Fixation with Shabaab could see us miss the big picture

Jonathan Black is one of the few authors who give rare glimpses into how superpowers, eccentric billionaires and arms dealers intent on making mega profits meddled in the affairs of young independent African countries, especially where the countries in question were endowed with minerals and other natural resources the West hungered after. His narratives, though fictional, are amply captured in his books -’Carnage merchants’ and ‘Megacorp’. The works are fictional, but fiction derives from reality.

In the 70s and 80s, coups were common occurrences in Africa and Latin America. Belated revelations showed the hand of some of the West’s espionage services in fomenting turmoil in Africa. To remain unobtrusively in the background, the spy agencies preferred financing the opposition in targeted countries to stir trouble. Where the opposition failed to play ball, there were mercenaries, groups and individuals like Carlos the Jackal to fill the void. It might explain why the Jackal was all over Africa for no particular cause.