Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet
To fight terrorism, insecurity Nigeria needs a holistic, regional approach, says top U.S diplomat
The United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, has called for a more regional and vigorous approach to fighting terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria and its neighboring countries. She described terrorism as ‘an evil thing; the way terrorists get into communities and destroy the fabric. But what we are trying to do now, what Nigeria is trying to do, is really integrate the air and ground approach to security …I think Nigeria with our support needs to address this in a holistic way.”
She argued that “We also need a regional approach to this problem because these terrorists are running across borders, we all need to work together.”
On the importance of Nigeria, Ms. Nuland said that “The way Nigeria goes, is the way the continent goes. So if Nigeria can become increasingly stable and secure, empowering its population, diversifying the economy and empowering the next generation, it will be a powerful engine not only for Nigeria but for the African continent and the democratic world.”
She held discussions on the 2023 elections with Nigerian officials and civil society groups, noting that “We have been focusing on a number of issues: security, free, fair and peaceful elections…. We also talked about our security relationship more broadly but at the high end in terms of the holistic approach to security… We (the U.S) are about to have a new delivery of helicopters as well. But we talked about the fact that security in our cooperation needs to be about countering terrorism at the high end but it also needs to be about what comes behind – better governance, better opportunity , driving out the ability of terrorists to make inroads to community.”
Ms. Nuland, who has been in the diplomatic services for 33 years, said this as she concluded visits to Djibouti, Mozambique, and Nigeria. Her visit started from June 11 to June 17, 2022. She assumed the position of Under Secretary for Political Affairs in April, 2021 with the Biden administration.
