Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon
A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon(retd.), has taken a swipe at the United States
on its refusal to sell arms to Nigeria to fight the
insurgency by the Islamic group, Boko Haram.
Gowon, in an interview criticised the
US for not selling military hardware
to Nigeria, saying if the US was truly a
diplomatic friend to Nigeria, it should do
everything possible to keep the corporate
existence of Nigeria.
This, according to him, includes assisting Nigeria
to fight aggression from any quarter.
The US had on November 12, 2014, defended its
refusal to sell cobra helicopters to Nigeria,
saying the Federal Government was free to buy
fighter jets from any other country.
The State Department’s spokeswoman, Jen
Psaki, said, “Nigeria has purchased helicopters
that originated in countries other than the US
and nothing in our decision prevents Nigeria from
obtaining weapons and equipment from other
sources,”
Psaki had reacted to the allegation by the
Nigerian Ambassador to the US, Prof. Adebowale
Adefuye, that Washington declined to sell arms
to Nigeria.
Adefuye had told members of the Council on
Foreign Relations on November 10 that
Washington was not doing enough to assist
Nigeria in combating the Boko Haram insurgency
in North-East geopolitical zone of the country.
He said, “The U.S. government has up till today
refused to grant Nigeria’s request to purchase
lethal equipment that would have brought down
the terrorists within a short time on the basis of
the allegations that Nigeria’s defence forces
have been violating human rights of Boko Haram
suspects when captured or arrested.
“We find it difficult to understand how and why,
in spite of the U.S. presence in Nigeria, with their
sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram
should be expanding and becoming more
deadly.”
But Psaki had stated that the US refused to sell
the helicopters to Nigeria due to concerns about
the ability of the military to use and maintain
them.
The cobra is a combat aircraft with the ability to
climb at the rate of 8.2metres per second. It is
equipped with a 20 mm M197 3-barrelled Gatling
cannon in the A/A49E-7 turret (750 rounds
ammo capacity).
The spokeswoman also said there were ongoing
concerns about Nigerian military’s protection of
civilians when conducting military operations,
adding that these had been discussed with the
Nigerian authorities.
Gowon, while speaking to one of our
correspondents, however, alleged that the US did
same to the Nigerian government during the Civil
War, when it refused to sell fighter jets to Nigeria
to stop Biafra’s bomber jets.
As the military Head of State, Gowon had
prosecuted the Nigerian civil war, aka Biafran
War, which began on July 6, 1967 and ended on
January 15, 1970.
The war was declared after an attempted
secession by the Eastern Region of the country,
which declared itself the ‘Republic of Biafra.’
Gowon said, “The same thing happened during
the Civil War. The Americas refused to sell arms
to us. I wanted them to help me with some
modest aircraft so that I could chase out
Ojukwu’s (Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu) B52 or B56
as they called it. That was all I wanted; not to
shoot it down but to chase it away so that it
does not drop bombs and kill innocent people.
“But the Americans refused to help us and they
even refused to sell arms and ammunitions and
the spare parts of the equipment that we got
from them. And at the same time, they (America)
were shipping aircraft and loads of arms and
ammunition to Zaire. What sort of friends are
they?
“You call them your friends and they say that
they are helping us to fight terror. We don’t want
their people (Americans) to come and fight the
war (against Boko Haram) for us but, at least,
we need the equipment.
“During my time (as Head of State), I had to go
to the Russians to get the equipment we wanted
in order to prosecute that war. If they cannot
help us, they should allow us to go elsewhere
and get what we want to ensure that we deal
with this particular problem.”
A former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col.
Abubakar Umar (retd.), corroborated Gowon,
while decrying that Western allies, who were
paying much attention to the Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria in the Middle East, “have decided
to turn a blind eye to what is happening in
Nigeria.”
He pointed out that Boko Haram is to Nigeria
what ISIS is to the Middle East, saying they both
threaten global peace and security.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also backed
Adefuye’s position on arms purchase from the
US.
The Director, Public Communication Division,
Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ahmedu Ogbole-Ode, said
the Nigerian ambassador had said it all on the
relationship between Nigeria and America.
“Our ambassador to the US has spoken. He did
not send himself there, so there is nothing more
for me to add,” he said.
The US, however, said despite its insistence on
not selling arms to Nigeria, it was committed to
helping the country address the threat posed by
Boko Haram and other violent extremist
organisations.
The Press Attache, US Embassy, Abuja, Sean
McIntosh, in his response on why the US avoids
supporting Nigeria internal wars,
said his country had been working
and continued to work with Nigerian authorities
to provide assistance with humanitarian
programmes, intelligence and strategic
communications.
When asked to also explain the US policy that
states America’s non-committal posture to
Nigeria and to name other West African countries
affected by the policy, McIntosh said the US had
continued to advise the Federal Government to
adopt a comprehensive approach to violent
extremists.
He said such approach emphasises respect for
human rights including the freedom of religion,
prioritises civilian security, and responds to the
needs of victimised communities.
McIntosh listed the assistance rendered to
Nigeria by the US to include the provision of
$19m for the vulnerable and conflict-affected
households in Nigeria by the American
government in 2014.
He said, “More than $7m from the US Agency for
International Development’s Office of Foreign
Disaster Assistance supports health, water and
sanitation services; the delivery of emergency
relief supplies and protection activities for women
and children in north-eastern Nigeria.
“USAID/Food for Peace has provided nearly $7m
in emergency food assistance and the US
Department of State has provided more than
$5m to fund protection activities in affected
areas.
“In addition, the US government provided more
than $54m in humanitarian assistance in
Cameroon, Chad and Niger, targeting refugee
populations from neighbouring countries,
including Nigeria.”
The American embassy spokesman explained
that the USAID was also in the process of
starting two new programmes that would
address critical educational needs for both boys
and girls in northern Nigeria.
These, according to McIntosh, include a ‘crisis
response’ programme to be funded with about
$20m to $30m. He said the programme would
reach out with basic education to internally-
displaced persons and others affected by the
violence in the north-east, including Bauchi,
Gombe, and Adamawa states.
“The programmes also include a ‘flagship’ five-
year education programme that will strengthen
systems to provide greater access and learning
(increasing reading skills) for primary school
children, principally in Sokoto and Bauchi, and
other states of the North as conditions allow,”
he explained.
McIntosh stated that two additional large USAID
projects focused on maternal and child health
and democracy and governance are
geographically co-located in Bauchi and Sokoto
states in an effort to maximise their
developmental impact. He added that expansion
into additional post-conflict states would be
considered as conditions and resources allow.
Source: PUNCH
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