Revealed: Why US Blacklisted Nigeria – Thisday
January 6, 2010 by Bunmi Awolusi
Nigeria’s weakening diplomatic ties with the United States may have largely contributed to the blacklisting of the country along with others long suspected of habouring potential terrorists.
Angry reactions have continued to trail the decision of US to place Nigeria on the list of “countries of interest” in its fight against terrorism, with the National Assembly yesterday rejecting the US classification in the wake of the failed terrorist attack on an American airliner by a Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab.
Investigations by THISDAY revealed that the relationship between the two countries has been weakened in the last three years – a development that is said to have made it “very easy” for the US to blacklist Nigeria.
The situation is further compounded by the lack of high-level diplomatic contact between Aso Rock and the White House after the failed suicide-bombing incident.
Todd Moss, vice president and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Bush administration, highlighted this fact in a widely circulated article entitled “Where in the World is the Nigerian President?” posted on the web yesterday.
