Former Sokoto State Governor and Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Tambuwal, has expressed deep reservations over United States involvement in counterterrorism operations, warning that such interventions have historically delivered limited results.
Tambuwal’s caution follows the Christmas Day airstrike carried out by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) on Islamic State-linked fighters and members of the Lakurawa group in parts of Sokoto State.
Speaking on Arise Television on Saturday, the former governor said the development calls for serious reflection, stressing that past US-led counterterrorism efforts in other regions have failed to achieve lasting success.
“Well, I will take that with some mixed reaction. If we go by the history of such operations as carried out by the US in some parts of the world, I am very, very concerned. We must be very circumspect,” he said.
Tambuwal warned that Nigeria must tread carefully in embracing foreign military interventions, noting that previous collaborative operations involving the United States have often fallen short of their stated objectives.
“And if the history is anything to go by, it has not been able to effectively achieve much in some of the areas that they carried out such collaborative efforts,” he added.
The senator’s statements add to the growing debate over the effectiveness of foreign military involvement in Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts, particularly amid rising security concerns in the North-West and broader Sahel region.
