By Seyi Odewale
Controversy has trailed an alleged report that the Federal Government was considering siting a foreign military base in Nigeria.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement yesterday described the report as false.
The Minister said, “The Federal Government is aware of false alarms being raised in some quarters alleging discussions between the Federal Government of Nigeria and some foreign countries on the siting of foreign military bases in the country. We urge the general public to disregard this falsehood,” the minister said.
Some northern leaders had in a letter cautioned President Bola Tinubu against allowing the United States and the French governments to relocate their military bases from the Sahel to Nigeria, saying accepting such a proposal would pose dangers to the country.
In his statement, the Information Minister said, “The Federal Government is not in any such discussion with any foreign country. We have neither received nor are we considering any proposals from any country on the establishment of any foreign military bases in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian government already enjoys foreign cooperation in tackling ongoing security challenges, and the President remains committed to deepening these partnerships, to achieve the national security objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
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Stemming from the alleged report, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, said the idea of the United States establishing a military base in Nigeria is “the last thing that Nigeria wants”.
Akinyemi said this during an interview on Arise News yesterday, adding that such a move will maximise Nigeria’s problems.
“I am shocked about this development and I hope it is not true. We have a long history of attempts at installing a military base in Nigeria. This would not be the first time that there would be an attempt to have a military base in Nigeria if it is true that there is such an attempt.
“The last thing Nigeria wants is to have a military base by a superpower in Counterpoise to another superpower because in a way, Russia moving into Niger, into Mali, into Burkina Faso, the United States moving into Nigeria brings us right into confrontation with each other and that’s the last thing we want.
“I know that we have problems with the jihadists, with ISIS, we have security problems but the solution is not for us to be in confrontation with another superpower. We will maximise our problems. Therefore I hope it is not true.”
He opined that France and the United States have not been beneficial in the Sahel, otherwise, countries like Chad and Niger would not have asked the United States to withdraw their troops from their country.
“If the presence of France and the United States had been beneficial in the Sahel, those countries would not be asking them to leave. They have not found it beneficial, that’s number one.
“Number two, all you’ve done is to bring the jihadists and ISIS, and the East-West, to bring them further down towards Nigeria. Right now, Mali and the other countries have been a buffer between us and ISIS. Now that you would be removing the United States and what have you, you’ve brought them right into the border with Nigeria.”
Speaking on whether a rejection of the military base establishment proposal by Nigeria will affect its diplomatic relationship with the United States, he said, “This is not the first time that Nigeria and the United States would have a conversation on this issue of having a military base.
“There was a time when the United States raised this issue of having a West African base for the United States and several West African countries were consulted and at the end of the day, Nigeria turned down the proposal.
“The interest of Nigeria is not the only country that is going to be affected if we decide to have an American base in Nigeria. Nigeria and the United States have a broad-based interest that overrides just having a military base. After all, when we turned down the British base in 1960, our relationship did not come crashing down. It continued. We will simply reformat our relationship.”
He also said, “Don’t let us export our problems. I know we have problems within the Nigerian armed forces, let us sort that out. Let’s not sort it out by bringing the Americans. You bring in the Americans, you bring them in with their problems. We shouldn’t do that.”
Similarly, a prominent northern leader, Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, warned that Nigeria would be “setting itself up for battle” with Russia, which now has a military presence in the Niger Republic following the expulsion of French and American forces by the junta in the country.
Ibrahim, a scholar and senior fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development, argued that the presence of French and American military bases in Nigeria won’t help the fight against terrorism in any way as claimed by some proponents of the move.
He submitted that the presence of American and French troops in the Sahel for over a decade has not in any way suppressed the activities of terror groups Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, and others.
The scholar, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme yesterday, said Nigeria cannot afford to lose its sovereignty to foreign powers or be in a situation where the country’s neutrality to superpowers would be lost.
He said, “The French were in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger for 12 years. During that period, terrorism grew, it became completely out of control, arms to terrorists continued to flow, and they (insurgents) were controlling more and more territories.
“So, this argument that it (the French presence) will help resolve the problem of terrorism, why haven’t they done that in all the other countries where they have gone to (offer) so-called help on terrorism? We know empirically that it’s a false claim that they will help in the fight against terrorism.”
