The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) has criticised President Bola Tinubu for his comment, attributing Nigeria’s growing security crisis in part to insecurity in neighbouring states.
The AES — made of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso — considered Mr Tinubu’s remark “simplistic,” “hasty”, and trivialised the states’ efforts to address terrorist operations in the Sahel.
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Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karamoko Traore, disclosed the AES’s stance on Thursday during a meeting with the Chargé d’Affaires of the Nigerian embassy in Burkina Faso.
President Tinubu made his comment last week while discussing the military operation that led to the rescue of pupils and teachers kidnapped in Oyo State. He linked the growing insecurity in the country and the resurgence of kidnapping to the security situation of its neighbours in the Sahel.
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“Some of them (the terrorists) are not Nigerian. You see, the problem of insecurity in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger only exacerbates our difficulties,” he said.
The three, in response to this, summoned the Nigerian Chargé d’Affaires for a meeting in Ouagadougou.
At the meeting, Mr Traore stated that Mr Tinubu’s “surprising” remark downplayed the sacrifice of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in the fight to curb armed groups.
He also claimed the comment minimised the role played by the Nigerien army in the fight against Boko Haram.
He pointed out that Niamey was already facing the Boko Haram threat even before the emergence of large-scale terrorist insecurity in the other countries of the Alliance.
“Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria are facing the same enemy.
“We would have preferred a more accurate presentation of the security situation, rather than placing the blame for a complex situation on neighbouring countries, at the risk of fuelling misunderstandings and frustrations between peoples bound by history, geography, and fraternity,” the minister said.
Nigeria’s relations with Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have been fraught since the 2023 military coup in Niger and the subsequent deterioration of relations between the AES and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the three countries officially exited ECOWAS in early 2025. This was after a year-long effort by the bloc to convince them to reconsider leaving.
The juntas in all three nations had accused ECOWAS of failing to support them in their fight against terrorism and of imposing sanctions that they claim harmed their populations.
Due to the strained relations, security cooperation also suffered, particularly along Nigeria’s borders with the three Sahelian countries.
The fragmentation of regional security arrangements has made intelligence sharing, joint operations, and cross-border coordination more difficult.
READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Sahel security crisis demands action beyond assurances of solidarity
However, the Nigerian government has been pushing for cooperation with the AES to counter cross-border criminal networks operating in the region.
Last week, Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, called for joint regional action between the AES and ECOWAS to combat insurgency in West Africa.
Mr Musa stated that confronting West Africa’s complex security landscape requires an inclusive, coordinated front.
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