Nigeria and its four bordering countries announced plans Saturday to deploy an 8,750-strong force by next month to combat the growing regional threat posed by Boko Haram.
Details of the proposed deployment were revealed at the end of a three-day meeting in Cameroon in a statement read out by officials, including Issaka Souare, African Union adviser for Mali and the Sahel.
The plans call for Chad and Nigeria to contribute 3,500 troops each, while Cameroon and Niger would contribute 750 each and Benin would contribute 250. The force would be headquartered in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena.
Nigeria’s conflict with Boko Haram has taken on an increasingly regional dimension in recent months, with the extremists staging attacks in Cameroon and Niger in the last week alone.
Nearly 100 people were killed and some 500 wounded in an attack on the town of Fotokol in Cameroon on Wednesday and Thursday that saw Boko Haram fighters raze mosques and churches and use civilians as human shields, Cameroon officials said.
On Friday, Boko Haram attacked two towns in Niger, killing four soldiers and wounding 17. Niger’s defense minister said 109 Boko Haram fighters were killed after Chad and Niger troops responded to that assault, but the figure could not be independently verified.
Earlier this month, AU heads of state announced plans for a 7,500-member force to fight Boko Haram. Officials said Saturday that the number was increased to 8,750 to allow for the inclusion of police and humanitarian officials.
Saturday’s statement said $4 million was urgently needed for the deployment, though it was unclear where this and other funding would come from.
Jacqueline Seck Diouf, who represented the U.N. at the talks in Cameroon, said the U.N. had promised logistical support for now but added that the AU was requesting funding. Further assistance would need to be approved by the U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, she said.
Election postponed
Nigeria’s electoral commission meanwhile said it is postponing the Feb. 14 presidential election until March 28 due to security concerns, caving in to pressure from the ruling People’s Democratic Party in a move likely to enrage the opposition.
Foreign powers are closely observing how elections will be held in Africa’s biggest economy and have voiced concerns over violence in the aftermath, as was the case after the 2011 election, when 800 people died.
The postponement could stoke unrest in opposition strongholds such as the commercial capital, Lagos, and Nigeria’s second-largest city, Kano, because the opposition has been staunchly against a delay.
The poll will pit incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP against former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in what is likely to be the most hotly contested election since the end of military rule in 1999.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was “deeply disappointed” by Nigeria’s decision to delay the election. “Political interference with the Independent National Electoral Commission is unacceptable, and it is critical that the government not use security concerns as a pretext for impeding the democratic process,” Kerry said.
He visited Nigeria on Jan. 25, urging both candidates to prevent potential post-election violence by their supporters.
The ruling PDP has been pressuring the commission to delay the polls, arguing it is not ready to hold them. Dasuki called for a delay last month over concerns that not enough biometric ID cards necessary for voting would be distributed in time.
Concerns over security, due to the Sunni jihadi insurgency in the northeast, have been raised several times as a reason for a delay, although INEC had outlined red zones where the vote could not be held and alternative polling units for the affected constituencies.
The APC has insisted on keeping the February date for the elections to remain credible, saying the only reason the pro-Jonathan camp is pushing for a delay is that it knows he will lose if he goes to the polls now.
Buhari, who is running for a fourth time against the PDP, believes that he will win. Nigerians see him as a strongman against corruption and one who will have more success in quashing Boko Haram.
While Jonathan has failed on the insurgency front, he has created universities and privatized the electric power sector.
His presidency also oversaw the implementation of an amnesty program with delta militants led by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which ended years of rampant violence, sabotage and kidnappings in the oil-producing region.
Emir installed
Nigeria’s emir of Kano, an influential Muslim monarch, was formally installed Saturday in a lavish ceremony in the ancient northern city.
Women ululated as the sound of drums, trumpets and flutes filled the air, and royal gunmen fired several volleys to mark the coronation of Muhammad Sanusi II.
The emir received his symbol of authority, a silver staff, from Kano state Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso in a 1,200-capacity hall specially built for the occasion.
Sanusi becomes one of Nigeria’s top Islamic authorities, reigning in the largest city in the mainly Muslim north.
Kano’s 57th emir in a succession going back to the 10th century succeeds Ado Bayero, who died last June after 51 years on the throne.
Born Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the new emir was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria before he was suspended in February last year on charges of financial impropriety.
The move by the president — effectively a sacking as Sanusi’s term was ending — was widely seen as politically motivated.
Sanusi had claimed that the state oil company misused nearly $20 billion in public funds in 2012 and 2013.
News of Sanusi’s appointment last year sparked days of street protests in Kano by the supporters of Bayero’s eldest son, who was also a contender for the royal title.
But Kano state government officials attributed the delay in the new emir’s coronation — or “turbaning” — to the need to build the new venue, dubbed Coronation Hall.
The four “kingmakers” — members of the emir’s court who decide on the appointment — presented Sanusi with royal heirlooms, including a sword and a scepter.
“I call on you to roll up our sleeves and face the problems confronting us in the areas of security and education, especially girl child education, health and the economy,” he said.
Security guards battled to contain a surging crowd waiting outside the venue throughout Saturday’s two-hour ceremony, after which the emir left in an open convertible for his palace.