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History and Evolution of Nigeria-US Military, Security, and Political Relations



Author(s)

Dapo Thomas

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2134/2018.04.001

This paper examines the dynamics, the politics, and the significance of the security relationship between Nigeria and the United States. Both countries, operating at different levels of military strengths, consider and regard themselves as partners who should establish some form of cooperation for defence purposes. Though the United States enjoys massive military capability advantage over Nigeria, the relationship between the two of them was meant to assist Nigeria, the weak partner, or better still, the client state, to overcome the challenge of its defence policies, and to reinforce its military infrastructure. This will be in the areas of training, technology, equipment, professional orientation, and political management. However, there seems to be lack of trust between the two of them with Nigeria becoming too sensitive and concerned about its defence infrastructural deficits, and the possibility of the United States exploiting this to its own advantage. Such worrisome suspicions are capable of tinkering with the objectives of the security arrangements between the two of them. In this kind of suspect friendship where one partner has transformed into a protector state, it became difficult for defence pacts and agreements to achieve the desired objectives. Hence, the regular collapse of such pacts and lack of definitive defence policy actions between the two countries. The findings showed that every attempt by the United States to help stabilize Nigeria’s political system and environment was seen by Nigeria as an unwarranted intervention and meddlesomeness capable of destroying the fragility of its polity as it almost did during the June 12 crisis of 1993.

security relationship, client state, protector state, defence infrastructural deficit, defence pacts, unwarranted interventions