According to Vanguard !
The United States of America’s envoy to Nigeria,
Ambassador James Entwistle, has denied reports
that the US has refused to sell arms to Nigeria on
account of human rights violation in the fight
against insurgency in the country.
Entwistle, who was speaking as a guest at the
Diplomatic Dialogue Series organised by the
Nigeria Leadership Initiative, NLI said the US has
not cut off Nigeria militarily and that the two
countries continue to enjoy healthy military
relationship.
He insisted that his remark on arms sale to
Nigeria recently was misrepresented and that
there was never a time he said the US will not
sell arms to Nigeria on account of human rights
violations.
Read the full story below:
According to him, “Nigeria and the US have a
military relationship that continues. We look at
every aspect of that relationship very carefully in
the context of our policy, Nigeria policy including
human rights. This is a process that we undergo
with every country in the world. But we have a
rich military relationship with Nigeria that
continues even as I speak.
“Let me be clear, the United States wants Nigeria
to win its war on terror and we are here to
support the effort. Security is a critical dimension
of our bilateral relationship. As friends and
partners, we provide support in the form of
equipment and training, but we also share our
own lessons learned in combating terrorism.”
He further explained: “Over the past decade, the
U.S has learned that defeating terrorism requires
more than just military power. It requires
protecting civilian populations despite the fact
that terrorists don’t. It requires working to
develop impoverished areas where extremism
takes root. It requires ensuring that education is
accessible to all. It requires empowering a free
and fair press to report openly and without fear
of reprisal.
”And, perhaps, most importantly, it requires
engaging the growing youth populations that are
being swayed towards extremism due to lack of
economic opportunities, education, and distrust of
government. In other words, it requires a
comprehensive, whole of government approach.
The work we are doing with the Nigerian
government and people addresses these needs.”
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