A sharp escalation in U.S. diplomacy has placed Nigeria at the centre of a debate over aid, sovereignty and terrorism, after Donald Trump threatened possible military action over alleged “mass killings” of Christians in Africa’s most populous country.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump warned that if the Nigerian government continued to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S. would “immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
He also announced that he had instructed the U.S. Department of Defence to “prepare for possible action.”
Nigeria’s Response: Cautious Engagement
The Nigerian government responded by welcoming assistance to tackle terrorism — with a key caveat. Presidential adviser Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would accept U.S. help provided it respected the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“We welcome U.S. assistance as long as it recognises our territorial integrity,” he said.
At the same time, Bwala and other government representatives rejected the framing of Nigeria as a country that tolerates systematic religious persecution.
Shehu Sani Weighs In: Support for Aid, Rejection of Religious Framing
Former Senator and civil society activist Shehu Sani offered a nuanced position: he backed international aid and cooperation to assist in Nigeria’s anti-terrorism efforts, but strongly challenged the narrative that the country’s insecurity is driven by systematic targeting of Christians.
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In a statement, Sani described the U.S. designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over religious freedom as “baseless and misleading,” calling it “founded on outright falsehoods and wholesale misinformation.”
He argued that terrorists in Nigeria kill “irrespective of religious belief” and urged international support focused on capacity-building rather than division.
The standoff triggered by Trump’s threat and Nigeria’s reaction opens a broader conversation: international assistance must be aligned with clear security imperatives, respect for sovereignty, and an understanding of Nigeria’s complex reality.
Simplistic narratives of religious persecution — while emotionally powerful — may hinder meaningful action rather than sharpen it.
