The pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, has described the recent threat by former U.S. President Donald Trump to invade Nigeria as an economic maneuver disguised as a moral concern.
In a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, the group said Trump’s remarks were not driven by genuine worries about terrorism or religious persecution, but by “extraneous economic interests and political displeasure over Nigeria’s growing ties with China.”
Ajayi noted that Trump’s claim that the Nigerian government was complicit in the killing of Christians was “an attempt to give a dog a bad name to have a justification to kill it.”
He argued that bandits and terrorists do not discriminate based on religion, stressing that insecurity in Nigeria is largely driven by economic interests and the struggle for control over mineral-rich regions.
Economic Interests and Political Leverage
According to Afenifere, Trump’s aggressive tone could be aimed at compelling President Bola Tinubu to open Nigeria’s economy further to U.S. interests, particularly in areas of defense procurement and trade.
“By sounding so harsh, Mr Trump hopes to get President Tinubu to negotiate with him with a view to having more inroads into Nigeria’s economy and to possibly force Nigeria to buy more goods, especially weapons, from America,” Ajayi said.
He added that certain American interests were uncomfortable with Tinubu’s growing diplomatic and commercial rapport with China, suggesting that the U.S. president’s comments were also a strategic signal to reclaim influence in West Africa.
Ajayi urged Nigerians to avoid divisive rhetoric and to defend the country’s sovereignty responsibly.
“When you deride your country, it is not always easy to undo the damage,” he warned. “We must be mindful of what we say or write about our nation. Nigeria needs help to tackle insecurity but threatening it with war will only make things worse.”
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