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US Defence Secretary William Cohen promised on Saturday US $10 million to reshape the Nigerian military and bring it under civilian control, according to news reports.
Cohen said $4 million would be be used to refurbish the country's fleet of US-built C-130 Hercules transport planes, buy spares, pay for instructor pilot and maintenance training, and an up-to-date technical manual library.
An additional $600,000 has been reserved for training of Nigerian military personnel in the US, PANA reported.
The package provides $2 million for a computer simulation centre to teach troops peacekeeping skills. Nigerian led and provided the bulk of troops for the Economic Community of West African States that was deployed in Liberia and later, Sierra Leone. Nigeria has a long history of participation in peacekeeping missions, starting in the 1960s with contribution to the UN effort in ending the Congo crisis.
A 10-member team from the US defence contractor firm, MPRI, will work with its Nigerian counterparts for at least one year to create a civilian defense structure that would control the budgets, payrolls, personnel issues and promotion systems, AFP reported quoting US defence officials.
Cohen's visit marks the first by a US defence secretary and comes two weeks after that of his energy counterpart, Bill Richardson.
These visits, PANA said, "Represents part of the concrete signs in the fast-improving relations" following the restorations of ties after a civilian administration was reinstalled in Nigeria on 29 May 1999.
"This is expected to be capped with US President Bill Clinton's scheduled Nigerian visit in June to reciprocate Obasanjo's two recent trips to the US," PANA said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions