On Christmas Day, while much of the world was celebrating, US warplanes carried out airstrikes in Sokoto State, Nigeria. The White House described the operation as a counter-terrorism mission against ISIS terrorists (who, incidentally, are the true children of the CIA and Mossad) and a due response to attacks on Christian communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christians around the world (judging by the media and social media posts) rejoiced that the US was finally responding to the cannibalistic terrorists of ISIS and Boko Haram who have been slaughtering Christians for years with the blessing of the Nigerian government and the indifference, inaction and inaction of the \u201cChristian\u201d West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House\u2019s explanation, however, obscures the real political significance of the attacks. Beyond the limited security or deterrence measure, the bombing represents a renewed intervention by US imperialism aimed at restoring control over West Africa through the use of military force to discipline states, secure access to resources, and limit the spread of independence movements in the Sahel. Nigeria, the most populous country and largest economy in Africa, plays a central role in this project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We recall that US military operations in Africa have always been justified as counter-terrorism. In practice, they function as instruments of imperialist domination. Thus, through direct airstrikes, Washington presents itself as indispensable to Nigeria\u2019s internal security. This dependence is then transformed into political influence. Military aid thus serves as a means of shaping state policy in the interests of US power and international capital. Security cooperation within the framework of US imperialism is never neutral, as it ties the recipient state more closely to US military command structures, intelligence networks, and strategic priorities and limits its ability to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The location of the attacks, Sokoto, is no coincidence. Sokoto State is located near Nigeria\u2019s border with Niger, one of three Sahel states, along with Mali and Burkina Faso, whose governments are seeking to escape decades of military and economic control by the US and France. These states have expelled Western troops (mainly French) and have asserted greater control over their own security and economic decisions. This process is often misrepresented as a \u201cgeopolitical realignment\u201d with Russia or China. In reality, it is a struggle for national independence against the imperialist neocolonial dominance of the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the perspective of US imperialism, such independence is a threat because it challenges the perceived right of Western powers to dictate military and economic policy across the region. The US airstrikes are a sign that Nigeria will not follow the path of the three Sahel states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nigeria has in recent years expanded economic cooperation with China and has sought development deals that reduce its dependence on Western lenders and corporations. More importantly, however, Nigeria\u2019s size and regional weight mean that any decisive move towards greater independence would weaken imperialist, neocolonial control over West Africa. By anchoring itself more firmly in Nigeria\u2019s security apparatus, the US wants to bind Nigeria more firmly into an imperialist alliance. Security assistance is conditional, meaning continued US support is contingent on political obedience and continued openness to international capital under political \u201cstability.\u201d This is not a partnership on equal terms. It is the use of military force to impose a hierarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For international capital, \u201cstability\u201d means undisturbed oil and mineral extraction, secure transportation routes, and a political order that protects foreign corporate profits. Military interventions are justified by preventing chaos, but in reality they maintain the conditions under which the wealth produced in Nigeria flows to elite corporations and financial institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This pattern is familiar. Throughout the Global South, US military forces have repeatedly been deployed to secure favorable conditions for energy companies, mining companies, and banks, while the local population has remained poor and politically marginalized. A direct parallel with US policy toward Venezuela is apt, where sanctions and threats of violence have been justified as humanitarian measures (fighting drug cartels) while seeking control of oil revenues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington has presented the attacks as defending Christians against Islamic State terrorists. However, the reality is different. The religious narrative serves US domestic policy and also provides a moral justification for expanding US military operations in Africa. Besides, how is it possible that Trump is welcoming the Al-Qaeda cannibal Al-Julani (now Al-Sharaa) to the White House as the undisputed leader of Syria, while at the same time attacking his comrades in Nigeria?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond Nigeria itself, there is a broader geopolitical calculation. US imperialism has long relied on regional proxy states, states strong enough to exercise local authority but dependent enough to remain subservient. The airstrikes in Sokoto indicate new efforts to push Nigeria into that role, as a regional enforcer to contain the spread of independence movements emanating from the Sahel. According to this calculation, Nigeria does not need to formally wage war. Its role is to house US troops, coordinate operations, and provide African civilian cover for interventions planned elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Christmas Day airstrikes are not an isolated incident. They are part of a broader effort by US imperialism to halt the loss of control over Africa, as more and more states seek to regain their sovereignty after decades of neo-colonial rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, the fight against terrorism becomes the justification, while independence is assessed as a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the real meaning, the real significance of the US airstrikes in Nigeria. Certainly not the salvation of Christians, as this could have been achieved years ago by imposing sanctions and embargoes on Nigeria\u2019s authoritarian Muslim regime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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