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•We shall see how it goes – Onaiyekan
From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Professor Bolaji Akinterinwa, has said the Christmas Day military airstrike in Sokoto State by the United States, in collaboration with the Nigerian Government, is a permissible intervention in international law and relations.
This was even as the Professor of International Relations and Director, Institute of Diplomatic Practice, Culture and Language Development, Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, also said the action by the United States was a welcome development.
In a telephone interview with Saturday Sun, Akinterinwa stated that the military action was permissible because international law prohibits intervention in the domestic affairs of other sovereign states.
“That is as particularly provided for in Article Two, Paragraph Seven of the United Nations Charter.
“The intervention is permissible because this time, the United States did not carry out the strikes unilaterally, but in collaboration with the Government of Nigeria.
“The second point is that the issue of terrorism does not fall within the purview of domestic affairs of any sovereign state. It is a major international problem which requires all the member states of the international community to fight, especially as from the time of 9/11 when the Twin Towers in the United States were destroyed by Al-Qaeda and their men. Nigeria is duly required to fight terrorism wherever it occurs. So, the collaboration of Nigeria with the United States is also a very welcome development,” Akinterinwa said. He however said the airstrike in Sokoto had its own many implications.
“When you strike in Sokoto, the issue now is that some will be killed and some will escape. But where will they escape to? They will be moving from Sokoto to other areas. Which other areas? You never can tell. So, if the airstrike had a comprehensive, a holistic destruction of the base, then you can, in terms of strategic calculations, begin to ask, how long will it take for them to regroup? Where will they be regrouping?” he stated.
Reacting to the development, the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, said he was waiting to see how the operation goes.
The former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) who also said he had no privilege information more than what is available to everybody, further said that luckily enough, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on behalf of the Nigerian Government in the usual diplomatic parlance.
“The long and short of it is that Nigeria is happy that America is coming to help us to deal with ISIS, that is the international Islamic terrorist organisation, who has infiltrated Nigeria. In other words, the terrorists that are operating all over the country, they are not our people, they are not Nigerians. Some Nigerians have joined them, maybe, but they are an international organisation which the United States has taken on. How far they will go, we don’t know. If you ask me, I will say we should just wait and see how far, what kind of results we shall see from this actions,” Onaiyekan said.
The Kogi State-born former Bishop of Ilorin Diocese also recalled the statement issued by the United States Secretary for War, Pete Hegseth, who said the airstrike was just the beginning.
“And obviously, they have done their survey over the whole of the Nigerian territory, they have identified exactly the hot spots of these terrorists, they are ready to take them on one by one without even any booths on the ground,” Onaiyekan added.
