The possibility of the United States establishing a military base in Nigeria has ignited a complex debate, fueled by concerns over regional security, national sovereignty, and the potential exploitation of resources. This discussion has been further complicated by allegations of Christian persecution and the withdrawal of US troops from neighboring Niger.
Recent narratives by some foreign actors, including United States politicians and religious leaders, about alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria may be linked to external interests.
Map of Nigeria highlighting key regions.
Arguments for a US Military Base
Some US politicians and experts have suggested the establishment of an emergency US military base in Nigeria’s oil-rich region of Niger-Delta to tackle alleged ‘’massacres of Christians’’ by Boko Haram terrorists. Specifically, the idea of a US base in Port Harcourt, the headquarters of Nigeria’s oil resources, has been proposed as a means to ‘’deter Boko Haram.’’
An advisor to Donald Trump claimed that establishing a US base in Port Harcourt would help to deter Boko Haram. Furthermore, it's argued that such a move would enable the rapid deployment of international humanitarian aid, particularly assistance from American churches.
Read also: Shifting Landscape in West Africa
General Eckman, giving an update on the withdrawal of American troops from Niger, said, “I recently came back from Niamey. We’re almost done. forces from Niger. forces and material. areas, facilities, and material (non tactical/technical) that remain in Niger have been turned over to the Nigerien military and to the Nigerien authorities."
He also noted that following US troop withdrawals from Niger, the region is less secure.
AFRICOM's role in West Africa is to help partners improve their capabilities through exercises, training, and grant/security assistance.
Concerns and Counter-Arguments
However, the proposal has been met with strong opposition from Nigerians who express reservations over the invasion, stating that the US invasion is not a humanitarian cause, but rather one aimed at polarising the country and deepening the crisis within.
Nigerians responded, dismissing the rhetoric of establishing a base in Port-Harcourt, and stressing that the oil-rich city is not a Biafra region and that there is no Christian genocide in the city.
Read also: Challenges Facing Nigerian Armed Forces
A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), said the United States may be positioning itself to establish a military base in Nigeria and stressed that the recent narratives by some foreign actors about alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria may be linked to external interests.
Dambazau highlighted the US previously operated military bases in Niger Republic for more than a decade without preventing insecurity in the country. He questioned, “In the more than ten years of US presence in Niger, where it maintained two military bases, what did the US do to prevent the growth of security challenges?”
He added, “It is also on record that at the initial second coming of the Trump administration, US congressmen accused USAID of terrorism financing in Africa. I think the US is looking for an opportunity to establish an alternative base in Nigeria, a country known to protect only its interests by any means possible, including the use of force."
Critics argue that the push for a base in Port Harcourt isn’t about humanitarian aid but about oil, geopolitical control, and strategic positioning. Port Harcourt is Nigeria’s oil heart, the entry point to the Niger Delta, where most of Nigeria’s crude is refined and exported.
The Trump administration has never hidden America’s hunger for critical minerals outside its shores and is often accused of arm-twisting countries for economic and migration deals. Apart from oil in the south, Nigeria has vast reserves of critical minerals, including gold, lithium, and cobalt, mainly in northern and central parts of the country where insecurity is widespread.
Read also: Historical Overview
The lack of capacity to protect is both in the ability to monitor threats in real time and the ability to respond to emergencies.
It is clear that there is a lack of national cohesion in facing a common enemy to address terrorism and criminal violence in the country.
The former army chief said insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria are part of broader regional insecurity, particularly in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, and not targeted at a single religious group. According to him, both Muslims and Christians have been victims of attacks.
He listed past attacks in the North - including the killing of worshippers in mosques, assassinations of Islamic clerics and attacks on traditional rulers - to say that terrorism in Nigeria affects people of all faiths.
He called for national cohesion in responding to insecurity and warned against allowing external actors to exploit Nigeria’s internal divisions.
It gives them military control over the Gulf of Guinea, proximity to West Africa’s energy routes, and influence over OPEC’s largest African producer.
Opposite ends Port Harcourt, in southern Nigeria, is about 1,370 kilometers from Maiduguri, the epicentre of Boko Haram violence.
“While our objectives haven’t changed, and those are shared objectives between the United States and our African partners, they have become harder to achieve. And as I travel around the West Africa region, as I talk to civilian and military leaders, they all share these concerns. And so our approach to this has been to engage with our regional military partners and their civilian leadership, and it starts by listening. Because each context, each part of the geography, each military partner has different needs and different approaches to the regional security problem, so it does start by listening. AFRICOM, as we function here in West Africa, we do nothing by ourselves. So we don’t do it for our partners. We help them do it and do it better. And then all of this builds on a strong foundation of security cooperation. It’s about exercises, it’s about training, and it’s about grant/security assistance.
