Northern academics have sent President Bola Tinubu And NASS, the National Assembly’s leadership an open letter expressing concerns about the relocation of US and French military sites from the Sahel to Nigeria.
The open letter from Northern academics raises concerns regarding the relocation of US and French military sites from the Sahel to Nigeria. They emphasize the need for a comprehensive understanding of the potential consequences and implications of such a move.
The academics also urge President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly’s leadership to carefully evaluate the long-term strategic impact, security implications, and potential socio-political ramifications of hosting these military sites. They highlight the importance of ensuring transparency, consultation with relevant stakeholders, and thorough risk assessment before making any decision regarding the relocation.
The letter underscores the need for a well-informed and collaborative approach to address the complex challenges associated with hosting foreign military installations.
The American and French governments, according to Abubakar Mohammed of the Centre for Democratic Development in Zaria, Attahiru Muhammadu of Bayero University in Kano, and four other individuals, have been frantically pressuring the governments of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana to sign new defense agreements so they can redeploy their soldiers who have been expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The scholars claim that some soldiers have already been redeployed.
although the United States and France favor Gulf of Guinea nations that are better positioned strategically to further their objectives in the middle Sahel than Chad.
Nigeria turns out to be the most strategically positioned nation in the Gulf of Guinea. There are hints that the planned defense agreement may be well received by the Nigerian government. However, there is a general concern that Nigeria’s ratification of the agreement will have significant effects on the nation’s defense and internal security, they said.
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They reminisced about earlier attempts by foreign countries to form similar alliances with Nigeria that were rejected, and they they pleaded with the current administration to reject such a draw.
They claimed that comparable military installations in West Africa had been used by wealthy nations for covert purposes.
The French and Americans conducted human and unmanned surveillance flights as well as other activities in the Sahel using these locations.
In West Africa, the bases had evolved to be the hubs of Western intelligence and surveillance activities.
Since their presence was superfluous, the American and French forces were dismissed. Rather, in order to further their geopolitical and strategic objectives, they were utilizing the defense accord to conduct surveillance activities in the area. The Gulf of Guinea nations, particularly Nigeria, are under pressure to give in to duress and surrender their sovereignty by providing shelter to these foreign troops who have been expelled. would eventually come to further NATO’s objectives at the expense of the security and national interests of the Gulf of Guinea countries.
‘The shifting of foreign military installations to Nigerian territory not only poses a risk to our sovereignty, but it also establishes a pattern that could result in unanticipated social, political, and economic outcomes, they claimed.
