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Nigeria As A ‘Country Of Particular Concern’ Designation By Donald Trump
We continue to be gaslighted by the Trump administration that the insecurity pervading Nigeria is a kind of genocide against the Christian community.
Donald Trump wants to stop the killings by sending military forces to the country and we are to believe that this is a kind of love for our nation and people that is yet to be seen.
Yes, there are killings in some parts of the country but the killings are not targeted against the Christians only but a widespread one against other religions and majorly in Muslim dominated areas. The extremists wearing the garbs of Islam and better known as Boko haram, Iswap and others are daily being engaged by the Nigerian forces in many battle fronts.
Donald Trump’s concern raises a lot of suspicions and may not be in best interests of the people of Nigeria as we have seen the roles of America and the West’s interventions in countries like Afghanistan, Libya, Haiti, Ukraine and so and so forth.
These interventions have never bore good fruits and instead have spiralled bigger chaoses in those countries. The problems created by these interventions keep multiplying and God forbid we end experiencing such in West Africa through the intervention of America and the West.
Have we thought of the colossal refugee crisis this will cause to Africa and by extension the entire world? Nigeria as a country may be a nation of particular interest to the administration of Donald Trump simply because of the economic gains the President and his allies will reap as bounties of war and further crisis from the military intervention.
Clearly the resultant refugee influx will not be of particular concern to the American leader and his allies because Nigerians are not Caucasians and will therefore be excluded from being resettled in the West.
A war of attrition by Trump’s soldiers of fortune are not what Nigeria needs in its yearnings for peace, security and stability against Islamic extremists troubling the Northern parts of the country but a grip and deep cut to the oxygen of the terrorist organisations from the friends and allies of the American government.
A new world order is desirable and inevitable for peace to reign in the world as we must relegate to the past where America sees herself as world police.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that American declaration is not rooted in either Christianity or Islam but driven purely by national interest and the strategic calculations ahead of the next presidential election in Nigeria. This is a desperate attempt to overlord and undermine the democratic process in the country.
However, the Nigerian government needs to step up its efforts against insecurity in the country. It needs to challenge the military brass to take action against the terrorists and their allied evil forces rampaging through the country.
It beggars belief that in this age of advanced drone technology, satellite imagery, and precision heat-mapping, our government still hasn’t invested in the necessary infrastructure to decisively root out these so-called terrorists hiding in our forests and beyond. With the level of technological capability available globally,
Nigeria has no excuse for allowing these groups to continue operating freely. It’s high time our leaders matched rhetoric with real strategic action, rather than relying on external narratives and interventions that rarely serve our national interest
Dr George Ogunjimi, Lawyer, Historian, Journalist and World Affairs Commentator writes from Hertfordshire, UK.
President Bola Tinubu met with security chiefs, including Tunji Disu, the inspector-general of police (IGP) in a closed-door session on Thursday to address a series of “rising terror attacks” across the country.
The meeting followed an escalation in violence, including recent deadly raids in Benue, Plateau, and Borno states.
The nearly two-hour meeting, held at the State House in Abuja, began in the afternoon after the security chiefs arrived discreetly and ended around 5:10 p.m.
Those in attendance included Christopher Musa, minister of defence; Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA); Adeola Ajayi, the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS); and Olufemi Oluyede, chief of defence staff (CDS).
Others were Waidi Shaibu, the chief of army staff; Kelvin Aneke, chief of air staff; and Idi Abbas, chief of naval staff.
As of the time of filing this report, details of the meeting had yet to be issued by the presidency.
However, there are indications that the sit-down may centre around the rising terror attacks and intensified assaults on military outposts across Nigeria, particularly in the north-east, which culminated in the recent killing of several high-ranking officers.
On Monday, a commanding officer of the Nigerian Army was killed following an attack by suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on a military base in Kukawa, Borno state.
The attack came about a week after suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters attempted to attack military positions in Ngoshe, Gwoza LGA of Borno.
