The New York Times on Wednesday called
on American lawmakers to block the United
States’proposed sale of 12 versatile new
warplanes to Nigeria.
on American lawmakers to block the United
States’proposed sale of 12 versatile new
warplanes to Nigeria.
In the powerful editorial, ‘Block the Sale of
Warplanes to Nigeria,’ the newspaper argued that
making the sale would be a mistake on the part of
the United States, as President
Muhammadu Buhari has not done enough to end
corruption or to respond to charges of war crimes
violations against the Nigerian Army.
Warplanes to Nigeria,’ the newspaper argued that
making the sale would be a mistake on the part of
the United States, as President
Muhammadu Buhari has not done enough to end
corruption or to respond to charges of war crimes
violations against the Nigerian Army.
“To defeat Boko Haram, which preys on citizens’
anger at the government, Mr. Buhari will need
more than weapons,” it stressed. “He has to get
serious about improving governance and providing
jobs, roads and services in every region of Nigeria.
Until then or until Congress develops ways to
monitor the planes’ use, it should block the sale.”
anger at the government, Mr. Buhari will need
more than weapons,” it stressed. “He has to get
serious about improving governance and providing
jobs, roads and services in every region of Nigeria.
Until then or until Congress develops ways to
monitor the planes’ use, it should block the sale.”
Full text of the editorial
Fourteen months after the election of President
Muhammadu Buhari in Nigeria, the Obama
administration is considering selling his
government 12 warplanes. It is a thorny decision
because Mr. Buhari is an improvement over his
disastrous predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, and is
fighting Boko Haram, the Islamist extremists who
have terrorized the region. But he has not done
enough to end corruption and respond to charges
that the army has committed war crimes in its
fight against the group. Selling him the planes now
would be a mistake.
Under Mr. Buhari, Nigeria has cooperated more
with Chad and Niger to fight Boko Haram. The
group, which emerged in the early 2000s, has
seized land in the northeastern, predominantly
Muslim section of Nigeria. Thousands of people
have been killed and 2.2 million displaced. The
group’s depravity captured world attention in 2014
when it kidnapped 276 girls from a secondary
school.
While violence is down and some territory has
been recaptured, the group continues to attack
remote villages and refugee camps, and it is using
women and children as suicide bombers. American
military officials say that Boko Haram has begun
collaborating with the Islamic State and that the
groups could be planning attacks on American
allies in Africa.
Yet Nigeria’s government cannot be entrusted with
the versatile new warplanes, which can be used for
ground attacks as well as reconnaissance. Its
security services have long engaged in extrajudicial
killings, torture and rape, according to the State
Department’s latest annual human rights
report. Amnesty International says that during the
army’s scorched-earth response to Boko Haram
between 2011 and 2015, more than 8,200 civilians
were murdered, starved or tortured to death.
The Obama administration was so concerned
about this record that two years ago it blocked
Israel’s sale of American-made Cobra attack
helicopters to Nigeria and ended American training
of Nigerian troops. American officials even
hesitated to share intelligence with the military,
fearing it had been infiltrated by Boko Haram. That
wariness has eased and American officials say they
are now working with some Nigerian counterparts.
Since winning election on a reform platform,
Mr. Buhari has moved to root out graft and to
investigate human rights abuses by the military.
But the State Department said Nigerian “authorities
did not investigate or punish the majority of cases
of police or military abuse” in 2015.
That hardly seems like an endorsement for selling
the aircraft. Tim Rieser, a top aide to Senator
Patrick Leahy, who wrote the law barring American
aid to foreign military units accused of abuses,
told The Times that “we don’t have confidence in
the Nigerians’ ability to use them in a manner that
complies with the laws of war and doesn’t end up
disproportionately harming civilians, nor in the
capability of the U.S. government to monitor their
use.”
To defeat Boko Haram, which preys on citizens’
anger at the government, Mr. Buhari will need
more than weapons. He has to get serious about
improving governance and providing jobs, roads
and services in every region of Nigeria. Until then
or until Congress To defeat Boko Haram, which
preys on citizens’ anger at the government,
Mr. Buhari will need more than weapons. He has
to get serious about improving governance and
providing jobs, roads and services in every region
of Nigeria. Until then or until Congress develops
ways to monitor the planes’ use, it should block
the sale.
Source:
http://saharareporters.com/2016/05/18/sell-no-warplanes-nigeria-new-york-times-urges-congress
