Nigeria, Trump And The US

REUBEN ABATI

Nigeria seems to be making some progress in our engagement with the United States, against the background of the Trump administration’s re-designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) on October 31, with express instruction to the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and Congressman Riley Moore to investigate and make appropriate recommendations to the President of the United States (POTUS). So much has happened between October 31 and now – including at least two major Congressional hearings with participation by members of the House Appropriations Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the National Security Subcommittee and experts like Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations and Ms. Oge Onubogu, Director of the Africa Programme at the Wilson Centre.  The issue was religious persecution in Nigeria, identified as Christian genocide, communicated as the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria.

One meeting was chaired by House Appropriations Vice Chair and National Security Sub-Committee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and then another hearing by the House Foreign Affairs Africa sub-committee chaired by Chris Smith. (R-NJ). The hearings were robust covering the spectrum of extreme, to moderate, to liberal -with Congressman Smith claiming that over 52, 000 Christians have been slaughtered in Nigeria compared to 34, 000 moderate Muslims since 2009, and the reign of a culture of hate in Nigeria. Smith advocated for serious targeted sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against Nigerian individuals and entities. But there were moderate voices as well. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego) said President Trump was only being reckless and that focusing on religious conflict does not capture the reality in Nigeria. This was also the view of Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington). Congress man Bill Huizenga accused the Nigerian government of “sitting back and not doing enough” Ms. Oge Onubogu submitted that the allegation of Christian persecution merely oversimplifies an otherwise complex and more nuanced issue. Dr Obadare called for assistance and help for the Nigerian authorities. He added salt to the matter when he asked that the United States should mount pressure on President Tinubu to make Sharia law unconstitutional in the 12 Northern States, and disband the Hisbah groups: a clear prescription for chaos. One other notable voice during the Congressional hearings was that of Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, Bishop Wilfred Anagbe who told the lawmakers in Washington DC, that Christians in Nigeria face the danger of complete elimination, and that the Nigerian government has refused to acknowledge that such evil exists.  

The debate in the United States indicated a sharp division among American lawmakers and the invited experts as to the nature, scope and extent of religious conflict in Nigeria. Just as the Americans were divided, the debate at home among concerned stakeholders was even more intense. There was the loud crowd of commentators, Christian evangelists and mischievous closet and open partisan politicians who saw Trump’s threat to storm Nigeria with “guns a- blazing” as the comeuppance for the Tinubu administration that they had been waiting for. They were quite vociferous. They boasted that America already knows and that America will punish the Tinubu administration. Many of them were generous with conspiracy theories about how President Trump’s administration in the United States will stop Tinubu from being re-elected. Opposition figures were of course glad that what they could not achieve at the polls, Trump will do it for them. In their obsession with a single narrative, they could not see far enough that whatever sanctions may be imposed on Nigeria will affect everyone, and the reputational damage would be a collective risk. Then there were others who also argued that whereas many Christians have lost their lives to kidnapping, banditry and terrorism, the truth is that all Nigerians are victims be they Christians, Muslims or animists. They are victims of a reign of terror and insecurity which successive governments have not been able to check, despite the rich vocabulary that the challenge has thrown up over the years: kinetic, non-kinetic, asymmetrical, decimated, decapitated. Nigerian public officials will justify anything with adjectives and adverbs, without any concrete action. This class of commentators urged a more sober and reflective assessment of the Nigerian situation. There is yet a third category: those who tried to play religious and ethnic politics with the conversation. Meanwhile, Muslim students at the same time were abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, in Maga, Kebbi State on November 17 (25 students, two members of staff (one student escaped), 38 church members at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State during Sunday service, and about 250 students from St. Mary’s Private Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Nigeria State. These incidents occurring within the same period merely lent weight to the observation that Nigeria faces a serious challenge of insecurity. The situation got worse with the obvious politicization of President Trump’s characterization of religious freedom in Nigeria, and it soon got scary when a certain character who is given voice by an over-indulgent section of the media pushed the clearly stupid view that the abduction of school girls is a lesser evil than the killing of soldiers in combat. Should any child be kidnapped at all and turned into an item of merchandise in the evil ecosystem of banditry? Should anyone be killed at all, unjustly and inhumanely?

The Tinubu administration did what it could to douse tension. Its spokespersons denied that there is any religious persecution in Nigeria, quoting Sections 10 (on religious neutrality) and Section 38 (on the freedom of religion, faith and belief), and Section 42 (on non-discrimination) in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In a show of humility, the government of the day called on the United States to collaborate with Nigeria to address issues of particular concern that would be of mutual benefit to both countries. President Tinubu obviously took a long-standing advice that he had been given in the public domain by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigeria’s former Foreign Affairs Minister that he, President Tinubu would be well advised not to get into any confrontation with President Trump under any circumstances whatsoever. Pundits advised President Tinubu to seek the wisdom of the elders and explore back-room channels of engaging the Trump administration. He went a step further by declaring that his administration is committed to ensuring the safety of everyone in Nigeria. A Nigerian delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was soon sent to the United States to tell the Nigerian story and engage with American officials. The delegation was more of a security-focused team rather than diplomacy, but it has worked out well, all the same, in the long run.

