US Plans To Improve Aid To Troubled Northern Nigeria

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The United States has expressed plans to give succour to people in the troubled Northern Nigeria, especially Muslims, who may have suffered from myriad of attacks by Boko Haram insurgents, huhuonline.com has learnt.

US assistant secretary of state for Africa, Johnnie Carson, at a session with Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said there is an intention to open a consulate in the crisis-ridden Kano state to promote education and other social programs in the North.

Carson, who said is that he opposed a terrorist designation of the Boko Haram sect, also dismissed assessments from some quarters that Islamic religion was a force behind the insurgence that has claimed over 1,000 lives and leaving many injured.

'We need a presence in the north diplomatically but it would also give us an opportunity to expand our development assistance activities into the north.

'The government must also promote respect for human rights by its security forces, whose heavy-handed tactics and extra-judicial killings reinforce the belief that Abuja is insensitive to the concerns of the north.

'The appointment of credible northerners to lead the government response to northern grievances would be an important and tangible step toward reversing that perception.

'As Boko Haram is focused primarily on local Nigerian issues and actors, they respond principally to political and security developments within Nigeria.'

Recall that following Boko Haram's continued attacks on the Nigerian nation, some legislators in the US canvassed for the immediate labelling of the sect as a terrorist group, and urged the United States to crack-down on Al-Qaeda-linked groups, including Boko Haram.