US TO SEND MILITARY TEAM TO NIGERIA IN RESPONSE TO BUHARI'S COMMITMENT ON BOKO HARAM
WASHINGTON plans to send a team of
US Marines to Nigeria over the next few weeks as part of the ongoing commitment
to fighting global terrorism by eliminating the threat posed by Boko Haram
insurgents.
Following the recent swearing-in of
President Muhammadu Buhari, the US has reached out to him by sending secretary
of state John Kerry to his inauguration last week to underscore its interest in
working with his government. Tensions emerged between the government of former
President Goodluck Jonathan and the Obama administration last year over
corruption and human rights abuses by the Nigerian military in its campaign to
crush Boko Haram.
However, with a new government in
place, the US believes that it could revive its plans to help Nigeria eliminate
the Boko Haram threat. During the Jonathan administration, military
intelligence shared between the two governments was passed on to Boko Haram,
who acted on it, keeping the terrorists one step ahead of the government.
In his inauguration speech,
President Buhari vowed to defeat Boko Haram, calling the group, which pledged
allegiance to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq mindless and Godless. US
officials have said Washington will also now send more advisers to Nigeria to
train its military and help boost the economy.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US
assistant secretary of state for Africa, said: “With the new government we are
optimistic we can reset the relationship. We want to work with him and have
expressed that to him.”
She said President Buhari had
committed both publicly and privately to do everything possible to address the
situation in terms of resources and staff to tackle Boko Haram, which launched
its insurgency in 2009. Ms Thomas-Greenfield said the US was encouraged that
President Buhari’s first trips were to Niger and Chad, which are part of a
multi-national force being set up to fight Boko Haram’s insurgency.
Analysts say the challenge for the
United States is to work with Buhari while giving him time to address problems
in the Nigerian military. Nigeria’s Major-General Tukur Buratai has been
appointed to head the new multinational force, which will be funded partly by
the international community.
