Nigerian intellectuals warn Tinubu’s govt against hosting US, French military bases

Several prominent Nigerian intellectuals have sent an open letter to the country’s president and the National Assembly, urging them to tread with maximum caution over an alleged signing of a defense pact with the United States and France to establish their military bases in the West African country.

The coalition, without providing evidence, accused Washington and Paris of lobbying authorities in the Gulf of Guinea countries, especially Nigeria, for defense agreements to allow them to relocate their troops expelled from the Sahel states. In a letter dated 3 May, the so-called northern leaders urged the federal government to resist such pressures, citing concerns over jeopardizing Nigeria’s national security, as well as economic and environmental degradation. The letter also highlighted that US and French operations in Sahel have not curbed terrorism, arguing the insecurity has grown since the military bases in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger were established.

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) sought to remind that since the abrogation of the UK-Nigeria defense pact in the 1960s, the country has resisted all attempts to recreate military bases in Nigeria. The NNPP also stressed the need to maintain a cordial relationship with affected neighboring Sahel countries, suggesting that any defense pact with either the US or France could impact negatively on Nigeria’s existing regional relationships, aggravate already damaged bilateral relations, and thereby disrupt regional equilibrium and peace. African leaders have recently gathered for a high-level counter-terrorism meeting in Nigeria and pledged to collaborate against terrorism. But experts say with troops leaving the region, armed groups are likely to intensify their attacks.