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w907

Kruglanski, A. W. and Fishman, S. (2006) The Psychology of terrorism: “Syndrome” versus

“Tool” perspectives.Terrorism and Political Violence, 18, 193-215

Kumari, R. (2011). Why people support terrorism. In A. Silke (Eds.).The Psychology of

Counter-Terrorism (pp.48-61). London: Routledge.

Marshall, T., and J. Danizewski. (2001). Pakistan's Muslim schools offer a dark view of U.S.

Los Angeles Times.

Merari, A., and N. Friedland. (1985). Social psychological aspects of political terrorism.

Applied Social Psychology, 6, 185-205

Miller, M.A. (2013). The foundations of Modern Terrorism: State, society and the dynamics

Of political violence. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Newman, E. (2006). Exploring the "root causes" of terrorism. Studies in Conflict and

Terrorism, 29, 49-772

New York Times (2015).Retrievedfrom;"http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/11/17/

world/africa/ap-af-boko-haram.html?_r=0"

Post, J. M. (1998). Terrorist psychologic: Terrorist behaviour as a product of psychological

forces. In W. Reich, Origins of terrorism: Psychologies, ideologies, theologies, states of

mind, 25-40. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Centre Press.

33

Reich, W. (1998). Understanding terrorist behaviour: The limits and opportunities of

Psychological inquiry. In Reich, Origins of terrorism: Psychologies, ideologies,

theologies, states of mind, (pp.261-79). Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Centre Press.

Rosenberg, D., L. Waddell, and S. Smalley.(2002). A troubled teenager's tragic flight plan.

Newsweek, January 2001.

Sageman, M. (2004).Understanding terror networks. Philadelphia: University of

Pennsylvania Press.

Schmid, A. (1983). Political terrorism: A research guide to the concepts, theories, databases

and literature. With a bibliography by the author and a world directory of "terrorist"

organizations by A. J. Jongman. Amsterdam: North Holland.

Silke, A (2001). Terrorism .The Psychologist, 14, 580-581

Takooshian, H. and Verdi, W. M. (1995).Assessment of attitude towards terrorism. In Adler,

L. L. and Denmark, F. L. (Ed), Violence and Prevention of Violence. Westport CT:

Praeger

Taylor, M., and E. Quayle. (1994). Terrorist lives. London: Brassey

Will, R. (2014). Boko Haram crisis: Among the vigilantes of north-east Nigeria. BBC News,

Africa.

Zhirkov, K., Verkuyten, M., &Weesie, J. ( 2014). Perception of world politics and support

For terrorism amongst Muslims: Evidence from Muslims countries and Western Western

Europe. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 31, 481-501.