Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have sharply criticised Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over remarks linking Nigeria’s worsening insecurity to instability in neighbouring Sahel states, exposing fresh tensions between West Africa’s biggest economy and the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The three AES members summoned Nigeria’s chargé d’affaires in Ouagadougou on Thursday, August 6, to protest Tinubu’s comments, which they described as inaccurate and dismissive of their efforts against armed groups.
Tinubu made the remarks on July 30 while addressing Nigerian traditional rulers as he explained the country’s growing security challenges.
“Some of them [the terrorists] are not Nigerians. You see, the problem of insecurity in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is worsening our difficulties,” Tinubu said.
His comments come as Nigeria battles jihadist groups, bandits and kidnappers across large parts of the country, while militant activity increasingly cuts across national borders in the wider Sahel and Lake Chad region.
