Some prominent northern politicians have spoken out against the development of French and American military bases in Nigeria, following their forced departure from Francophone West African neighbours Niger Republic, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
One of the leaders, Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, warned that Nigeria was “setting itself up for battle” with Russia, which now has a military presence in the Niger Republic after the junta expelled French and American personnel.
Prof 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 on Monday, 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.”
‘Threat To National Security’
Of late, Prof Ibrahim and some eminent northern leaders wrote a letter to President Bola Tinubu warning against the suspected relocation of French and American military bases from the three coup-torn Sahel countries to Nigeria.
Other leaders who signed the letter include Prof Attahiru Jega, who is a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Prof Abubakar Mohammed of the Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training (CEDDERT), Zaria; Prof Kabiru Chafe, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources; Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani) of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CCISLAC) Abuja.
The leaders claimed that they have intelligence that the American and French governments have been lobbying the Nigerian side to site their military bases following their inglorious exit from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic by the junta-led regime.
Prof Ibrahim alleged that the US and France use the military bases to monitor happenings in this part of Africa and that Nigeria is a strategic option for them being near to the Niger Republic.
He said the establishment of any foreign military bases in Nigeria is dangerous for the country’s national security having had a strained relationship with ex-brother ECOWAS nations Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in the last few months.
The three countries, having sent about 1,500 French and 1,000 American troops packing, have pitched their tent with Russia and allowed Moscow troops on their soil.
Prof Ibrahim said Nigeria can have military relationships with France and the United States but Nigeria should be neutral knowing well that Russia and the US are rivals.
He described as a relief, the clarification provided by the Nigerian Government on Monday that it is not considering establishing any foreign military base in Nigeria.