The United States says it is committed to helping Nigeria succeed in its fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group, particularly in the supply of equipment, training of military and information sharing.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, stated this on Friday during an interactive session with Nigerians on Facebook.
He said, “The U.S. has for years had a beneficial working relationship with the Nigerian military, especially in the counter-terrorism struggle against Boko Haram. Now more than ever, we are committed to assisting our Nigerian partners as appropriate. That involves training, sharing of information and, in some cases, helping the military with its equipment needs.
“No partner is doing more to help Nigeria against Boko Haram than the United States. We hope to train more Nigerian troops; we are glad to discuss weapons transfers and engage in significant information sharing which I cannot discuss in detail in this setting. We also are doing everything we can to support the population of internally displaced Nigerians from the North-East and to help Nigeria create conditions that will prevent something like the scourge of Boko Haram from ever happening again in the country.”
However, Entwistle said Nigeria has to do more in getting a higher rating in its human rights record before the sale of some equipment that the Federal Government had requested for to fight the Boko Haram insurgents.
He said, “The Leahy amendment applies to all arms transfers, including commercial purchases. This is true for all countries with which we have military relations. But, as I’ve said before, the Leahy amendment does not impede effective counter-terrorism. Rather, respect for human rights and protecting the civilian populations makes for more effective counter-terrorism.
“The Leahy amendment requires that for all countries, we’ll not train known human rights abusers nor that our equipment will be used in depredations against civilian populations. This is U.S. law and proudly illustrates what my country stands for. To be clear, however, it is our experience that paying attention to human rights does not distract from fighting terrorists.
“On the contrary, it makes for a stronger counter-terrorist effort since it allows the military to keep civilian populations on their side in the midst of the incredibly difficult task of fighting terrorists who themselves don’t care about human rights or protecting civilians. We have learned these lessons ourselves in Afghanistan and Iraq and share them gladly with our Nigerian friends and partners.”
The US ambassador also spoke about the recent trip of President Muhammadu Buhari to the US and said he was sure the Nigeria-US relationship would wax stronger.
He said, “I have just returned from Washington, where I had the privilege of participating in a very successful visit by President Buhari. President Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry (and several other members of the Cabinet) made clear to President Buhari and his delegation that we see this as a unique moment in the history of Nigeria and that we are very encouraged by the priorities that President Buhari has laid out.
“Thus, as was said in Washington, the U.S. is ‘all in’ in our desire to see how, building on our already excellent relationship, we can appropriately help the new Nigerian administration to, among other things, mount an effective counter-terrorism effort, battle the scourge of corruption and reform the economy.
“As I always say, the U.S. and Nigeria are partners, which means that the U.S. is not here to do things “for” Nigeria, but rather “with” Nigeria as two equal partners working to make the world a better place. In the wake of Mr. President’s trip to Washington, we are more enthusiastic than ever about this partnership which covers a wide array of issues.”
