By Emmanuel Nduka Obisue
Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has defended ongoing United States military assistance to Nigeria, insisting that the partnership is aimed solely at strengthening the country’s fight against terrorism and does not in any way threaten national sovereignty.
Briefing journalists on Friday in Abuja at the DHQ, Major General Michael Onoja, Director of Defence Media Operations, said the collaboration is designed to support Nigeria’s efforts to create a peaceful and secure environment for citizens. He explained that the United States’ global counter-terrorism posture aligns with Nigeria’s objective of eliminating terrorist threats and stabilizing the country.
“The whole essence of that assistance is to make sure that Nigeria has an environment that is conducive for all the citizens to be able to live in peace, free from the threat of terrorists. What we should focus on is the value they are coming to add to us, and I can tell you, in the last two months, they have done that,” Onoja said. Declining to disclose the actual number of the US personnel on ground, he said: “The number is not an issue. You just be rest assured that Nigeria’s territorial integrity, our national security, is intact. Nobody is giving away our sovereignty. If that is your fear, convey that to the public, our sovereignty is intact. Our territorial integrity is intact.
The Defence spokesman urged the public to focus less on the number of foreign personnel involved and more on the value of the training and operational support being provided. He clarified that US personnel in the country are engaged strictly in training programmes and not in independent military operations.
According to him, Nigeria regularly sends its own troops abroad for training, stressing that such exchanges are routine in military cooperation and should not be misinterpreted.
Responding to questions on how much the operation costs the Nigerian government, Gen. Onoja said “there’s no cost attached to it. The Americans are only interested in supporting us to fight terrorism”.
Heritage Times HT recalls that in early February, about 100 US soldiers arrived in Nigeria to train the West African nation’s armed forces and support with intelligence gathering, in the battle against growing security threats from Islamist militants and other armed groups.
The troops and equipment had landed at an airfield in the north-eastern state of Bauchi, Nigerian dDfence spokesperson Major General Samaila Uba said.
