Some Northern leaders have urged the Nigerian government led by President Bola Tinubu not to allow the United States, US, and French governments to relocate their military bases from the Sahel to Nigeria
They cautioned that allowing the US and French government carry out such move posed danger to Nigeria.
This was contained in a letter addressed to Tinubu and the National Assembly.
Signatories to the letter included 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, 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).
In the letter, they claimed that the US and French governments have allegedly been lobbying Nigeria and other countries in the region, to sign new defence pacts allowing them to redeploy their expelled troops.
“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 leaders said.
They 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.