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Nigeria’s effort to overcome Boko Haram faces another problem with refusal by the Saudi Arabia to grant over-flight permits to cargo planes conveying military equipment and armoured tanks procured by the Nigerian government from Pakistan, ThisDay informs.
This decision made by the Saudi government can cause a big diplomatic scandal because it is well known that Jonathan’s administration aims at ending the insurgency in the North-east before the 2015 election.
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Goodluck Jonathan has given the permission to military authorities to procure arms from alternative sources such as Pakistan and Russia other than Nigeria’s traditional allies led by the United States of America, United Kingdom and France.
According to ThisDay’s source, the decision  was premised on Nigeria’s displeasure with the US after the country blocked the sale of American-manufactured Cobra attack helicopters from Israel.
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Because of the West’s position, Nigeria decided to turn to the East, mainly Pakistan, from which the federal government was able to procure a huge cache of military hardware.
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The source says: “Getting the equipment into Nigeria immediately has run into a hitch owing to Saudi Arabia’s refusal to grant the cargo planes that will convey the arms over-flight permits through its airspace. We got permission to fly through Sudan and other countries but have been blocked by Saudi Arabia, which has impeded the urgency of the operation.”
He also adds that the only alternative for Nigeria after refusal is  to ship the armament by sea, but using this as an option would take much longer.
The source explained further: “If we resort to shipping the arms via the high seas, they would reach us well after the elections which may be too late for the desired impact, especially now that we have the insurgents on the run”.
It should be noted that all countries have their own regulations regarding the issuance of flight permits. And the source says that religious undertones in Saudi Arabia might be the reason.
“Nigeria has always had close ties to Saudi Arabia, but with a war that has a religious slant, we may not be able to rule it out. But what I can say for certain is that this would lead to diplomatic tensions between both countries,” he said.