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$15 billion to $30 billion over the next 5 years,in addition to $1.2 billion to fight malaria and other ravaging diseases still prominent in Africa.

To the ordinary African,the thinking is that the establishment of AFRICOM in Africa will naturally attract terrorist groups attack on the continent.To some, the increasing importance of Africa's oil to American energy needs,and the dramatic expansion and improvement of sino-African relations might have called for the establishment of the security operations.

Another concern to most African scholars and opinionists is that the US intelligent has estimated that the United States will buy 25 percent of its oil from Africa by 2015,especially from the sahara/sahel region and the gulf of Guinea,whose oil resources are expected to increase significantly.The rising tension in Nigeria's Niger-Delta region,which supplies the largest amount of oil to the United States from Africa ,all these added up for the sudden interest in Africa's security system.

Apart from these factors, AFRICOM concept may seriously hamper Africa's independent foreign policies,As any US facilities could easily become targets for terrorists,it will be counter-productive for Africa to be caught in the web of international politics,instead,African governments should support all efforts towards strengthening the African Union as the continent's common security structure.

Learn more about this author, Tunde Adelakun.
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