On Tuesday, Nigerian troops repelled an early-morning attack by suspected ISWAP fighters on a military base in Doron Baga, Kukawa LGA of the state.
Speaking during an interfaith breaking of the fast with members of the Nigerian Armed Forces at the presidential villa in Abuja last Friday, Tinubu said the country would “ultimately prevail against all forms” of insecurity.
The president said the efforts of the security forces had continued to weaken terrorist groups and bandits operating in different parts of the country.
He assured the armed forces of continued investment in modern equipment, intelligence, and logistics to strengthen their operational effectiveness.
In a major political shake-up on Thursday,12 members of the House of Representatives formally defected from their various political parties to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, announced the defections during a plenary session, citing internal party crises and leadership disputes as the primary reasons for the lawmakers’ exit.
Of the 12 lawmakers who defected, six left the Peoples Democratic Party for the APC. Five members abandoned the Labour Party and the PDP for the ADC, while one member moved from the Young Progressives Party to the ADC.
The development has heightened concerns about growing instability within political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Those who defected from the PDP to the APC are James Barka (Adamawa), Kwamoti Bitrus Laori (Adamawa), Zakaria Nyampa (Adamawa), Kobis Thimnu (Adamawa), Midala Balami (Borno), and Mohammed Bargaja (Sokoto).
Lawmakers who defected to the ADC include Afam Victor Ogene (Anambra), Peter Aniekwe (Anambra), Lilian Orogbu (Anambra), Jessey Onakalusi (Lagos), and Murphy Osaro Omoruyi (Edo).
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over plenary, disclosed that some other members had also written to the leadership of the House notifying it of their intention to leave their current parties.
He, however, said the letters and the destination parties of the lawmakers would not be disclosed in their absence.
While announcing the names of the defectors, Kalu said the reasons given by the lawmakers were similar to those previously cited by others who had defected. He added that the House would not read the letters during the session in order to save time.
According to him, the letters would only be read when the concerned lawmakers are present on the floor of the House.
During Wednesday’s plenary, Garba Inuwa and Abdullahi El-Rasheed from Gombe, as well as Mohammed Audu (Taraba) and Joshua Obika (FCT), defected to the APC, while Adewale Adebayo (Osun) left the PDP for the Accord Party.
In a series of tense exchanges spanning late 2025 and early 2026, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly warned Donald Trump and the international community that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already escalated into the beginning of World War III due to Russian aggression and its growing alliances.
While Zelensky has warned that Vladimir Putin’s actions are dragging the world into a global conflict, Trump has frequently flipped this narrative, accusing Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three” by refusing to make immediate concessions for a peace deal.
“I said that we would have World War III. The President (Trump) didn’t hear me…him with his guys,” Zelensky said in a televised interview on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure they (the United States) can estimate that Russia will support Iran with weapons, drones, and missiles. And—100 percent—it’s helping now with air defense.”
Pointing to the situation in his country, Zelensky said the next stage of the Iranian war could be troop deployment, saying there are 10,000 North Korean soldiers currently in Russia.
“Yes, they are on the territory of Russia, but they can come to Ukraine,” he presumed. “It can be the same with Iran; Russia can send troops.”
Zelensky said countries in the Middle East have remained neutral on the Ukrainian conflict because of their long history of economic relations with Moscow.
“They understand Russia is the aggressor but are not loud about it or strong on sanctions,” he said. “Now they are beginning to understand what it means to live under attacks.”
Reports in Western media suggest Russia is sharing drone warfare strategy learned in Ukraine with Iran, potentially boosting Tehran’s ability to hit U.S. and Gulf interests in the Middle East.
The war, now on Day 13, has affected at least a dozen countries, with no ceasefire indication in sight. The U.S. has struck thousands of targets and has not indicated boots on the ground.
“They (Iran) are pretty much at the end of the line,” President Trump said Wednesday night. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to end it immediately.”
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