Donald Trump, never one to whisper, has again jolted diplomacy with a tweet. Over the weekend, he accused Nigeria of allowing the killing of Christians and ordered the U.S. military to prepare for action. His words, delivered in familiar thunder, sent Abuja scrambling to contain both panic and insult.
The White House claims the move follows Nigeria’s redesignation as a “Country of Particular Concern” for violations of religious freedom. In Trump’s framing, Nigeria had failed its faithful. “They’re killing Christians in record numbers,” he declared, warning that American troops could strike if Abuja “doesn’t act fast.”
For President Bola Tinubu, the timing could not be worse. Inflation is soaring, foreign investment is flat, and public patience is thinning. Now, the country faces diplomatic shock from its oldest Western ally. Trump’s fury has painted Nigeria as both a moral offender and a failed state.
Tinubu’s government denies the charge.
According to the president’s spokesman, jihadists “kill across faiths and regions,” and Nigeria remains religiously tolerant. Many others agree to this narrative, arguing that violence in the north often targets Muslims as well as Christians, part of a deeper web of insurgency, herder-farmer conflict, and poverty.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s diplomatic silence has not helped. Tinubu has yet to visit Washington since taking office in 2023, and key ambassadorial seats remain empty. Into that vacuum, suspicion has crept. American lawmakers cite “Christian genocide,” while Nigerian officials plead sovereignty and context. Neither side seems eager to bridge the gap.
In private, aides say Tinubu hopes for “cool heads.” He may find few in Trump’s circle. When U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth replied “Yes, sir” to the president’s online war call, the gesture felt half-joke, half-warning, just enough to shake markets and ministries alike.
By Monday, Lagos newspapers ran headlines like campaign posters: Pray for Peace, Not War. Nigeria’s leader, now cast as the world’s latest reluctant villain, must learn a new art: how to calm Trump without kneeling to him.
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