For more on this story, we can bring in Uluwole Ojewale
coordinator of West and Central Africa at the Institute of Security Studies
Thank you very much for being with us on France 24. I wanted to start off by asking you
to what extent is Nigeria cooperating with the US in the fight against jihadist groups
Thank you so much for having me. I think events of the last few days have shown that Nigeria
has cast a new relationship in terms of security cooperation with the U.S
by some two major events that I think have taken place. One is the fact that after President Trump made their global statement
about the terrorist persecution of Christians in Nigeria and the fallout of the bilateral relationship
the Office of the National Security Advisor of Nigeria traveled to the U.S
had some briefings with the Department of War, the secretary, and engaged even the congressmen
And at the same time, members of Congress have traveled to Nigeria and undertook what I would consider like an on-the-spot assessment
in terms of what they consider to be the state of insecurity in the country
An official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria shows that the last strike that was carried out in the last 24 hours in Sokoto state in northwestern part of Nigeria was a collaborative effort, at least as stated by the official statement from the government, from the authorities in Nigeria
So I think to a reasonable extent, there is a serious commitment to security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States of America now
And do you think this is all down to that pressure from Donald Trump
And do you agree with his assessment that the Nigerian government isn't doing enough to protect its citizens from jihadist groups
Yes I wouldn say Nigeria government is probably not doing enough But the truth of the matter is that the data available shows that there have been a rise on the attack by various criminal groups in the country
And it's an accumulative effect of what has been going on for years in terms of limited presence of the state in areas where these activities, criminal activities, are taking place
So by the data, even without Donald Trump, it goes to, I mean, there is a substantial evidence that shows that attacks have been on the increase in the past five to six years now
I think where there is a bit of disagreement between both parties is the framing of the nature of the insecurity in the country
why President Trump is fixated on the binary framing of the security challenges
as attacks targeted Christians. I think at the domestic front, that's as a serious political fallout
And it's the reason why I think the states, the authorities are trying to push back
to frame it in such a way that the whole world will know that the terrorist attacks that are going on in Nigeria are not selective
in terms of who they choose to be their targets. Two less than 48 hours ago, there was an attack in the northeastern part of Nigeria, where reportedly about five persons died and about 35 persons were also hospitalized
So these are the diverges in terms of the framing of insecurity in the country
But I think strip of the religious and sectarian elements, people of different faith and ethnic groups are actually affected by insecurity in the country
So are we seeing then a change in US strategy or deeper involvement of the US in Africa or Nigeria in particular
Yes, I think for many reasons. Nigeria is about a major country in the region that no international partner will want to push aside considering the share population the market size and even the possibility of cooperating on security issues
particularly the West African region. And the fact that recent events that are happening in the West African region
shows the role that Nigeria can play, as we have seen in the recent time in the Sahara and even in Dene
and why it is very, very important for international partners, for countries and states to actually forge such partnership with Nigeria
I think where there is that the issue is the geopolitical framing of what is going on and what is the American interest in all this
Is it about religion or the other east-west convergence of issues in terms of who Nigeria chooses to be partnering with
what America considers to be its own priority in the region. But I think America sees Nigeria as a country
that should be a major partner in security and trade and other areas
It is just that they are approaching the recent time that I think is creating a serious backlash
And this all, you know, as experts say, the epicentre of jihadism has kind of shifted from the Middle East
to the central Sahel region. How have these groups managed to gain such a strong foothold here
Yes, I think in the enlightened interest of Nigeria as a state
it should be interested in what happens in the Sahel because those issues are fast speculating in the littoral state of West Africa
And Nigeria has become a major recipient of such fallout in the recent time
The breakdown of security cooperation between Nigeria and Nigeria as a result of the failed promised military intervention during the military incursion into polities in Niger in 2023
has affected the multinational joint tax force that Nigeria Niger Kameru and Chad put together to provide cross collaboration between those partners
And that has affected the rate at which harms trafficking, border porosity has accentuated
the state of conflict in Nigeria now. Coupled with the fact that Nigeria also is battling with its own internal security challenges
challenges. I think this has created a conflagration that Nigeria is struggling to really address now
And generally, yes, there are a significant number of foreign fighters. I think one report put it at
about over 5,000 foreign fighters that have returned from Midou, Syria, and other conflict
theaters into the Sahel region. And events that is unfolding in the Sahel clearly shows that
This is now a major security threat that has also expanded the fault lines of insecurity in the region
Bene, Togo, Ghana, northern corridors of those countries have come under severe attack now
And to the extent to which there's a failure of defense and security in those countries
it's also peculating into Nigeria. JINIM, a terrorist group that has gained foot-hold in the Sahel for a long while now
executed their first lone attack in north-central part of Nigeria a few months ago
I think these are part of the expansionist agenda of the Jihadist group
who also, I believe strongly, have Nigeria on their front line in terms of targeting
And it goes to show the reason why the Nigeria government needs to look for her form of security partnership
and cooperation to address the expansionist threats of Jihadist group, homegrown in Nigeria
and those ones that are spreading from central Sahara into Nigeria and other littoral states of West Africa
Indeed. Oluwole Ojewale from the Institute for Security Studies, thank you very much for your ysis there