by Anike Jacobs
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has once again appealed to the United States for greater assistance in the fight against Boko Haram Islamists.
The president confirmed this in a recent interview with the Wall street journal.
“Are they not fighting ISIS? Why can’t they come to Nigeria?
“They are our friends. If Nigeria has a problem, then I expect the US to come and assist us,” he said in the interview.
Jonathan said Boko Haram militants, who have taken over swathes of territory in northeast Nigeria, have received “training and funds” from the Islamic State jihadists, based in Iraq and Syria.
Jonathan said he has requested combat soldiers and military advisers from Washington since early 2014, but it yielded no result.
On a visit to Nigeria in January, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was “prepared to do more” to help Nigeria counter the Boko Haram insurgency but nothing much has been done.
Also the Nigeria’s ambassador to Washington has accused the United States of failing to provide the weaponry required to end the fighting and Abuja also ended a US training program for soldiers to take on the militants.
