Free Essays on National Security

Colonization of Nigeria The British were not the first to infiltrate Nigeria. They weren’t the second either. First of all, people within Africa have been migrating all over the continent, including Nigeria, way before there was even written record. Also, there has been so much mixing of ethnic groups over the course of time. However, it isn’t all that hard to trace back and find the first evidence of outside infiltration. External penetration of Nigeria started as early as the 9th century AD when Muslim merchants from western Sudan, Maghreb, Tripolitania and Egypt started traveling across the Sahara with camel caravans in search of trade. Over the course of the next six centuries, Islam became accepted widely in the north, especially among the Hausa and Fulani, and not only as a religion. It also imposed a central government, segregated the sexes, influenced language and script, and established a hierarchical class system that was not there beforehand. Islam did not spread south because of the dense tropical forest that divides Nigeria into north and south. This also caused the two regions to â€Å"develop† at different rates because while the south was still alien to Europeans, the north was expanding culturally and economically because of its deep involvement with the trans-Sahara trade routes. The peoples of the south remained untouched by foreigners until the 1470’s when Portuguese explorers, under the inspiration and guidance of Henry the Navigator, showed up and traded spirits, cloth, guns and gunpowder in return for slaves. The Portuguese did not really have any sort of cultural effect on the indigenous people besides the slowly diminishing population. This is because they rarely traveled farther than the coast, if they even left the ships. Eventually the British showed up after they realized the profits Portugal was making and what they could get from slavery. By 1712 they had established a slave monopoly along ... Free Essays on National Security Free Essays on National Security National security America over its short life time has built up this reputation for being â€Å"untouchable†. We are so far away from any major threats, and because of this, America has gone to sleep. It used to be that communication amongst countries would take months at a time. Your conversation was instantaneous; you could talk to someone on the other side of the world! If it wasn’t for communication, we probably wouldn’t have been involved in WW2. Technology took its course and now today we have high speed data transfer and the internet. When certain people get access to the internet, they then have access to money, drugs, weapons, you name it. The internet literally â€Å"Connects† the world in front of your eyes. With power in the wrong hands, there is an immediate threat to our country, which begs for a modern security. I sat in my living room the other day and was able to watch our military strategically bomb Baghdad†¦Live. The world isn’t so far apar t anymore. People today are communicating faster than ever before. What once was a dream is now reality and then some. Communication is hurting us; it puts power into the hands of people who want to be heard. Regions of the world that couldn’t speak out in a manner suitable to them now can. This is going to propose a problem because our army is not dealing with a nation as a whole where diplomacy is in effect, these terrorists are most of the time in it for themselves. Since these terrorists are not connected to the government, it’s hard to address those who are participating in the act. For instance, the Taliban was found guilty of plotting against the US. These Taliban members resided in Afghanistan, yet Afghanistan wasn’t about ready to claim them, so who is to blame? The controversy begins when these smaller countries harbor and even support these madmen, mainly out of fear, but never the less. These terrorists play with there peoples emotions and feelings ... Free Essays on National Security Colonization of Nigeria The British were not the first to infiltrate Nigeria. They weren’t the second either. First of all, people within Africa have been migrating all over the continent, including Nigeria, way before there was even written record. Also, there has been so much mixing of ethnic groups over the course of time. However, it isn’t all that hard to trace back and find the first evidence of outside infiltration. External penetration of Nigeria started as early as the 9th century AD when Muslim merchants from western Sudan, Maghreb, Tripolitania and Egypt started traveling across the Sahara with camel caravans in search of trade. Over the course of the next six centuries, Islam became accepted widely in the north, especially among the Hausa and Fulani, and not only as a religion. It also imposed a central government, segregated the sexes, influenced language and script, and established a hierarchical class system that was not there beforehand. Islam did not spread south because of the dense tropical forest that divides Nigeria into north and south. This also caused the two regions to â€Å"develop† at different rates because while the south was still alien to Europeans, the north was expanding culturally and economically because of its deep involvement with the trans-Sahara trade routes. The peoples of the south remained untouched by foreigners until the 1470’s when Portuguese explorers, under the inspiration and guidance of Henry the Navigator, showed up and traded spirits, cloth, guns and gunpowder in return for slaves. The Portuguese did not really have any sort of cultural effect on the indigenous people besides the slowly diminishing population. This is because they rarely traveled farther than the coast, if they even left the ships. Eventually the British showed up after they realized the profits Portugal was making and what they could get from slavery. By 1712 they had established a slave monopoly along ...