The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has commended the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, for affirming that the federal government has no intention of permitting foreign military bases in Nigeria.
The forum, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad Baba, praised the government’s stance as a bold and reassuring one, indicating a victory for patriotic Nigerians opposed to the speculated hosting of US and French military bases, after their rejection in Burkina Faso and Niger.
ACF criticised those backing the establishment of American and French military bases in Nigeria, asserting that hosting such bases contradicts Nigeria’s sovereignty and solidarity with African nations against colonial and neo-colonial influences.
It said foreign military bases, as evidenced by experiences in neighbouring West African countries, operate outside national laws and fail to curb terrorist activities.
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ACF criticised the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) for dismissing concerns about foreign military bases as regional or ethnic agendas, stressing the need for Nigeria to solve its security issues independently without relying on foreign intervention.
“Wherever they are located, the foreign military outposts operate outside of the control and in utter disregard for the national laws of their hosts, respecting only their own convenient rules. That sister African countries will, based on their experience with the foreign military units, reject their presence is enough reason to dissuade Nigeria from even contemplating hosting them,” it said.
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