US National Security Interests in West Africa: Opportunities and Dangers with Ambassador Robin Sanders and General Kip Ward

Ambassador Sanders (former US Ambassador to Nigeria & Congo) and General Ward (former Commander US AFRICOM) discuss US interests in the region including the opportunities (huge markets, a youth bulge, many UN Votes) and the dangers (political instability, sharply rising violence from criminal networks and extremists groups including Boko Haram). They talk about the region’s original rejection of the US African Command and its current request for a greater US military presence. Finally, they discuss the issue of great power competition on the continent, the mixed messages coming from the US and Africa’s rejection of being “the chessboard on which China and the US play”.