Nigeria is adjusting how it conducts air operations against armed groups as part of an updated security arrangement with the United States. Under the new framework, Nigerian fighter aircraft will increasingly rely on U.S. reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering...
MEA RISK’s SHIELD & ALERT notifications: Access requires installing Shield & Alert mobile application. More info on S&A here or click here to signup and install
Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria
By Leslie Varenne, MondAfrique: The American strikes carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day raise serious questions. Beyond the confusion surrounding the objectives of the operation, inconsistencies in official statements, and the unclear nature of the targets, the...
U.S. Immigration Policy and the Changing Landscape of Africa-U.S. Travel
As the United States prepares to implement a new round of immigration and visa policy changes in 2026, the effects are being felt across Africa and parts of the Middle East. What began as a technical overhaul of screening and enforcement procedures has evolved into a...
Nigerian president Tinubu under pressure to avoid war with northern neighbor Niger
By Camille Malpat with Aminu Abubakar in Kano, Nigeria: Political leaders in Nigeria are urging President Bola Tinubu to reconsider a threatened military intervention against junta leaders in neighbouring Niger, ahead of a Sunday deadline to reinstate the country's...
Nigeria grapples with end of fuel subsidy
By Alexandre Martins Lopes: Nigerians are struggling with surging fuel prices after newly elected President Bola Tinubu declared an end to popular subsidies, a move analysts and experts said was long overdue. On his first day in office, Tinubu kept to his campaign...
Nigeria: Bandits raid six villages in north, kill 30 civilians
Armed men killed 30 people in weekend raids on six villages in Nigeria's north, a region regularly hit by criminal violence and clashes between communities, local police have said. The bloodshed is the latest outbreak of inter-communal violence which the country's...
Nigerian people angry at Buhari’s medical trip to the UK
Posted On 31 March 2021
Critics of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari have launched an outcry after he flew to London for a medical visit, highlighting his frequent trips abroad for treatment and the country’s ramshackle health system. Buhari, 78, has made several trips to London since he came to power in 2015 and was re-elected for another four-year term in 2019.
Although the nature of his ailment has never been made public, Buhari confessed in one of the trips that he had “never been so ill” and that he had received several blood transfusions. In his latest visit to the British capital on Tuesday, the presidency said the retired general, who was military ruler in the 1980s, would be away for two weeks. “He is due back in the country during the second week of April,” his office said in a statement. The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) condemned the trip, saying it was an indication that Nigeria‘s healthcare system had failed. “It is indeed worrisome that under President Buhari, even the hitherto highly rated State House Clinic, has become so moribund that it cannot provide
a simple medical checkup service for Mr. President,” the PDP said in a statement. The party said Buhari’s frequent trips were a drain on the treasury.
a simple medical checkup service for Mr. President,” the PDP said in a statement. The party said Buhari’s frequent trips were a drain on the treasury.
“The PDP is disturbed that while Mr. President jets out for medical treatment in well-equipped hospitals abroad, our hospitals and medical personnel are in very sorry situation while millions of our compatriots suffer,” it said. Both local and social media were also full of outraged remarks by Nigerians over the trip.
The latest London visit came just hours before a threatened strike by doctors in government hospitals over pay and inadequate facilities. Buhari’s health became a subject of debate ahead of the last election when the opposition claimed he was not physically fit to govern — but Buhari won a second term. The president’s state of health became a sensitive subject in Nigeria after former leader Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, died in 2010 and it emerged that his ailment had been kept secret for months.
AFP
Recent News from Nigeria
Nigeria Adjusts Airstrike Strategy Under Expanded U.S. Security Cooperation
Nigeria is modifying how it conducts air operations against armed groups under a revised security arrangement with the United States. The new framework places greater emphasis on U.S. intelligence and reconnaissance support while shifting operational responsibility to Nigerian forces. The approach reflects Abuja’s effort to balance external assistance with domestic control amid ongoing security challenges in the country’s northwest.
Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria
The U.S. airstrikes carried out in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day have triggered confusion and skepticism across the region. Conflicting statements from Washington and Abuja, uncertainty over the identity of the targeted groups, and reports from strike locations where no militants were found have raised serious questions about the operation’s objectives. In an already fragile security environment, the lack of clarity risks adding instability rather than addressing Nigeria’s complex security challenges.
Nigeria’s Conflict Goes Global With Washington Entering the Fight
U.S. airstrikes in northwestern Nigeria mark a rare moment in which a long-running domestic security crisis crossed into direct American military involvement. While Nigerian forces have relied on aerial bombardment for years against insurgents and armed groups, the decision to authorize U.S. strikes introduces new political signaling, diplomatic pressure, and strategic implications. This analysis examines why the intervention occurred now, how it differs from Nigeria’s own military operations, and what it reveals about the growing internationalization of conflict in West Africa.
