The United States has indicated a readiness to help Nigeria identify sponsors of terrorism in the country. US Ambassador, Mary Leonard, disclosed that during a meeting with journalists Monday in Abuja. The envoy had been asked if the US was willing to help identify sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria.
Leonard replied that talks were ongoing on the matter. “That is something we are very eager to partner Nigeria on. I have had, at least, three conversations in the last two months on this subject. I won’t like to go into details.” She also allayed fear that the US partnership with Nigeria might end up like that of Afghanistan. The Taliban last month overthrew the Afghan government in spite overwhelming American military support. Leonard said Nigeria has had a strong bilateral relationship with the US, adding that the Nigerian and Afghan situations were not the same.
We welcome the US offer of help in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism. It is in a good position to do so. It has the technology and experience – tools we don’t have but desperately need in this war on terror. Before now, America had stood solidly with Nigeria in its counter terrorism campaign. For instance, last month, Washington delivered super fighter planes to the Nigerian Air Force. The A-29 Super Tucanos were sold to Nigeria to strengthen its fight against terrorism.
The US’ Chargé d’Affaires Kathleen FitzGibbon said this during the inspection of the first six American Sierra Nevada Corporation/Embraer Defense and Security A-29 “Super Tucano” light attack aircraft last month. A statement by United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria quoted FitzGibbon as saying that the aircraft represented “a historic level of cooperation” achieved between the U.S. and Nigerian militaries.
“Beyond the new hardware that you see on this runway, this program has brought our two militaries closer in formal training, professional development, air base construction, logistics planning, and negotiations. We are proud to partner with Nigeria in its ‘whole of government’ approach to end violent extremism and ensure a more stable, prosperous country for all Nigerians,” FitzGibbon added.
Ambassador Leonard, on her own part, said “The Super Tucano is a dual-pilot turboprop aircraft built as a workhorse combat air platform, equipped for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and for precision air-to-ground strike missions. The next six aircraft are scheduled for delivery later this year. The Super Tucano platform for Nigeria is the United States’ largest Foreign Military Sales program in Sub-Saharan Africa, valued at almost $500 million. This program follows the Department of Defense’s “Total Package Approach” model and includes spare parts for several years of operation, contract logistics support, munitions, and a multi-year construction project.”
The offer of help to identify the sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria is, therefore, America’s readiness to take this “constructive cooperation” to another level. Terrorism is a global security challenge that requires multilateral efforts at containing it. One of the ways is to identify those that fund terrorism and destroy them.
