Concerns Over the Presence of U.S. Military Bases in Africa

In addition to the well-known threats posed by American military bases, including environmental pollution from toxic waste, heightened sexual violence, and alcohol-related crimes in neighboring communities, the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Israel against Iran presents a new critical danger to African nations hosting American military facilities.

Since the onset of the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran, Tehran has targeted several countries in the region such as Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, all of which host U.S. military installations.

Iran has strategically closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway through which 20% of the world's oil supply is transported. Consequently, Gulf nations that rely heavily on their oil and gas revenues now find their economic stability jeopardized, impacting other countries that depend on energy imports from this region.

The global spike in energy prices has underlined the potential dangers of host nations accommodating American military bases and, by extension, other Western military presences.

As strategic bases for America’s current military endeavors against Iran, Gulf nations hosting U.S. troops have suffered significant collateral damage, including substantial harm to civilian infrastructure. Washington, which launched this military effort despite a rational assessment that Iran would be a formidable opponent, has largely remained unscathed aside from the rising global energy costs.

Notably, the Gulf states providing accommodations for U.S. military operations were not consulted prior to the outbreak of hostilities against Iran, yet they are bearing the brunt of the fallout from a conflict that does not involve them directly. Israel, America's ally in the conflict, has utilized this combat situation to justify assaults on other regional countries, often blaming Iran.

Iran has made it clear that any act of aggression from Washington will be met with retaliation aimed at American military facilities in the region. Attacks against U.S. installations have ramifications extending throughout the entire region.

The presence of U.S. or other Western military bases in Africa and similar regions in the Global South is a significant and imminent threat. The argument for establishing these bases as a means to combat terrorism has proven to be unsubstantiated. The long-standing availability of French military bases in Niger and Mali has coincided with a stark rise in terrorist activities.

In fact, military coups that led to the ousting of civilian governments in these countries were justified by escalating terrorist threats, leading to the expulsion of French forces accused of neglecting their primary duties as insurgents overwhelmed the nations. Thus, claims of combating terrorism do not validate the justification for maintaining Western military bases.

After Nigeria gained independence in 1960, students from the University of Ibadan protested against a British plan to set up a military base, arguing it was an entanglement that the fledgling nation couldn't afford.

In 2024, the British Ministry of Defence financed and established a counter- insurgency training facility in Ogun State, which was officially opened by officials from the Nigerian Army and their British counterparts. While portrayed as a collaborative security effort, this initiative raises more questions than answers regarding the intentions of both parties.

Since the establishment of these training centers, there has been a significant uptick in terrorist activities. The recent Woro massacre in Kwara State, where terrorists operated for over eleven hours unrestrained, led to the deaths of around 200 individuals and the abduction of a similar number, underscoring that foreign military bases, whether American, British, or French, often serve ulterior motives disguised as security measures, undermining national sovereignty and risking the re-subjugation of the populace.