Vanguard Editorial of Tuesday February 25, 2025
On February 13, 2025, a United States of America Congressman, Scott Perry, made an earth-shaking claim during the inauguration of the sub-committee on Delivering Government Efficiency. According to him, the embattled United States Agency for International Development, USAID, was involved in the funding of jihadist terror groups such as Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria, ISIS, Al Qaeda, ISIS Khorasan, Islamic Madrasas or indoctrination facilities and terrorist training camps.
The news has not exactly shaken the earth here in Nigeria, where Boko Haram suddenly morphed from a ragtag group of armed outlaws in 2009 to one of the deadliest terrorist organisations in the world. Nearly two weeks after Perry’s disclosure, the Nigerian government which is usually quick to react to even such issues, has surprisingly remained mum.
All we see is the usual rustle of activities in the Senate and House of Representatives which most times end up burying issues rather than getting to their roots. While the House of Representatives has set up a committee to “look into” the allegation, the Senate has moved to invite the heads of all security agencies to tell what they know about it.
Meanwhile, the US Mission in Nigeria headed by Ambassador Richard Mills, last week, claimed there was “no evidence” of USAID’s funding of Boko Haram, adding that no country condemns Boko Haram’s terrorism more than the US. The USA is obviously speaking from both sides of the mouth at the same time, which is highly unbecoming, given the gravity of this issue.
Perry’s allegation fits into the picture of the hostility that the Barack Obama administration and Western countries levied against the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, especially between 2013 and 2015 when the Anti-Same Sex Act was debated and signed into law. Obama not only blocked Jonathan’s efforts to procure arms to fight Boko Haram.
Obama’s government openly meddled with our 2015 elections, and Jonathan has blamed it for his ouster.
Boko Haram terrorism has undermined the foundation of Nigeria for nearly 16 years, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, destroying and displacing countless communities, led to the abduction of thousands of students (notably the 276 Chibok Schoolgirls, Leah Sharibu and others) and making Nigeria the largest producer of out-of-school children (estimated 20 million) in the world.
It has led to the death of thousands of our soldiers and wastage of trillions of naira to combat the menace. Boko Haram terrorism weakened Nigeria so much that other armed herdsmen and bandit groups sprouted all over the country.
Nigerians want full disclosure on the level of the alleged USAID involvement in the destabilisation of our country. The Nigerian government should speak up. The silence of our civil society groups on this issue is strange and baffling.
We must get to the root of it!