Asked to comment on how the threat of violence extremism is affecting Nigeria from AFRICOM’s perspective, Gen Ackman said, “We see the threats and risks quite similarly.
On whether military approach can solve the insecurity particularly terrorism, violent extremism, he said, “What AFRICOM is doing taking a broader approach, because if you’re militarily countering terrorists, you’re addressing a symptom."
“And so that comes down to the West African context. It comes down to governance all the way down to the local level. It comes down to access to services. It comes down to competition for limited resources, and climate change has a significant impact on that too.
It comes down to governance all the way down to the local level. It comes down to access to services.
“As military strategists, we talk about key terrain. And right now the key terrain dealing with ISIS-Sahel and with JNIM is in the tri-border region that includes the western part of Niger and also Burkina Faso. That terrain is very important. Just ask our Burkinabe partners.
“That’s what led us to an outside-in approach relative to the Sahel. And then anytime you talk about outside-in, the important question is what is Nigeria’s role, given the strength of the nation, given the closeness of our partnership. So it’s a very natural question.
Gen Eckman said, "base in Nigeria as a result of the Niger withdrawal. I want to be perfectly clear on that.
The way this all happened and the reason that I’m claiming all this prior to the 15 September deadline was the close coordination with our Nigerien partners. It was a shared goal for both sides that we make this withdrawal go as smoothly as possible, and I’m very grateful to them.
It was a shared goal for both sides that we make this withdrawal go as smoothly as possible, and I’m very grateful to them. The bad news is that regional security is not going well.
mutual beneficial trade and investment, and on top of development, humanitarian assistance, which continues throughout.
Concerns over Christian Persecution
Claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria have been amplified by some US congressmen and supported by some Catholic clergymen. Donald Trump, the US President, had declared Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ and indicated a potential US military operation to defend Nigerian Christians.
However, these claims have been widely disputed. Trump’s claims sharply contradicted comments by his Senior Advisor on Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos, who rejected allegations that a genocide against Christians was taking place in Nigeria. “We even know that Boko Haram and ISIS are killing more Muslims than Christians. People are suffering from all sorts of backgrounds. This is not specifically targeted about one group or the other” Massad Boulos said in mid-October.
In May, he claimed that the South African government was committing a ‘’genocide’’ against White farmers, falsely showing photos from the DRC conflict to visiting President Cyril Ramaphosa in Washington to back his widely discredited claims.
There have been tensions between Pretoria and Washington over trade and South Africa’s ICC case against the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.
The former army chief said insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria are part of broader regional insecurity, particularly in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, and not targeted at a single religious group.
According to him, both Muslims and Christians have been victims of attacks. He listed past attacks in the North - including the killing of worshippers in mosques, assassinations of Islamic clerics and attacks on traditional rulers - to say that terrorism in Nigeria affects people of all faiths.
“It is evident that Nigeria lacks the capacity to protect people and property against criminal attacks, especially in rural communities. The lack of capacity to protect is both in the ability to monitor threats in real time and the ability to respond to emergencies.
“Whenever IPOB gives a sit-at-home order, for example, every resident in the southeast obeys, showing the extent of their influence over the people of the region.
“Likewise, Boko Haram and the bandits operating in the northeast and northwest, respectively, invade rural communities at will and impose taxes on the people.
Most of these casualties are the aged, women and children, whose lives do not seem to matter if they are not Christians.
He said, “An example is the recent propaganda, amplified by some US congressmen and supported by some Catholic clergymen in Nigeria, that there is Christian genocide.
LiveAtState: U.S. Foreign Policy & Security Cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa
Geopolitical Implications
The establishment of a US military base in Port Harcourt would raise serious sovereignty and regional tension issues. Humanitarian support yes, military footprint no. Protecting civilians from jihadist violence is critical, but foreign military bases in Nigeria have deep geopolitical consequences.
Nigeria, at this point, is under full-blown state capture - and if history repeats, a Sudan-style split might not even be the worst card in the deck. Obama greenlit that one, remember? First, they used religion as the basis, and now they’re pushing for a region. That’s how it starts - next thing, they’ll be dictating our security, economy, and politics.
Table: Contrasting Perspectives on US Military Base in Nigeria
| Argument For | Argument Against |
|---|---|
| Deters Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. | Infringes on Nigeria's sovereignty. |
| Enables rapid deployment of humanitarian aid. | Primarily motivated by US economic interests (oil, minerals). |
| Strengthens regional security. | Could exacerbate regional tensions. |
| Protects Christians from persecution. | Claims of Christian genocide are disputed and may be used to justify intervention. |
Nigeria faces numerous security and governance challenges.
Popular articles:
tags: #Nigeria
