Just What Africa Needs

Pakistan continues to spread the love:

Nigeria's Defense Ministry said Pakistan's top military
official offered to share unspecified assistance with Nigeria's armed
forces, but a Nigerian defense spokesman later retracted a statement
that the offer included "nuclear power." In a late night communique,
Nigeria's Defense Ministry claimed the chairman of Pakistan's joint
chiefs of staff, Gen. Muhammad Aziz Khan, said during a scheduled visit
to Nigeria that Pakistan "is working out the dynamics of how they can
assist Nigeria's armed forces to strengthen its military capability and
to acquire nuclear power." However, Nwachukwu Bellu, the Nigerian
Defense Ministry spokesman who signed Wednesday's statement, told The
Associated Press on Thursday that "it was a mistake" for the communique
to have mentioned nuclear power as an area of possible cooperation. "It
was a mistake," Bellu said without further clarification. When asked
whether officials from the two countries discussed nuclear cooperation
at all, he replied: "Nothing like that happened." He declined further
comment. Other Nigerian officials were not immediately available for
comment. The statement, issued late Wednesday, did not say if Pakistan
was offering nuclear weapons, or if Nigeria was seeking them.
[...]
Pakistan came under significant international pressure after one of its
top nuclear scientists admitted last month that he sold nuclear
technology to Iran, as well as North Korea and Libya � all nations on
the U.S. list of terrorism sponsors. Less than two months ago, Nigeria
announced that North Korea had agreed to share missile technology with
Nigeria, an offer that was subsequently denied by North Korea. Nigeria
said any North Korean missile help would be used for "peacekeeping" and
to protect its territory. It said it was not seeking nuclear technology
or weapons of mass destruction. Under former army dictators, Nigeria's
military was viewed as an international pariah for ruthlessly
suppressing dissent. Involvement in African peace missions since
elections restored civilian rule in 1999 has helped repair its image
abroad.

Posted by flow Frazao on March 4, 2004 at 04:00 PM | Permalink