Role Of The US In Our Fight With Terror
We must not fotget the inglorious role played by the US in frustrating our war with Boko Haram.
The refusal of the US to sell arms to Nigeria was cruelly coupled with simultaneous sabotage of our efforts by the same nation to purchase arms from other western sellers as it arms our northern neighbors!
This action on the part of the US was borne out of the fact that it wanted to refrain from boosting the strength of our military by all means! Reason for this being that we opposed the very essence of the US Africa Military Command, USAFRICOM,....located in Djibouti but now headquartered in Germany. Its commander did not fail to attend Buhari's inauguration. Of course, this irresponsible role played by the United States of America in frustrating the Jonathan government in the Boko Haram war must not be glossed over....for as they so did, they very knowingly aided and abetted the terrorists in wreaking havoc on hapless Nigerians!
For the US was not unaware that Boko Haram chose soft targets....bombing the daylight out of market women and houses of worship!
The US did worse.
The US intercepted our military signals and fed to Boko Haram, knowing fully well that a blame of "betrayal" would be laid on our military commanders...and leading Jonathan to declare that BH sympathizers were in the high echelons of his government!
It influenced human right bodies to write damning reports about our military chiefs on "gross violation of human rights of Boko Haram members" while maintaining an ominous silence on the gruesome atrocities of the terrorists!
It went further to influence the International Criminal Court to indict and level charges against our military officers while BH commanders were not similarly treated!
The Jonathan regime was so constrained it had to resort to "cash for arms" deals through third part players....a deal routed through South Africa. The US influenced South Africa in its weird seizure of such money for reasons other than what we all thought. That deal was literally "dead on arrival"!
President Jonathan had to look in the direction of China and Russia for arms after waiting on the US, a presumed friend, for so long....resulting in the rapid gains we had against Boko Haram during the last days of his administration.... after so many innocent Nigerians had been killed!
The US stopped buying our oil knowing fully well that we run an economy based almost solely on oil....on the pretext of possessing shale oil....as it beefed up oil purchases from, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other mid-east sellers. What a time to emasculate our source of funds....when we most needed it for the war effort!
There is nothing wrong in waiting on a friend.... But Jonathan learnt the hard way that with friends like the US, you do not need an enemy!
On the day of reckoning, we should know who our true friends are. The United States is surely not among our true friends!
The blood of our women raped and killed, and those of others....young and old...slaughtered like rams must be on their heads!.
The US had postulated that Nigeria would break up by 2015 and had worked and scheemed towards that goal ostensibly to have a foothold in northern Nigeria after the predicted breakup...for its AFRICOM!
The more reason why Jonathan's ready acceptance of the vote results and his public "hand-in-hand" walk with Buhari must be applauded. I suspect that that gesture was intended as a deserved slap in the face of the US, its sordid prophecy, its ignoble schemings and its allies!
The US punished the Jonathan administration for daring to embrace the eastern option for arms procurement by supporting Mohammadu Buhari against him....putting all its propaganda and "PR" machinery at his party's disposal.
The brief resurgence of BH attacks in the early stages of the Buhari administration was due to his decision to lead this nation back to its vomit...by going back to the US option.
We hope he succeeds....
History has shown that the west not only never supported the unity of Nigeria, it had taken concrete steps to stifle it.
So, as Buhari dines with the west, he must equip himself with a long spoon.
Dr Tosin Akindele is a medical practitioner and public affairs analyst.
POST SCRIPT
I just stumbled on an AIT news item where the Nigerian Chief of Air Staff was delivering an address to Senior Air force personnel. As I noticed the impressive array of epaulettes on the shoulders of these men as they appeared so grand in their shiny uniforms, I wondered what they....in their hundreds....preside over when our Air force can only boast of just a handful of Alpha jets!
As former Chief of Defence Staff Alex Bade confirms that he "presided over a poorly-armed military", and as cumulatively, billions of naira were disbursed for the military in the last few years, what happened to all these funds? Were they stolen by the military top brass?
It is so saddening that as senior officers stole monies meant for procurement of military hardware and were sadistic enough to kit their men with porous helmets and Kevlar vests, they were mindless enough to sentence their men to death en masse for taking to their heels on the war front as they literally "picked race" in the face of superior firepower of Boko Haram!
Thank goodness, reason prevailed in the end and the condemned soldiers were pardoned and recalled!
We must commend these soldiers for agreeing to yet again, serve under the same cruel officers who had so betrayed them in the past....
We hereby call on Mr President to extend the tentacles of the probe panels to reach and apprehend these evil men in military uniforms! Not sparing the army....and perhaps the navy...