USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet
The United States government has restated that it has no plans or intentions of establishing a military base in Nigeria. It made this point following the withdrawal of American troops from Niger republic.
This was communicated by the Element Lead for Coordination at U.S – Africa Command (AFRICOM), Major General Kenneth Eckman, during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday August 23, 2024.
He said that “There are no plans for a U.S. base here in Nigeria. I recognize it is a popular concern. I recognize that the presence of U.S. forces comes with costs and benefits, depending on the context but I just want to reassure you there are no plans.”
General Eckman added that his visit to Nigeria is focused on addressing security challenges in the Sahel region.
He said, “I am aware of no discussions between U.S. and Nigerian authorities on placing a U.S. base in Nigeria as a result of the Niger withdrawal. I want to be perfectly clear on that. However, the problem we’re trying to solve is Sahelian-based violent extremism, and if the U.S. is not functioning in Niger, the question is then where should we be? That’s what led us to an outside-in approach relative to the Sahel. And then anytime you talk about outside-in, the important question is what is Nigeria’s role, given the strength of the nation, given the closeness of our partnership. So it’s a very natural question. And I’m not surprised that some people assumed that there were discussions going on about this.”
He pointed out that “As military strategists, we talk about key terrain. And right now the key terrain dealing with ISIS-Sahel and with JNIM is in the tri-border region that includes the western part of Niger and also Burkina Faso. That terrain is very important. Just ask our Burkinabe partners. That partnership, as you know, has waned. So what we are doing is boosting our cooperation with Cote-d’Ivoire, Ghana and other allies with more training and collaboration.”
USAfricaonline.com notes that west Africa and especially the Sahel region are becoming more complicated for a number of countries.
