The United States ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, on Monday, in Abuja, told journalists that Nigeria cannot end up like Afghanistan.
She stated that the level of insecurity witnessed in Afghanistan cannot occur in Nigeria.
The country is presently dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry and other forms of criminality which is crippling the security situation in the country.
On August 15, Islamist group, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan after the insurgents took several provinces as well as the country’s capital, Kabul.
Their action was emboldened by the withdrawal of the US troops from the country — which saw the US end its 20-year-old war on terror, in the country that once gave shelter to Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 911 attack.
Following the takeover of Kabul, thousands of Afghans fled to the airports in an attempt to leave the country — amid fears that the Islamic hardliners resurgence will end up stifling human rights.
Amid concerns that what happened in Afghanistan could embolden the Boko Haram insurgents in the country, many Nigerians called on the federal government to take actions to forestall such plans.
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Reacting to the situation, the US diplomat stated that the Afghanistan situation will not be repeated in Nigeria as the situations are not the same.
She stated that the US troops attacked Afghanistan in 2001 as a result of the killing of over 3,000 Americans.
“I hear people making the analogy with Afghanistan a lot, it does not match up. When you listen to what President Biden said on how troops went to Afghanistan in the first place, it was because they were in a horrible tragedy, over 3,000 Americans were killed,” she said.
“That is a different construct. The sovereign nations have had strong bilateral relations. I don’t actually think the two match up.”
