by Nayaba Arinde
Guest Writer
Nigeria, a sovereign nation, is responding to President Donald Trump’s threat to go uninvited into the African nation and to flex its military might under the guise of saving one religious group from another.
This latest move comes on the heels of U.S. threats and actions toward other countries including Venezuela and Palestine. Now, add Nigeria to the list.
Recently, the president announced that he is considering putting U.S. boots on the ground in Nigeria. Claiming he wanted to stop the disputed “Christian genocide,” President Trump said his intention was to quell the so-called “Muslim violence.” The president designated Nigeria, lovingly called the “Giant of Africa,” as “A Country of Particular Concern (CPC).”
The unprovoked U.S. threat came as a surprise to residents of Africa’s most populous nation, with 237.5 million people, hundreds of diverse tribes, and people who speak multiple dialects and languages.
While the current U.S. administration may be thinking about drones, fighter jets, and ground offensives, legal eagles took a current status approach, pointing out the need for permission—considering or denying by a Congress not in session due to the month-plus long government shutdown, no funding committee seated, no United Nations request, and no Nigerian green-light.
Threatening to “prepare for possible action,” on November 1, and threatening to stop all aid and assistance and “… may very well go in … ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
On Nov. 1, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu commented on X, that the “characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality.” He explained, “Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so.
Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.” Declaring that it was always committed to eliminating “violent extremism,” Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.
Nigeria is a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, diversity and inclusion, in concurrence with the rules-based international order.”
A good percentage of Nigerians on the continent and millions in the Diaspora queried the “guns-a-blazing” American threat as a distraction and bully flex.
Speaking on Channels TV, Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist Femi Falana said, “[Trump] wanted a military base there, they couldn’t get. They wanted to use Nigeria as a dumping ground for deportees. [Nigeria] said ‘No.’”
The father of popular entertainer Falz the Bahd Guy charged, “Nigerian people will have to be mobilized to defend their own country, and that is by addressing the economic problems confronting them.”
The populace has long called for a continued, effective, concerted, and coordinated government response to the deadly violence affecting both Christians and Muslims. Meanwhile, Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi warned President Trump to “retract his threat,” regarding Nigeria’s internal struggles, or risk the cutting off of ties.
Jane Duru, a popular social commentator, said, “The tension is high. Emotions are running deep. But we must not turn our pain into the weapon they are using against us. We don’t need invaders. We don’t need another war.
We need wisdom. We need each other. Foreign powers are watching, waiting for chaos, because chaos gives them access … to our oil … our land…our future.” Duru advised, “Let’s not repeat Libya, or Sudan, or Congo.”
Nigeria and America have a “pragmatic partnership,” stated the Atlantic Council, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. “The United States is Nigeria’s largest investor, with U.S. investments in oil and gas, wholesale trade and gas.
Bilateral trade surpassed thirteen billion dollars in 2024, and Nigeria ranks among the top African markets for U.S exports,” the Atlantic Council noted.
However, unlike other presidents, while Tinubu has gone to France multiple times since his May 2023 election, he has yet to go to Washington. Folks recall how, during his first term in office, President Trump called African countries, including Nigeria, “sh*thole,” countries.
So, is this political theatre with a continental slant? Even so, there are those who welcomed the possible intervention, due to the reported violence on both sides, poverty, and much-needed attention to connectivity and infrastructure.
The Nigerian government says it has been addressing all of the above; however, residents throughout the entire nation have demanded more effective action.
But the sovereign nation and Commonwealth member determines that it should be able to solve its own issues without the specter of an uninvited foreign power with dubious, undeclared intentions.
Reports from the country state that both Christians and Muslims have been killed in assaults by armed Boko Haram and other marauders. The government has been under scrutiny by the populace, but outside, uninvited armed assistance has been rejected by most … .
Brother Ogi, a Pan African activist in the New York tristate area, determined that the U.S. government is “seeking distractions” from several of its own domestic issues, including economic problems.
“To put some countries on the defensive, they are getting out of the Pax Americana (a Latin phrase meaning “American peace”) orbit, and seeking their fortunes elsewhere. Also to remind them of the American superpower, and its ability to interfere on the basis of nebulous excuses,” he explained.
