Premium Times: December 31, 2015.
"In the joint
statement released by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs on the formation of the Islamic Military Alliance to fight terrorism,
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced that 34 countries “have decided to form a military alliance to fight against terrorism
led by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a joint operations center shall be
established in the city of Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations
to fight terrorism and to develop the necessary programs and mechanisms for
supporting these efforts.” The statement further stated that “more than ten other Islamic countries have
expressed their support for the alliance and will take the necessary measures
in this regard, including Indonesia.” Nigeria is not only listed as a
member of the alliance but also as a country that has confirmed to support
and play military roles in the alliance."
"It has been over two weeks since the Saudi government announced the
alliance. Yet, Nigerian government claims that it has not confirmed its
position in the alliance. However, evidence
appears to show that Nigeria has not only confirmed to support the alliance but
also has “opted to assist militarily.”
It behoves the Nigerian government to rebut this claim with a strong public
statement to the Saudi government, if truly Nigeria did not give its consent
before the boxes were ticked for Nigeria. The continued silence of Buhari-led
government on a serious foreign policy issue as this, rather speaks volume
about government’s insensitivity to the pressing issues facing the country.
This insensitivity has been symptomatic of past administrations in Nigeria. Not
even the change mantra has changed
it."
"It is the collective responsibility of Nigerian citizens to engage with
the government to ensure that the decisions of the government reflect the
expectation of the citizens. In the interest of Nigeria as a sovereign and
secular state, the government of Nigeria must not join (if it has joined in
principle it must withdraw) the Islamic Military Alliance."
"To conclude, the Nigerian government must withdraw its steps from joining
the alliance, particularly within the context of the “Islamic” label attached
to the alliance. The pockets of evidence from the crises in the Middle East
have shown that there are different interpretations of what is Islam or
terrorism, even within the supremacy of Saudi Arabia. Also, the government
should not forget that Saudi Arabia is facing the worst economic downturn in
its history with a budget deficit of $98 billion in 2015, which suggests
Saudi’s declining power in the Arab world, hence a conviction that Saudi Arabia
may be hiding under the guise of alliance to spread across countries both
economic costs and otherwise, while it strives to maintain its supremacy in the
Arab world. The non-inclusion of key players in the region- Iran, Iraq, and
Syria- should be a tell-all sign that the intentions of Saudi Arabia for
pushing forth the alliance are intrinsically hidden. Therefore, the focus of
the government must be to make decisions that not only reflect Nigeria’s
commitment to credible international action, but also favour all Nigerians
irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation."
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