Scott Perry, a US congressman recently made a startling claim which has raised Nigerian security concerns. In his claim, Perry has alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is responsible for the funding of several terrorist organizations across the world including the Nigerian most feared terrorist group Boko Haram with over $697 million annually.
He also criticized the financial transparency of USAID while questioning them on the unexplainable large sums that are being allocated to international programs yield little to no verifiable result. Perry cited an example of $136 million which was recorded to be invested in building 120 schools in Pakistan and claimed that there was zero evidence of the school construction.
Furthermore, he noted that there is a record of an annual $60 million fund allocated to women’s scholarship Endowment and a $5 million allocation to the Young Women Lead Program with no trace of it existing. He went ahead to suggest that these funds were not possibly used for the intended projects rather they are being misused or exploited by terrorist groups.
Claims by Scott Perry lead to investigation demands
Former Department of State Services (DSS) Director Mike Ejiofor said the allegations were not surprising, citing past warnings from Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff about NGOs potentially collaborating with terrorists. He called for a full investigation involving the National Assembly and security agencies, including the DSS and National Intelligence Agency (NIA), to determine the truth behind the claims.
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Dr. Ambrose Igboke, the analyst for International affairs has also echoed these concerns, he also suggested that in history, it has been observed that some developed countries have backed insurgent groups for either political or economic gains.
“This is why countries like Russia and China reject certain foreign aid programs,” he said.
Though Scott Perry’s claims are largely unverified, they have sparked scrutiny over the activities of international aid‘s role in the security challenges Nigeria is facing. With mounting pressure, the Nigerian authorities may be forced to carry out further investigations or they will be risking allowing these allegations to fade into the political controversies.