Nigeria and the Sahel: A Growing Security Divide The recent diplomatic spat between Nigeria and its Sahelian neighbors – Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger – has exposed a widening divide in regional security efforts.
The incident that sparked this latest flare up was the detention of 11 Nigerian Air Force personnel by Burkina Faso after their plane made an emergency landing in Bobo Dioulasso.
While the details of the incident are disputed, one thing is clear: overlapping security threats facing these countries have been exacerbated by a lack of coordination and cooperation.