Nigeria: Abuja & Washington Weigh Uneasy Ties

"Boko Haram poses no security threat to the U.S. homeland, but its attack on Nigeria, and the Abuja response characterized by extensive human rights violations, does challenge U.S. interests in Africa. ... If Nigeria's civilian government is to forestall an implosion involving Boko Haram and the 2015 elections, and to resume its positive regional role, it needs to end ubiquitous human rights abuses by official entities, orchestrate humanitarian relief to refugees and persons internally displaced by fighting in the north, and ensure credible elections that do not exacerbate internal conflict." - John Campbell, Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria

Since John Campbell retired from the Foreign Service after his final post in Nigeria from 2004 to 2007, he has been among the most outspoken of U.S. commentators on Nigeria. Now at the Council on Foreign Relations, his most recent commentary has again evoked angry responses from supporters of the current Nigerian government, and indicates some of the strains in the long-term alliance between the global superpower and its West African counterpart.

In a talk to the Council on Foreign Relations in early November, Nigerian Ambassador to the United States Prof. Ade Adefuye strongly criticized the failure of the United States to provide greater military support against Boko Haram, dismissing the claims of human rights abuses by the government as rumors "based largely on reports submitted by human rights groups and sections of the Nigerian media that have sympathy for the opposition parties" (see http://tinyurl.com/kz9d7md) for text of remarks).

The basic premises of Campbell's views, however, are shared by many other U.S., international, and Nigerian commentators who argue that the key obstacles to a successful Nigerian response to Boko Haram are not military resources such as funds and more advanced weaponry but rather political will and governance capacity, and that increased U.S. military involvement would have only marginal and likely negative effects.

Some contrast the highly successful Nigerian response earlier this year to curb the spread of Ebola (see below for links), and note that, unlike Ebola, the issue of Boko Haram is both divisive and closely linked with structural economic and governance issues in Nigeria, as well as with the political maneuvering leading up to national elections in February 2015.

This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains excerpts from Campbell's latest report, released by the Council on Foreign Relations in November.

A future AfricaFocus Bulletin, coming early next year, will feature a selection of excerpts from and links to a variety of other commentaries and analyses on the current Nigerian situation. Suggestions from readers are welcome. I am particularly interested in links to commentaries that are well-informed and nuanced but also understandable to readers who, like your editor, want to understand these important developments but are neither Nigerians nor specialists with in-depth background knowledge of Nigeria.

(Please send suggested links to africafocus@igc.org).

Among topics of interest as contextual background: the sharp drop in U.S. imports of oil from Nigeria, from over 30 million barrels a month in 2010 to less than 3 million barrels a month as of mid-2014 (see statistics at http://tinyurl.com/l9yz5zu).

For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on Nigeria, visit http://www.africafocus.org/country/nigeria.php For current news coverage of the complex political scene in Nigeria, visit http://saharareporters.com and http://allafrica.com/nigeria - Editor's Note

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Nigeria: Abuja & Washington Weigh Uneasy Ties