Meka-ilu Mbashowoh, president and founder at the Islamic Chamber of Trade and Industry Nigeria, advised, “It’s about diesel, not religion. A warning to Nigeria … wise up.”
He continued, “To think America is interested in helping Nigeria is total madness. America sees the thousands killed in Sudan, in Palestine, in Congo, and in Southern Cameroon. … Do you think America just loves Nigeria that much?”
The Islamic Chamber president determined that it’s about economics and trade, “They are coming for Nigeria because President Tinubu threatened their interests.”
In October, President Tinubu’s government slapped a “15% tax (a tariff) on diesel fuel imported from other countries. … It’s a move to boost Nigeria’s economy and reduce reliance on foreign products,” he explained.
With America being one of Nigeria’s highest suppliers, other nations, including the U.S., are hit by this new tax.
Mbashowoh added, “So, when Donald Trump suddenly starts talking about ‘the killing in Nigeria’ right after this new tax, do not see it as love or support for Christians.”
Furthermore, “A single statement from a big name like Trump is a weapon. It is designed to scare away investors who want to put money into Nigerian businesses. … It is designed to stop billions of Naira from coming into the country. This will hurt everyone—from the local factory owners to the everyday person on the street,” he explained.
Mbashowoh surmised this is an effort to create a “crisis so deep that America can enter Nigeria on a “peace-keeping mission.”
The “oldest trick” that America uses in order to destroy an African country or weaken its economy is to cause division amongst its people.
“They will try to make groups fight each other: Traditional believers against Christians or Muslims, Muslims against Christians … Muslims to fight other Muslims, or Christians to fight other Christians. They will try to turn the people against their own leaders. They create the problem, and then they act like they have the solution,” he said.
Prior Nigerian presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore stated, that President Trump’s threat to “launch military action in Nigeria, allegedly to protect Christians, may sound appealing to some. Still, history has shown this to be perilous.”
The New Jersey-based original publisher of Sahara Reporters, currently in Abuja, Nigeria, added, “Whether you are Christian, Muslim, animist, or non-religious, no one should celebrate such rhetoric. The United States and its allies have a long record of military interventions that leave nations more unstable than before.
They failed to secure peace in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, or Syria, and they won’t bring salvation to Nigeria through bombs or boots on the ground. What Nigeria truly needs is not a foreign savior, but legitimate, accountable leadership.
One that protects all citizens, upholds justice, and ends the cycles of corruption and violence that have left the nation broken. …Our deliverance will never come from abroad; it must come from within, through real leadership and national renewal.”
Nigerians both in the country and in the Diaspora had differing reactions. Some said they would welcome help to stop the killings and kidnappings on both sides; some are accusing non-Nigerians, foreign entities, destabilizing agents, mercenaries with Western and Diasporic European financing, influx of weapons, and intel.
“This genocide in Nigeria was a big diversion tactics by Trump and foolish Ted Cruz. Since when did America care about Africa?” Kolowole O, a Nigerian businessman working in Ghana and Senegal said. “The terrorist chaos was created by America, just like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to steal from the newly discovered minerals. Trump should focus his attention on the American empire sinking just like the prior empires. I dare Trump to send his troops; he will find out.”
Some observers and analysts have opined that the threatened invasion and interference in Nigeria by the U.S. is also about Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traoré leading the charge to throw off French colonial shackles from his nation, which would have a domino effect on the Sahel region. Other countries on President Trump’s “country of particular concern” list include Cuba, China, and North Korea.
Could it be economics, world market shares? China, for example, has $21 billion in construction deals with Nigeria this year.
Lagos-based Lewis S. explained that that the “so-called Christian and Muslim fight is all a smoke screen. The real fact is the fight between the rich and poor, and how they steal our resources using herdsmen to kill people to collect their lands, all because of natural resources like diamonds.”
Nayaba Arinde is a freelance Editor-at-Large and award-winning reporter and activist. Follow her on Instagram @NayabaArinde1