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Top northern leaders have written to President Bola Tinubu, demanded that he reject the relocation of United States and French military bases from the Sahel to Nigeria.
In a letter addressed to President Tinubu and the National Assembly leaders, the northern elders urged the federal government to resist such pressures.
The letter stated that the US and France are lobbying Nigeria and other Gulf of Guinea nations for defence agreements to station troops previously in Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Niger Republic.
The northern leaders are worried that Nigeria might agree to this defence pact and jeopardise its defence and security.
The letter highlighted that US operations in Sahel have not curbed terrorism, which has grown since the military base was established.
Signatories to the letter include Abubakar Mohammed of the Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training (CEDDERT); Kabiru Chafe, former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, from the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP); Attahiru Jega, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Jibrin Ibrahim of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD); Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani) of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CCISLAC); and YZ Ya’u of the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD).
The letter said the operations of the Western forces to uproot terrorists from the Sahel region have so far been “quite unimpressive, if not a complete failure”.
“This is for the simple reason that terrorism, far from abating, has in fact risen dramatically since the US began its operations in the region,” the letter said.
The leaders also expressed concerns about the economic and environmental impacts of hosting foreign military bases.
“Economically, the presence of these bases could potentially divert government funds and resources away from critical areas such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure development toward maintaining and securing these military installations.
“This redirection of resources could stunt economic growth and exacerbate poverty in a country where much of the population already lives under challenging conditions,” they said.
