The national security adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu said the allegation by the Nigerien military leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani that the Nigerian government was in league with France to destabilise the country (Niger) is surprising and baseless.
Recall that Tchiani had recently accused Nigeria of colluding with France to destabilise his country.
Tchiani, who made the allegations on Christmas Day in an address, accused France of meddling in West African region’s political affairs.
He alleged that the administration of President Tinubu had conspired with France to cause crisis in the former French territory through a proxy, the Lakurawa terrorists.
“President Tinubu should come out and tell Nigerians how much he collected from France. If he refuses to do so, there will be a day of reckoning. Allah is watching.
“ECOWAS has been out of control. It has merely become a puppet of the French authorities. France dictates to it as it pleases. This is because the leaders of ECOWAS countries are power-hungry people.
“From the Nigerian president to those of Benin, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire — they all go to France whenever elections are around. They go and bow before Macron to ask for funds to contest again,” he added.
Besides, Tchiani alleged that French military personnel were present on an island known as Kurnawa as well as in places like Tangarwa and Dogon Chuku.
“We repatriated two French officials who had relocated to Nigeria. They were warmly accepted by Nigeria. They provide training to terrorists,” he said.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa Service yesterday, Ribadu said there is no foreign military base in Nigeria adding that the country had in 2009, turned down the plan to host the US African military command (AFRICOM) on the continent.
Besides, he said when the US had issues with Niger recently they (US) tried to relocate the military command to Nigeria but it was rejected again.
The NSA further said Nigeria’s relationship with France was purely economic, not military cooperation.
“This allegation is completely untrue. Nigeria has no history of hosting foreign military bases.
“Even the United Kingdom, our former coloniser, has never attempted to establish a base here.
“Nigeria firmly resisted an attempt by the United States to set up a base (AFRICOM) within our borders.
“On the contrary, Niger had hosted such bases, including one established by the United States which they recently expelled.
“France has military agreements with its former colonies, but Nigeria has never been part of such arrangements.
“The claim that France is using Nigerian territory to launch an attack on Niger is both implausible and baseless. It will not happen. How could it even happen?
“Moreover, Nigeria’s relationship with France is based on economic cooperation, not military collaboration.”
Ribadu added: “Nigeria is living peacefully with other neighboring countries including Chad, Benin, Cameroon and the likes. There is no reason at all for us to cause any harm to Niger Republic.
“Niger’s leader wants Nigeria not to have anything to do with France because it is now in bed with Russia but Nigeria will continue to speak to everyone that could contribute to its economy’s potential including Russia, USA, France, Brazil, etc.
“Journalists across the world should go to places mentioned by the Niger leader to verify if truly there is any foreign military base there as claimed,” he said.
The NSA also said Niger and Nigeria ought to join forces to deal with Lakurawa which has constituted security problems for both countries.
“Our shared enemy is terrorism, not each other. We must work together to secure our communities and resist external interference.
“These terrorists, whom we are fighting, are our problem. We should confront them together,” Ribadu said.
He said Nigeria would continue to work with Niger Republic together, noting that while Niger’s leadership may have issues with France, it is unreasonable to expect Nigeria to sever ties with France because of their internal disputes.
“There is no doubt that the President of Niger knows Nigeria very well.
“The leaders of the military regime in Niger should understand that we, Nigeria, are not a problem for them.
“We have always maintained peaceful relations with our neighbors, including Cameroon, Benin Republic, and Chad.
“Why would we suddenly have a reason to be in conflict with Niger? It simply doesn’t make sense.”
For his part, the director of defence media operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba weighed in, saying there is no presence of any foreign military base in Nigeria.
He said while addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday that Nigeria has refused to be a ground for any proxy war.
“We don’t have any foreign military base. We said this more than one time; we do not have any foreign military base in Nigeria.
“Anyone who is saying that is trying to be mischievous… trying to be misleading and definitely he has an agenda.
“There is no foreign military base in Nigeria to be a ground for proxy war. We don’t want our country to be a ground for proxy war. You accept one person, the enemy of that person will start to woo you. That is a proxy war. We don’t want that.
“So anywhere you hear anybody talking like that, I think they are doing that as a distraction.”
Similarly, ECOWAS also faulted the Nigerien leader saying Nigeria supports peace and security of several countries not only in the West African sub-region but also on the African continent.
In statement titled, ‘ECOWAS Stands by Nigeria and other ECOWAS Member States against unfounded allegations’ the sub-regional economic bloc said: “The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) expresses deep concern over the allegations being made against Nigeria and other ECOWAS member states.
“The Commission stands firmly with Nigeria and other ECOWAS member states against allegations that they are sponsoring terrorism. For years, Nigeria has supported peace and security of several countries not only in the West African sub-region but also on the African continent.
“The recent successes recorded by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which Nigeria leads, demonstrate the country’s commitment to peace and security across the region.
“ECOWAS therefore refutes any suggestion that such a generous and magnanimous country would become a state-sponsor of terrorism.
“ECOWAS calls on all states in the region to promote dialogue and stability and refrain from making accusations that are not supported by any evidence.”