Nigeria soon set up a Nigeria-US Bilateral Working Group. President Tinubu replaced his Minister of Defence, former Governor Badaru Abubakar, who most conveniently resigned for health reasons, with a former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa. The President also ordered the removal of policemen from VIP protection duties, he directed the Department of State Services to recruit forest guards, and the police to recruit additional 50, 000 personnel all with the aim to strengthen internal security. The military followed through by freezing all pending retirements by its personnel for the next six months.  Thus, the focus on Nigeria by the Trump administration had the effect of pushing the Nigerian government into action. Nigeria’s demonstration of sobriety and wisdom has since paid off. In the last month, the Nigeria-US Working Group has met, here in Nigeria, with Congressman Riley Moore leading a delegation to Nigeria. They came to see things for themselves, meeting public officials, church and community leaders, civil society figures, as well as persons in Internally Displaced Persons camps. Riley Moore has since returned. He says he is working on a comprehensive report of the trip which will be presented to President Trump.

Before the submission of that report, yet another American delegation led this time by Bill Huizenga (R- Michigan, 4thCongressional District) has just completed a visit to Nigeria. Huizenga was the one who said during one of the Congressional hearings in Washington DC, that the Tinubu administration was “not doing enough” but visiting Nigeria, and after all the diplomatic efforts of Nigeria, his tone is different. Members of that bipartisan delegation that just visited also displayed a better understanding of the Nigerian position and reality. They include Michael Baumgartner, Keith Self, and Jefferson Shreve, accompanied by Ambassador Richard Mills, who until yesterday was President Trump’s Nigerian Ambassador. The team met, like the Moore team before now, with senior government officials, religious leaders, civil society actors, and private sector persons. Now, what came out of the press conference by the group was that the United States is concerned about protection for all Nigerians, regardless of faith, and that the United States will work with the Tinubu administration to ensure a strong, forward-looking relationship! Ambassador Mills in fact added that the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) is a tool to encourage change and dialogue, rather than a permanent label. “The better Nigeria does, the better Africa does. And the better Africa does, the better the world will do,” Huizenga added.

Both Huizenga and Rep. Keith Self drove the point home by stating matter-of-factly that there will be no American “boots on the ground”, rather the US will assist Nigeria through training, logistics, intelligence sharing and capacity-building initiatives. There will be American shoes on the ground, but not military action, and that true friends should stay engaged. The US is not planning to punish Nigerians but to promote partnership, government responsibility and encouraging real, measurable progress. Rep. Keith Self even warned against simplistic narratives, and that Nigeria is “too complex for one-size-fits-all solutions”. Between October 31 and now, the tone is changing. The Republican Christian Evangelists of America have shifted from the position that Christian lives in Nigeria matter to a more realistic view that all Nigerian lives matter and that the Nigerian government and the people deserve all the support that they can get. For sure, there is nothing that cannot be resolved through diplomacy. Within a month, the Nigerian government has scored goals on the diplomatic front in the Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso (over the detention of our soldiers and aircraft) and now, in its relations with the United States.   The safest way to approach difficult challenges in relationships with other countries is through dialogue and diplomacy to build trust, promote relationships and prevent conflict. 

Nonetheless, in Nigeria’s relationship with the United States, it is important to pay attention to the sub-text. Nigeria as the US Congressmen admitted, is a very strategic country and partner. But this same Nigeria has been overly friendly with China and France, which is something of particular concern in today’s connected world. The United States is having a difficult moment in its relations with South Africa which may translate into waning US influence in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Niger turned against the United States. The Sahel region in West and North Africa has more or less been overtaken by Russia and China. France is actively looking for a reinvention of its influence in Africa having been rejected by its former colonies. The United States needs to maintain its strength and influence in a continent that is considered for the want of a better phrase as “the last frontier”. President Trump has established the American voice in the Great Lakes region by intervening in the conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He now has the ears of Nigeria! There must be other aspects to Trump’s game of power. Nigeria is one of those countries that would face visa restrictions from January 2026. Only yesterday, President Trump also recalled about 30 career diplomats from their positions, including Ambassador Richard Mills in Nigeria who actually assumed office as recently as July 2025. Trump wants to reshape American missions abroad by sending personnel who are deemed fully supportive of the “America First” policy.  What does this mean in real terms? Whatever it is, it is noteworthy that Nigeria and the US are having a useful dialogue not just in security and education but also in the areas of health and trade. Nigeria has just signed a five-year, $5. 1 billion bilateral health co-operation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US, to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system. What is the deal? What is Nigeria giving back in return?