“Noteworthy is the fact that any country that claims to be politically independent but not economically, only has it sovereignty on paper and in the mouth and he who goes borrowing will also come sorrowing“
The controversy around the designation of Nigeria by president Donald Trump of the united state of America as a country with a particular concern came to many as a shock. However, the nuances around the reasons for the categorization cleared off when without mincing words he declared that the genocide against Christians by the muslim jihadists who belong to the various terrorist groups including Boko Haram, ISWAP, is unacceptable. Reactions trailed the pronouncement of President Donald Trump, especially with threat to invade Nigeria militarily if nothing is done to stop the killings of Christians in Nigeria. While some nigerians frown at the discriminatory stance of president Trump in alleging that terrorism in Nigeria is simply a premediated act of genocide against the Christians ,they argue that all lives should matter and not only those of Christians.
It is worthy of mention that regardless of whether President Donald Trump sees the killings in Nigeria from the prism of religious in tolerance or not, had the Nigeria government since 2015 to date under the watch of the late former President Mohammed Buhari and the incumbent president Bola Hammed Tinubu, both of the All Progress Congress Party APC, lived up to their constitutional responsibilities as leaders by prioritizing the welfare and the security of nigerians above their selfish interest, the problems at hand will not have discombobulate and degenerated to a ridiculous state as we have it today. Suffice to say also that nigerians easily forget and lose sight of important lessons from history.
For instance, when criticizing Donald Trump for taking the sight of the Christians they have forgotten to interrogate the coloration and the implications of some important incident of note including why, when one hundred and ten students of the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi Yobe state were abducted by the boko haram terrorist on the 19th of February 2018, and 104 of them returned one month later at the intervention of the federal government, Five reportedly died and only Leah Sharibu who was 14 years old then was held back and till date on the account that she refuse to renounce her faith for islam when her abductors ask for it. It was fine for her to remain in captivity forever on the ground of religion. Recall how In a similar fashion, Deborah Samuel Yakubu a 200 level student in the department of Home Economics at the shehu Shagari college of education sokoto state, on the 12th of May 2022 was stoned to death and her body burnt by a mob of muslim students mostly her school mate, on the ground that she blasphemy against the prophet Muhammad on a whatsapp group created for the students. How many of the high profile nigerians that are mad with president Donald Trump today condemned the killing of Deborah Samuel Yakubu and how many of the perpetrators of the act where brought to book to serve as a deterrent?.
The former vice president of Nigeria Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, reportedly had to delete the message of condemnation he posted on his Twitter page earlier when it was greeted by criticisms, making him to deny having giving his consent for the postage of the message. Recall also how the innocent nigerians from the middle belt of the plateau and benue state, a demography of people who are predominantly Christians lost their lives to the Fulani herders and farmers conflict with impunity. These losses were aside the incessant invasions of the plateau and benue state by the Fulani militia who had at different times left behind hundreds of dead bodies, several houses razed and the communities displaced. There are evidences all over and in the custody of most international agencies about all these. On the most recent attack on plateau state, especially the several genocidal act carried out in the plateau and benue state all over the years especially between 2015 and present, one would without gainsaying the fact conclude that the lives of nigerians do not matter to their government and if that be the case why should it matter to others?. Recall also the number of pastors and priest of the catholic church in particular that were murdered and abducted by the insurgences in Nigeria. As regards insecurity in the forms of terrorism, Fulani herders and farmers conflict and banditry to which thousands of lives have been loss, the periods between 2015 and 2025 with the All Progressive Congress Party APC as the ruling party, can aptly be described as the darkest episode in the history of the country with every region of the country turned into a Golgotha of carnage.
Noteworthy is the fact that any country that claims to be politically independent but not economically, only has it sovereignty on paper and in the mouth and he who goes borrowing will also come sorrowing. The list is endless as one can recall also how the judiciary handed a death sentence on a young Christian man named Sunday Jackson in Adamawa state, who in the process of defending himself from a Fulani man who attacked him by stabbing him on his leg in his farmland had the Fulani man killed. This action of the judiciary generated reactions from prominent Christian and human rights organizations both within and outside the country condemning the judgment. These and so many other incidents attest to what can be describe as discriminatory and are evidences that are being use to designate Nigeria as a country of a particular concern. People should wait a minute and answer the question about who the Boko Haram and ISWAP Terrorists are especially as it’s pertains to their ethnicity and religion. The answer to this question should lead to the next; why should people from a particular ethnic group and religion constitute themselves to be the troublers of Nigeria.
There is no telling lies about how the terrorists do not discriminate on the basics of religion when attacking their victims. Nonetheless, it was discovered that the terrorists killed only muslims whom they considered as infidel for not sharing in their extremist believes and are considered not different from Christians. If by this revelation about how muslim terrorists can attack fellow muslim brothers, it even becomes crystal clear that a Christian to the terrorists is worse than an infidel and that imposes on him, a higher risk of attack than a muslim. Am I the only one thinking of this, is this situation not an indictment on the muslim muslim ticket of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Vice President Kashim Shettima?. On whether in truth the Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria or not, what answers this questions is the saying that “if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably a duck.” Moreover, the heated debates that have trailed president trump pronouncement about a possible military invasion in Nigeria, they revolve around whether or not President Trump can actualize his threat of invasion. if my candid opinion on the matter at hand is solicited, I would say without mincing words that underestimating a man who has over estimated himself especially in relation to President Donald Trump is like testing the depth of a river with both feet. Take cognizance of the fact that the word order is summed up in the word power.
However, as we have national impunity, so have we international impunity. As we have “small” terrorists, so have we “big” terrorists. As we have laws guiding national security, so we have laws guiding international security especially on terrorism. As all countries of the world are powerful and sovereign in their own rights, so are the superpower countries who are the custodians of the nuclear weapons and the big terrorists, they include; United States of America, United Kingdom, Russia, China, France, India, North Korean, Pakistan and Israel. As President Donald Trump promises Nigerians and the world to help Nigeria rid it’s barn off the rat that are illegal occupants without burning down the barn, it therefore behooves on the leadership in Nigeria to tell the world who the “Real Terrorists” in Nigeria are and why they have prove difficult to be eviscerated. On a final note, if nothing serious and urgent is done by the Nigeria government to stem the tide of incessant killings in Nigeria in record time, President Donald Trump can invade Nigeria for free. God Bless Nigeria.
By Samuel Tunji Adeyanju.
