Alwaght- Boko Haram has massacred thousands of civilians in
Nigeria, but American officials' response towards the horrific
crimes has been strangely muted. RT’s Manila Chan explores a potential link to
oil, which America no longer receives from Nigeria.
To many, the lack of Washington's strive to aid the people of
Nigeria – the biggest African economy – seems to follow simple geostrategic
logic: no oil, no security support. While diverting funds to fight the ISIS
terrorist group in Iraq, America seems unwilling to address Boko Haram
insurgents in Nigeria.
As America is trying to master shale gas exploitation; it has moved
away from some of its traditional trade partners, with Nigeria – an OPEC-member
state – becoming the first country to stop selling oil to America, statistics
from America's Department of Energy reveal. Nigeria was one of the top five
suppliers to America at the height of trade, less than a decade ago supplying
it with 1.3 million barrels of oil every day.
Some in Washington are already calling for strategy change.
"If we don't stop it in its tracks, we are destined for this
horrible group to not step back but to continue to be in power," said Rep.
Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.
"It is clear that America needs a comprehensive strategy to address
Boko Haram’s growing lethality,” Reps. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., and Peter King,
R-N.Y., wrote in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry.
While America spends an average of $8.2 million daily to battle the
ISIS terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, it is spending almost zero to fight
extremism in Nigeria.
Last year, Washington offered surveillance drones and 30
intelligence experts to help the Nigerian military rescue nearly 300 kidnapped
schoolgirls. But in December, the Nigerian government stopped Washington's
minimal strive to train its troops to fight Boko Haram.
"We regret premature termination of this training, as it was to be
the first in a larger planned project that would have trained additional units
with the goal of helping the Nigerian Army build capacity to counter Boko
Haram," State Department spokesman Rodney Ford said in an email to the
Military Times in December.
"The US government will continue other aspects of the extensive
bilateral security relationship, as well as all other assistance programs, with
Nigeria," he said. "The US government is committed to the long
tradition of partnership with Nigeria and will continue to engage future
requests for cooperation and training."
