Members of the boko haram sect
Commander
of the United States Africa Command, Gen. Carter Ham, has confirmed
that the US has deployed its intelligence machinery to support Nigeria
in fighting the threat posed by violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram.
Ham, who spoke in an interview session
with a Nigerian media delegation in Stuttgart on Friday, said the
support followed a request from the Nigerian authorities.
The AFRICOM commander, who assumed the
post in 2011, however, declined to give the details of the partnership
with the Nigerian military against the terrorist group.
Ham was asked to specify if there had
been a specific intelligence request from the Federal Government to
curtail the violence of the militant sect.
He said, “Yes, we are working with the
Nigerian Army to tackle the activities of Boko Haram in the area of
intelligence support. We are committed to ensuring that we partner with
others to end terrorism anywhere in the work.”
He however added that the intelligence
capabilities of the US had been rated out of proportion, saying despite
its avowed intelligence capabilities, it took the Americans a long time
to apprehend Osama bin Laden.
The AFRICOM commander said, “The
intelligence capability of the US, on most occasions, is usually taken
out of proportions and overrated. Despite our capabilities and
technology, it took us more than 10 years to get bin Laden. The exercise
took a huge amount of funds dedicated for that purpose.
“So, the US intelligence is not automatic but we are working with the Nigerian authorities to curtail terrorist activities.”
He added that the US had also been
collaborating with the Nigerian military to stem the growing trend of
maritime crimes like piracy, illegal bunkering and oil theft among
others.
Ham, who hailed the professionalism and
the recognition given to women in the Nigerian military, believed that
Nigeria had a lot to offer other African countries in terms of
leadership.
He dismissed the notion that the US
established AFRICOM in 2008 to monitor and manipulate the military and
security agencies of African nations.
Ham said, “Our intention stemmed from
the fact that Africa had become too important to be ignored; with a
population of one billion and 54 countries which is a quarter of the UN.
It is also the seventh growing economies in the world.
“So, our intention has been to assist in
building and improving the military capabilities of the African
military to be able to compete favourably.
“President Barak Obama believes that
African problems are better solved by Africa. We are not planning any
military base in Africa because it costs to lot of money to do that. We
do not want to increase spending; we want to reduce it.”
PUNCH
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