Copyright tribuneonlineng
The Presidency has hinted of a possible meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the United States President, Donald Trump, on the raging controversy over the alleged killing of Christians in Nigeria. The Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Mr Daniel Bwala, dropped the hint on Sunday barely 24 hours after Tinubu himself personally opposed the tagging of Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ by Trump. Taking to his X handle, @BwalaDaniel, the presidential aide said both leaders could either meet at the State House or the White House to have an elaborate discussion on whether attacks by terrorists and other criminal elements in Nigeria were targeted at Christians only. He also acknowledged the United States’ role in supporting Nigeria’s anti-terror war, noting that the two leaders shared a common interest in seeing to the end of such violent killings and destruction across the globe. The presidential aide wrote, “Both President @officialABAT and President @realDonaldTrump have shared interest in the fight against insurgency and all forms of terrorism against humanity. “President Trump has assisted Nigeria a lot by authorising the sale of arms to Nigeria and President Tinubu has adequately utilised the opportunity in the fight against terrorism for which we have massive results to show for it. “As for the differences as to whether terrorists in Nigeria target only Christians or in fact all faiths and no faiths, the differences, if they exist, would be discussed and resolved by the two leaders when they meet in the coming days, either in the State House or White House.” Earlier on Saturday, Tinubu had disagreed with the characterisation of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant country, adding that all faiths were guaranteed the freedoms to practice under its constitution. “Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty”, Tinubu had stated in a tweet. He said further, “Since 2023, our administration has maintained an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions. “The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians. “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. “Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths. “Our administration is committed to working with the United States government and the international community to deepen understanding and cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths.” US Should assist with technology to combat insecurity —KwanKwaso Meanwhile, a concerned Nigerian, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, known as R.M.K., has urged the United States government to assist Nigeria with modern technology and intelligence-sharing mechanisms to tackle insecurity, rather than making pronouncements that could deepen divisions or undermine the country’s sovereignty. He made the appeal while reacting to the recent statement by Trump, which designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern.” In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, Kwakwanso said the designation was unnecessary and potentially misleading, as Nigeria’s security challenges are complex, non-religious and multi-dimensional, affecting people of all faiths and ethnicities. “I have noted with increasing concern the heightened pronouncements on Nigeria by President Donald Trump. This follows his designation of Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern.’” “It is important to emphasise that our country is a sovereign nation whose people face different threats from outlaws across the country. The insecurity we face does not distinguish based on religious, ethnic, or political beliefs,” he said. Martin Onovo calls for decisive action against insecurity Also, Chief Martin Onovo, former presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), has urged the Federal Government to deploy full national capacity to end insecurity in the country. Onovo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that decisive action and coordinated efforts were critical to restoring lasting peace across affected parts of the country. The activist and head of policy positions at the Movement for Fundamental Change was reacting to the recent designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the U.S. over alleged killings of people of a particular faith. Onovo said that the government should focus on comprehensive security response rather than prolonged debates over the characterisation of the violence. He said: “There should be political will to crush the insurgency. “The facts are clear that ordinary Nigerians die of terrorist attacks, let us forget about creed or religion. Why should there be killings at all? “There should not be killings. We cannot deny that the terrorists kill Muslims also. Why should anybody be killed? “The government should act against the insurgents with full national capacity. Everything is not military.” Engage US govt diplomatically, SAN tells Tinubu A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Wahab Shittu, has called on President Bola Tinubu to engage with the United States over threat of a military takeover by President Donald Trump. Trump had threatened to carry out attacks in Nigeria in response to purported anti-Christian violence, saying he instructed the recently renamed Department of War to “prepare for possible action”. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said the United States would immediately cut off all assistance to the African country “if the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians”. Reacting in a press conference, the senior lawyer maintained that Nigeria needs to initiate peace overtures with the United States. He wants President Tinubu to personally lead the delegation that involves all heads of government to avert what he described as the outbreak of a United States war against Nigeria. Patriotic Elders warn US against military action Also, the National Patriotic Elders for Peace and Harmony in Nigeria (NPEPHN) has cautioned the United States government against any attempt to launch military action against Nigeria over alleged killings of Christians, describing such a move as unjustifiable and baseless. In a statement issued after its emergency meeting held in Kano on Sunday, the group, through its National President, Dr Bature AbdulAziz, said the alleged “massacre of Christians” in Nigeria was a false and misleading narrative not supported by verified evidence. AbdulAziz argued that terror attacks in Nigeria have affected both Muslims and Christians. Nigeria’s security crisis driven by cross-border terrorists, not religious conflict —Security expert However, a prominent Nigerian security expert, Ambassador Abayomi Nurain Mumuni, has called on United States President, Donald Trump to reevaluate his recent redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” emphasising that the country’s security crisis is driven by cross-border terrorist networks rather than internal religious conflict. In a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Rasheed Abubakar, Ambassador Mumuni urged President Trump and his team to adopt a more nuanced and informed approach, focusing on the underlying causes of violence in the region. According to Mumuni, Nigeria’s security challenges stem largely from terrorist groups operating across borders, not from any one religious community. He stressed that the term “Fulani bandits” fails to capture the complexity of these entities, which he described as cross-border criminal networks exploiting Nigeria’s porous borders to move arms and personnel, leading to heightened terror and civil instability. US threat of war ominous, Sule Lamido .Wants Tinubu to convene meeting of past Nigerian leaders On his part, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sule Lamido, on Sunday described the “threat of war” on the country by United States President Trump over the alleged genocide in Nigeria as ominous, urging President Tinubu to convene a meeting of Nigerian past leaders to fully discuss the matter. Lamido warned in a statement sent to the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday that the repercussions of such action being contemplated by Trump are too grave to be imagined. He called on all Nigerian leaders to set aside whatever personal differences with President Tinubu and come up with pragmatic ways of averting the “looming danger.” He advocated a “quiet diplomacy” led by former presidents and heads of state without the prying eyes of the media, to resolve whatever is the concern of the United States.
