A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), has alleged that the United States may be positioning itself to establish a military base in Nigeria.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the 7th Annual Lecture organised by the Just Friends Club of Nigeria, Dambazau, who also served as Minister of Interior, linked recent narratives by some foreign actors — including American politicians and religious leaders — on alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria to possible external interests.
According to him, the US had maintained military bases in Niger Republic for over a decade without preventing the spread of insecurity in that country.
He said, “In the more than ten years of US presence in Niger, where it maintained two military bases, what did the US do to prevent the growth of security challenges?
“It is also on record that at the initial second coming of the Trump administration, US congressmen accused USAID of terrorism financing in Africa. I think the US is looking for an opportunity to establish an alternative base in Nigeria, a country known to protect only its interests by any means possible, including the use of force.
“Unfortunately, they have willing partners in Nigeria. It is clear that there is a lack of national cohesion in facing a common enemy to address terrorism and criminal violence in the country.”
Dambazau argued that insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria are part of a broader regional security crisis, especially in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, and not targeted at any particular religious group.
He maintained that both Muslims and Christians have suffered devastating attacks, citing incidents such as the killing of worshippers in mosques, assassinations of Islamic clerics, and assaults on traditional rulers.
The retired general urged Nigerians to close ranks in confronting insecurity, warning against allowing external actors to exploit the country’s internal divisions for their strategic gains.