SHOULD NIGERIA ALLOW A US MILITARY BASE IN NIGERIA?
David Hundeyin made a tweet the other day that The United States and France were putting pressure on President Tinubu to allow military base or bases in Nigeria to accommodate the military personnel expelled by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from their individual countries.
Many comments under the tweet pointed to various directions that included
1. Nigeria's sovereignty will be at risk
2. Nigeria's Politics will be interfered in by the US
3. Nigeria's security architecture will be at risk
4. Nigerian economy will face US Imperialism
5. Nigerians will face privacy issues as US communications will tap into our systems to eavesdrop.
All the comments got me wondering if they are true or as usual, Nigerians overestimating our importance like we did when Dubai banned us or as we do now that the UK has fallen our hands and we are screaming that the UK higher education will suffer.
I decided to analyze what a US military base will mean for Nigeria positively:
1. Security: with the incessant deaths in various places in Nigeria in their hundreds and thousands, and not reported in the media and the seemingly inability of the Nigerian security forces to curb terrorists posing as herdsmen, a US military base will bring about collaborations that allows terrorism to end in Nigeria.
2. ECONOMIC BOOM! - US Department of Defense spent about $20 billion on its forces in Japan (for salaries, maintenance, construction etc), $14 billion in South Korea, billions on its troop in UAE, as well as safeguarding UAE exports, billions more for its troop in Germany and many more. These troops will definitely convert at least a part of their salaries to naira to buy or pay for basic amenities. Additionally, Nigeria can get a lease/rent from one US military base of about $100 million per annum if negotiated well.
3. ACCESS: With the challenge of Nigerians getting an American visa interview date, a US military base in Nigeria will open access to Nigerians going to the US because they can be quickly vetted before even going to the embassy.
Furthermore, Nigerian military can organize military drills, naval exercises and Airforce operations with US military forces stationed in Nigeria. It will help our military prepare for the challenges of the 21st century, as well as access to modern military technologies.
Based on the above I think that a US base in Nigeria is a positive rather than Negative - at least judging by Japan, South Korea, UAE, Bahrain.
What do you think?
