Recent rhetoric between Nigeria and the United States has been all but friendly following diplomatic fallout over Nigeria’s claim that the US has been hampering, rather than supporting, its fight against terrorism. The fallout has cast a shadow over the growing business relationship between Africa’s largest economy and the world’s largest economy.

Earlier this week, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the US, Ade Adefuye, accused the US of sabotaging Nigeria’s fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east of the country.

“I am sad to inform you that the Nigerian leadership, military and political, and even the general populace, are not satisfied with the scope, nature and content of the US’ support to us in our struggle against terrorism,” he said to a delegation of the US Council on Foreign Relations on Monday.

However, the US has refuted Nigeria’s claims, stating instead that it has increased its military assistance to the West African country.

Jen Psaki denies the US is hindering Nigeria's military efforts against the insurgency
Jen Psaki denies the US is hindering Nigeria’s military efforts against the insurgency

In a response to a question about Ambassador Adefuye’s claims, US Department of State spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said in a Wednesday briefing; “Let me just lay out the facts of our assistance. Over the past six months, the United States has started sharing intelligence with Nigeria, began training a new army battalion and held numerous high-level discussions with Nigerian authorities on additional measures to best address the Boko Haram threat.

“We have also provided and approved sales of military equipment to its armed forces. These decisions are made, of course, after careful scrutiny to ensure they conform with United States law,” she added.

But Psaki did not deny that the US refused to sell arms, like the widely reported Cobra attack helicopters, to the Nigerian armed forces. She gave the reason as the concern that the Nigerian military had no capacity to operate and maintain the military hardware. She also said there were concerns over the protection of civilians during military operations.


The Cobra Attack Helicopters that Nigeria claims it badly needs, But US says it can’t sell

Adefuye had earlier insisted that the human rights accusations against the Nigerian military are largely unfounded and described the assistance from the US as too little to significantly impact the Nigerian effort to restore peace and security in the troubled region.

The current disconnect between the strategic partners is totally different from the positive mood of increased business cooperation inspired in part by the US-Africa summit held in Washington DC in August. At that summit, held to boost US investment in Africa, the US government facilitated several business deals between Nigerian and American companies.

There are now worries that the current diplomatic wrangling could affect the growing business relationship between both nations. Psaki tried to play down such fears, reiterating Nigeria’s status as an important ally to the US. “We’ll continue to look for ways to deepen our cooperation with Nigeria to help it acquire the systems and skills needed to restore peace and security. But obviously, we’ve provided a great deal of assistance over the past several months,” she claimed.

Nigeria's Ambassador to the US insists Nigeria wants close ties.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to the US insists Nigeria wants close ties.

Nigeria’s Ambassador, despite his criticism of the US, also made it clear the country wanted to maintain close ties with US. He described the US as a major pillar of support in the struggle against the terrorists, even as he asked for more support.

Nigeria has a history of friendly but complicated relations with the US. While the former has long-held suspicions over America’s desire to dictate its domestic affairs, especially in areas such as gay and reproductive rights; the latter continues to hold deep reservations over human rights and governance standards in Nigeria.

However, it seems both countries will not allow these suspicions and reservations, or the current disagreements in security assistance, to get in the way of their budding business relationship.

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