In an interview granted by a foreign military contractor to Al Jazeera’s Yehia Ghanem, lieutenant-colonel Eeben Barlow, the founder of now-defunct Executive Outcomes, has alleged that President Buhari prevented his organization from finishing off Boko Haram.
Eeben Barlow also alleged that US interests in Nigeria pushed them to fund and support President Muhamadu Buhari’s bid to take the reins of government in the 2015 elections that saw Goodluck Jonathan, an incumbent candidate, defeated.
According to Eeben, foreign powers like the United States often have interests in nations like Nigeria, and in certain cases, those interests will clash with the local interests of the country itself, forcing the foreign power to set aside the local interests of that country in order to see their own interests satisfied.
One of such local interests, according to Eeben Barlow, was defeating Boko Haram. Barlow alleged that when Goodluck Jonathan intensified his effort to crush Boko Haram during the months leading up to the general elections, his campaign was not aligned with the United State’s interests in Nigeria.
This caused the US to introduce Obama’s campaign manager to Buhari’s team, who then spearheaded Buhari’s campaign in Nigeria with funds from the US government.
Eeben alleged that, upon assumption of office, President Muhammadu Buhari canceled their contract to fight Boko Haram, saying that private military contractor was not going to be effective at defeating the insurgents.
Be aware that Boko Haram has been largely defeated since the assumption of office by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, with the terrorist group now “reduced to petty kidnapping and pockets of crimes in vulnerable areas.”
Prior to Buhari’s assumption into office, Boko Haram held several caliphates in the North, particularly within Borno State, where the terrorist group controlled several local government areas (yes, entire local government areas).
Watch the full video interview that Eeben Barlow had with Aljazeera, discussing Boko Haram, how the USA funded Buhari’s campaign and Executive Outcomes’ other campaigns in other African Nations.
Part 2:
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