THE United States Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, has debunked media reports that America was not doing enough in helping Nigeria to contain terrorism in the country.
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Entwistle debunked the notion at a news conference in Yola, Adamawa State, on Thursday.

He said the US government was involved in supporting Nigerian government’s response to the Boko Haram menace.

“I disagree completely with these headlines; they are quite inadequate. Our two countries have strong military relationship.

“Over the years, we share a lot of equipment; some of the newest vessels of your navy come from United States. So the idea that US doesn’t support Nigeria is not true,” the envoy said.

He added that the support to Nigeria was in many forms, including training of soldiers and information sharing.

On his perception of Boko Haram, the ambassador said he was not sure of the group’s objectives.

“There are still some open questions on who they are, what they want.

“A year ago, I would have said they were religiously motivated. But as they killed more and more Muslims, it’s hard for me to believe that they were motivated by religion.

“Who are these guys and what do they want? I don’t think we really understand them,” Entwistle said.

He observed that Boko Haram had gone beyond being a small insurgent group, with a couple of guns, to very effective collection of conventional force.

“An open question we have to look at carefully is where is the military expertise (for Boko Haram) coming from. How in the last one year they became more effective?”

The envoy, who was in Adamawa to monitor the suspended October 11 governorship bye-election, held talks with Adamawa Interfaith Committee, a non-governmental organisation.

He also visited the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, where he delivered a lecture to staff and students of the institution.

Speaking at a news conference, Entwistle said the US was committed to supporting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that internally displaced persons (IDPs) vote in the 2015 general election.

Entwistle, who described it as a difficult task, however, said Nigeria needed to find possible ways for IDPs to vote during the elections, at least the presidential election.

“People of good intention should find a way out about that, so that displaced Nigerians can vote as much as possible,” Entwistle said.

The ambassador said to be disenfranchised alongside being displaced would be unfortunate, adding that Nigeria could use what Americans called “absentee balloting.”

He cautioned the electorate against selling their votes, saying the right to vote was crucial and must not be wasted.
http://www.tribune.com.ng/news/top-stories/item/18220-us-not-undermining-nigeria-s-fight-against-boko-haram-ambassador