The
United States has expressed concern about the worsening security
situation in Nigeria despite efforts to resolve the crisis in the north
eastern part of the country.
US Assistant Secretary of State
for African Affairs, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who gave an
address to the regional security working group of the Nigerian-US
Bi-National Commission, said the security situation in the North East is
“steadily worsening, deeply disturbing and increasingly dangerous with
each passing day”.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield
said security requires engagement by the three tiers of government and
the civil society. She also promised that the United States will support
Nigeria and its security agencies as they perform those
responsibilities.
She further told the gathering that the US is
worried about the more than 700,000 internally displaced persons in the
North East and reports that the number is increasing, noting that “the
frequency and scope of Boko Haram’s terror attacks have grown more acute
and constitutes a serious threat to this country’s overall security.
Boko Haram has shown that it can operate not only in the North East, but
in Kano, Abuja and elsewhere.
We are very troubled by the
apparent capture of Bama and the prospects for an attack on Maiduguri,
which would impose a tremendous toll on the civilian population”, she
said.
She expressed worry that “despite our collective efforts,
the situation on the ground is worsening” adding that “Abubakar Shekau’s
bold announcement that Boko Haram is now governing a caliphate only
adds to the perception that the security situation is steadily
worsening”.
She however noted that “in order to combat this
trend, President Barrack Obama launched a major security initiative
called the Security Governance Initiative during the recent U.S African
Leaders Summit to support Nigeria and the region”, in addition to the
“technical training to military and police forces engaged in the fight
against Boko Haram”.
She further expressed the willingness of
the American government to “provide advanced training to a Nigerian
Infantry battalion”.
She also applauded the motivation of the
unit and progress it is making insisting that “it is critical that the
investment in this unit be properly maintained and utilized upon
deployment, with clean supply chains and adequate supplies, a strong
chain of command and missions and values that address Nigeria’s counter
terrorism threat and keep civilians safe”, warning that “the reputation
of Nigeria’s military is at stake”.
She said America is “eager
to hear from you (Nigeria) about your plans for how civilians can better
be protected throughout Nigeria” insisting that “those plans are
critically important as you move forward towards your national elections
next February”.
She also disclosed plans by the American
government to “launch a major border security program under our Global
Security Contingency Fund”, which will include Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad
and Niger.
No comments:
Post a Comment