(Photo:Jonathan with Obama:No longer at ease)
By Danlami Nmodu
It appears the relation between Nigeria and the United States has hit a record low over the alleged failure of the US to support Nigeria’s military battles against Boko Haram terrorists.The clearest evidence of the frosty times was the announcement on Monday that Nigeria has cancelled a military training programme .
“At the request of the Nigerian government, the United States will discontinue its training of a Nigerian Army battalion”, a press release from the US embassy in Abuja said on Monday
“The first two phases of training were conducted between April and August 2014, and had provided previously untrained civilian personnel with basic soldiering skills. Based on mutual assessment of the Nigerian Army and U.S. trainers, a third iteration of training was agreed upon with the intent of developing the battalion into a unit with advanced infantry skills.”
“We regret premature termination of this training, as it was to be the first in a larger planned project that would have trained additional units with the goal of helping the Nigerian Army build capacity to counter Boko Haram. The U.S. government will continue other aspects of the extensive bilateral security relationship, as well as all other assistance programs”, the statement said.
