The United States government has concluded plans to sell 12 Embraer
A-29 Super Tucano aircraft, with sophisticated targeting gear to Nigeria
to aid its fight against Boko Haram terrorist group.
This is in fulfillment of the pledge made by that country in February
this year to strike a new deal that will enable the Nigerian Armed
Forces get concrete military assistance, including the supply of arms
from the US to combat terrorism.
The US President, Donald Trump, had called President Muhammadu Buhari
who was on vacation in the United Kingdom on telephone to discuss the
relationship between the two countries, including America’s resolve to
assist Nigeria in combating terror.
The deal is also said to be in furtherance of the plan that began
during Obama’s administration. President Trump is expected to send
formal notification to the Congress within weeks, informing the
lawmakers of the plan to sell the aircrafts to Nigeria.
The arrangement will call for Nigeria to purchase up to 12 Embraer
A-29 Super Tucano aircraft with sophisticated targeting gear for nearly
$600 million, one of the US officials said.
Details of the deal still remained sketchy as at press time because
officials were not authorised to discuss the terms of the sale publicly
and requested anonymity to speak about internal diplomatic
conversations.
While President Trump has made clear his intention to approve the
sale of the aircraft, the National Security Council is said to be still
working on the issue.
According to Los Angeles Times, Military sales to several other
countries are also expected to be approved but are caught up in an
ongoing White House review.
Nigeria has been trying to buy the aircraft since 2015, but the
Nigerian air force had been accused of bombing civilian targets at least
three times in recent years.
In the worst incident, a fighter jet on Jan. 17 repeatedly bombed a
camp at Rann, near the border with Cameroon, where civilians had fled
from Boko Haram. Between 100 and 236 civilians and aid workers were
killed, according to official and community leaders’ counts.
That bombing occurred on the same day the Obama administration
intended to officially notify Congress the sale would go forward.
Instead, it was abruptly put on hold, according to an individual who
worked on the issue during Obama’s presidency. Days later, Trump was
inaugurated.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Foreign Relations
Committee, said last week that he supported the A-29 deal to Nigeria as
well as the sale of U.S.-made fighter jets to Bahrain that had been
stripped of human rights caveats imposed by the Obama administration.
Under Obama, the U.S. said Bahrain failed to make promise political
and human rights reforms after its Sunni-ruled government crushed Arab
Spring protests five years ago.
“We need to deal with human rights issues, but not on weapons sales”, Corker said.
The State Department said in a 2016 report that the Nigerian
government has taken “few steps to investigate or prosecute officials
who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in
the government, and impunity remained widespread at all levels of
government”.
But analysts said Amnesty International’s consistent accusation of
the Nigeria’s military of war crimes and crimes against humanity may
slow the process.
Military experts have said the injection of A-29 plane into the
anti-terror fight would improve the military capability of the Nigerian
Army.
The aircraft deal also would satisfy Trump’s priorities to support
nations fighting Islamic uprisings, boost U.S. manufacturing and create
high-wage jobs in that country. The A-29 aircraft, which allow pilots to
pinpoint targets at night, are assembled in Jacksonville, Fla.
“It’s hard to argue that any country in Africa is more important than
Nigeria for the geopolitical and other strategic interests of the
U.S.”, said J. Peter Pham, vice president of the Atlantic Council in
Washington and head of its Africa Centre
Once Congress is officially notified of the sale, lawmakers who want
to derail it have 30 days to pass veto-proof legislation. That’s a high
hurdle given Corker’s support. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of
the Armed Services Committee, also said he backs the sale.
“We’ve really got to try to do what we can to contain them”, McCain said of Boko Haram.
In Trump’s first phone call with Buhari in February, he “assured the
Nigerian president of U.S. readiness to cut a new deal in helping
Nigeria in terms of military weapons to combat terrorism,” according to
Buhari’s office.
A Febuary 15 White House statement that provided a summary of the
call said “President Trump expressed support for the sale of aircraft
from the United States to support Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram.”
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign
Relations Committee, said in mid-February that he was “leery” of the
sale because of Nigerian military’s impunity, but added that this week
he was not trying to block the deal.
“Ultimately we hope that the sale goes forward,” he said. “But there
is progress that needs to be made in protecting the civilian
population.”
LEADERSHIP recalls that the US government under President Barack
Obama had in July 2015, refused to assist Nigeria with arms to
strengthen its fight against the Boko Haram sect.
Obama specifically told Buhari who was on a four-day working visit to
that country that the US arms are tied by an American law, the Leahy
Act, which prevents it from selling arms to countries with human rights
abuse records.
The law which is named after its principal sponsor, Senator Patrick
Leahy of Vermont was the reason why the US government refused to sell
weapons to the Nigerian military in 2014 and also proceeded to stop
Israel from selling Cobra helicopters to Nigeria.
Apart from Nigeria, other countries that have been affected by this
law include, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia,
Guatemala and Mexico.
But respite came for the Nigerian military on February 13 this year
when the US president hinted of a new deal which may likely convince the
American government to repeal the law in favour of Nigeria.
Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, had stated that the February
conversation between Buhari and Trump was cordial and that the Nigerian
president congratulated his American counterpart on his election as
president of the United States and on his cabinet.
He said, “The two leaders discussed ways to improve cooperation in
the fight against terrorism through provision of necessary equipment.
“President Trump encouraged President Buhari to keep up the good work
he is doing, and also commended him for the efforts made in rescuing 24
of the Chibok Girls and the strides being taken by the Nigerian
military”.
Adesina further hinted that “President Trump also invited President Buhari to Washington at a mutually convenient date