There is a clash between junta led Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and democratic countries across the world. The United States of America has a military base in Niger Republic. Will the military in Niger close the military base? Will the military in Niger close the United States military base and stop the ECOMOG Army? The military junta in Niger is a threat to the United States military base and ECOWAS. The junta in Mali closed the French military base immediately after the coup. Can the Niger military confront the United States of America military base and ECOMOG Army? The military junta in Niger will collapse because the Niger Republic depends on foreign aid and electricity from Nigeria to develop its economy. Nigeria has already cut its electricity supply to Niger and the country is in darkness.
All Five (5) countries that Nigeria share borders with speak French. Only three (3) of these countries are in the ECOWAS. Chad and Cameron are in the Central Africa region. But here is the fantastic dichotomy: Niger and Chad are much more extensive compared to Nigeria, but Nigeria has a much larger population than them all.
Nigeria has always played a senior brother’s role in the West African region and the whole of Africa. So, despite the flexing by the militia in Niger, Burkina Faso, and anywhere else. The Nigerian army, expertise and the combined effort of the entire ECOWAS forces and United States military base can handle any situation without much stress.
1. Nigeria: Active Military Personnel: Approximately 120,000. Reserve Personnel: Approximately 32,000. Defence Budget: Roughly $5.1 billion (USD). Ideally, Nigeria should have from .02-1% personnel based on the population. That is the global standard
2. Benin: Active Military Personnel: Approximately 7,250. Reserve Personnel: Numbers not readily available. Defence Budget: Roughly $60 million (USD)
3. Niger: Active Military Personnel: Approximately 12,000. Reserve Personnel: Numbers not readily available. Defence Budget: Roughly $115 million (USD)
4. Chad: Active Military Personnel: Approximately 30,000. Reserve Personnel: Numbers not readily available. Defence Budget: Roughly $275 million (USD)
5. Cameroon: Active Military Personnel: Approximately 14,100. Reserve Personnel: Numbers not readily available. Defence Budget: Roughly $275 million (USD)
Read also: Niger closes airspace amidst escalating political tensions
Add up the numbers, the equipment, and the budget and tell me if any of the countries might come after Nigeria or flex muscles, except there is a much bigger force from elsewhere stirring the wheel.
What is my point exactly: 1. Don’t underestimate Nigeria 2. No one in the block will dare Nigeria. 3. Don’t celebrate Military Intervention. 4. Don’t wish for war – Most people will lose what they have left. 5. Don’t fuel agitations. You really can’t handle the fire 6. Let nobody deceive or scare you about Nigeria’s activation of the ECOMOG force for intervention anywhere. They are capable against all the forces put together.
Junta-led Burkina Faso and Mali on Monday warned that any military intervention in Niger to restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum would be considered a declaration of war against their two countries.
The warning from Niger’s military-ruled neighbours came a day after West African leaders, supported by their Western partners, threatened to use “force” to reinstate the democratically elected Bazoum and slapped financial sanctions on the putschists.
The United States of America had built a $110 million military drone base in Agadez, Niger. It is the largest drone base in the world, and the largest construction project led by the US Air Force. The USA has two military drone bases in Niger which might soon get shut down.
About 1,100 U.S. troops are currently deployed to Niger, according to the Defence Department. The country is an important partner in the U.S. military’s efforts to counter the Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations in Africa. In October 2017, four U.S. soldiers were killed near the Nigerien village of Tongo Tongo after being attacked by more than 100 ISIS fighters.
Politico first reported that U.S. military drones were unable to fly from a base near Agadez, Niger, after the country’s armed forces ousted Niger’s president in a July 26 coup.
The base serves as a critical intelligence and surveillance hub for the U.S. military’s efforts to combat violent extremism in North and West Africa, said Jocelyn Trainer, an expert on sub-Saharan Africa with the Centre for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C.
With a limited U.S. base presence in Africa – restricted to Djibouti and Niger – losing access to Base Aerienne 201[Niger Air Base 201] would be a detrimental blow to U.S. and African joint efforts to counter violent extremist groups connected to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda operating in the area,” Trainer told Task & Purpose. “This setback coincides with France diminishing its presence in the region. A reduced U.S. and French presence could create space for Wagner, or other actors, to fill a security vacuum.”
It is too early to determine how the closure of Niger’s airspace will affect U.S. military operations in Africa, a second U.S. official told Task & Purpose. In the short term, not being able to use of Nigerien Air Base 201 will limit the U.S. military’s visibility over the Sahel region of Africa where ISIS and al-Qaida’s branch in West Africa known as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, both have a strong presence, said Caleb Weiss, an expert on jihadism in Africa and the Middle East.
Inwalomhe writes via [email protected]
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