Following the recent swearing-in of President Muhammadu Buhari, the US has reached out to him by sending secretary of state John Kerry to his inauguration last week to underscore its interest in working with his government. Tensions emerged between the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the Obama administration last year over corruption and human rights abuses by the Nigerian military in its campaign to crush Boko Haram.
However, with a new government in place, the US believes that it could revive its plans to help Nigeria eliminate the Boko Haram threat. During the Jonathan administration, military intelligence shared between the two governments was passed on to Boko Haram, who acted on it, keeping the terrorists one step ahead of the government.
In his inauguration speech, President Buhari vowed to defeat Boko Haram, calling the group, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq mindless and Godless. US officials have said Washington will also now send more advisers to Nigeria to train its military and help boost the economy.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa, said: “With the new government we are optimistic we can reset the relationship. We want to work with him and have expressed that to him.”
She said President Buhari had committed both publicly and privately to do everything possible to address the situation in terms of resources and staff to tackle Boko Haram, which launched its insurgency in 2009. Ms Thomas-Greenfield said the US was encouraged that President Buhari’s first trips were to Niger and Chad, which are part of a multi-national force being set up to fight Boko Haram’s insurgency.
Analysts say the challenge for the United States is to work with Buhari while giving him time to address problems in the Nigerian military. Nigeria’s Major-General Tukur Buratai has been appointed to head the new multinational force, which will be funded partly by the international community.
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