US bans Nigeria’s military
Chris Agbambu
Contrary to the expectations of many that the relationship between Nigeria and the United States of America would normalise after last month’s security scare by the U.S. which led to the closure of their consulate and that of six other European countries in Lagos, there seems to be no love lost between the two countries yet.
This is as a result of the U.S. renewed ban on the Nigerian military from undergoing training in their military institutions.
The American government had embargoed all forms of training and supply of spare parts to the military during the military regime of late General Sani Abacha.
The embargo was, however, lifted after the return of the country to democracy in 1999.
Following the lifting of the military assistance embargo, the American government signed an agreement with President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, for a military training team to be sent to Nigeria to assist in the re-professionalisation of the Armed Forces.
The initiative led to the sending of a team known as Military Professional Resource Institute (MPRI) comprising mainly of retired American military officers, with an office block at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
The arrangement, however, did not go down well with most senior military officers who argued that the team had nothing new to teach Nigerian soldiers having performed creditably in foreign operations, such as ECOMOG in Liberia and Sierra Leone which America never thought would have been possible.
But at the expiration of the MPRI tenure in 2003, the federal government rebuffed every attempt made by the U.S government to renew the training programme.
The refusal to renew the contract, it was gathered, did not go down well with the American government.
The renewed ban, according to military sources, is to create the impression in the international community that all is not well with Nigeria politically and that giving military training is like assisting them to derail democracy.
The American government is also said to have based its action on the fact of their security report, which revealed that the country might break up in the next 15 years with the military playing a very vital role.
Also, the ban apart from training will not allow for the importation of military spare parts for weapons and other platforms.
The U.S government had in 1999, promised to assist the Nigerian Airforce in making its transport planes, C130 Hercules, by providing spare parts worth over $125,000.
But the assistance was however short-lived, as America immediately suspended action after the shipment of the first consignment of the spare parts worth about $20,000.
Already the federal government and the military are looking forward to other friendly countries in Asia and the East to assist in the training of the military officers due for courses.
Meanwhile so many officers from the services due to attend staff and command courses as well as war college courses are affected by the ban.
Currently quite a number of officers from the armed forces are attending their command and staff colleges and war colleges in India, London, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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