U.S. Signals Willingness to Expand Military Cooperation With Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria — As Nigeria
swore in Muhammadu Buhari as the new president on Friday, the Obama
administration signaled that it was prepared to expand military
cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram.
Secretary of State John Kerry,
who led the American delegation at the inauguration, discussed
cooperation against Boko Haram in a short meeting on Friday with Mr.
Buhari.
“Something
we can do quickly is to send advisers,” said a senior State Department
official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under the department’s
protocol for briefing reporters. “It could be related to intelligence;
it could be something very simple, related to things like logistics.”
“We certainly hope to be able to do more,” the official added.
Dignitaries from more than 30 nations attended the inauguration of the 72-year-old Mr. Buhari. The ceremony, which marked Nigeria’s
first transition of power from one political party to another since the
end of military rule in 1999, was held in Eagle Square.
Wearing a traditional Muslim gown, and holding a Quran, Mr. Buhari promised to uphold Nigeria’s Constitution.
“I belong to everybody, and I belong to nobody,” he said in his inaugural address, highlighting his anticorruption theme.
Mr. Buhari also promised to persevere until “Boko Haram is completely subdued.”
Nigeria,
Africa’s most populous nation and its largest oil producer, faces
several economic problems, which have been aggravated by corruption and
poor security.
Concern
over Boko Haram, radical Islamists who have been mounting deadly
attacks against government and civilian targets for years, grew after
its April 2014 abduction nearly 300 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok.
That abduction led to a widely publicized “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign, which was aimed at raising international concern about the kidnapping and which Michelle Obama supported in a White House radio address. Some of the girls escaped, but most have not returned home.
Since
then, Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, the
terrorist group that has proclaimed a caliphate in much of Iraq and
Syria. Boko Haram is not believed to be an integral part of the Islamic
State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, although the militants have helped
Boko Haram create its video propaganda.
Despite
concern about Boko Haram, the United States’ efforts to expand military
cooperation with Nigeria diminished during the presidency of Goodluck
Jonathan, who was defeated in the March election.
American
officials expressed frustration with human rights abuses and corruption
in Nigeria’s military, and Mr. Jonathan’s government complained that
the United States was intervening in its internal affairs.
As
tensions grew, the number of American drone flights that the
administration arranged to help search for the kidnapped girls dwindled,
as did the number of American intelligence and security advisers sent
to help Nigerian forces.
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