The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, says the Nigerian leader was “well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America” following renewed U.S. pressure over alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Onanuga’s comment came days after U.S. President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and threatened to halt all aid to the country.
Trump also threatened that the United States “may very well go into that now disgraced country guns-a-blazing, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists killing Christians.”
President Bola Tinubu was well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America as he told the new service chiefs on Thursday what Nigerians expect of them. No more excuses, he said. Nigerians want results. Here is the excerpt of his speech:
“Security threats are constantly… pic.twitter.com/JlJsXJZQwk
— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) November 2, 2025
Reacting in a post via his X handle on Sunday, Onanuga said President Tinubu had anticipated the growing international attention on Nigeria’s security situation and had already issued strong directives to the nation’s service chiefs.
“President Bola Tinubu was well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America as he told the new service chiefs on Thursday what Nigerians expect of them. No more excuses, he said. Nigerians want results,” Onanuga wrote.
He shared an excerpt from Tinubu’s address to the military chiefs, in which the President called for decisive and innovative action against emerging security threats across the country.
“Security threats are constantly evolving, constantly mutating. Of grave concern to our administration is the recent emergence of new armed groups in the North-Central, North-West, and parts of the South. We must not allow these new threats to fester. We must be decisive and proactive. Let us smash the new snakes right in the head,” Tinubu said in the excerpt.
The President further urged the military to deploy technology and innovation in tackling insurgency, vowing to provide full support to ensure results.
His remarks come amid growing criticism from right-wing U.S. lawmakers, led by Senator Ted Cruz, who claim that Christians in Nigeria face systematic persecution.
In October, Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill seeking to sanction Nigerian officials accused of enabling “mass murder of Christians.”
