Trump’s Neocolonial “Slam” on Nigeria.Part II – Reaction in the US and Abroad to Trump’s Nigerian Threat

The White House’s swaggering statements about the potential deployment of American troops to Nigeria to protect local Christians from the atrocities committed by terrorist organisations have raised serious doubts within US military and political circles regarding the feasibility of such a project, given the significant difficulties it presupposes.

Nevertheless, to curb terrorist activity, the Command has proposed constraining the American action to airstrikes on known jihadist footholds in the north of the country using MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1 Predator drones, as well as targeting vehicles while they are on the move. Joint military operations with Nigerian forces against militants from terrorist organisations have also not been ruled out.

However, as the Nigerian newspaper Guardian notes, some figures in US military circles believe that America should not intervene in Nigerian affairs at all. In particular, General Paul D. Eaton, a veteran of the Iraq War, drawing on the experience of the military campaign in that country, suggested in a letter to President Trump that military action should be avoided whatsoever, as it would most likely end in failure.

There are also opponents of Trump’s initiative in the US Congress. According to the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard, Gregory W. Meeks, a member of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Sara Jacobs, a member of the Subcommittee on Africa, have described the American president’s remarks on Nigeria as “irresponsible and reckless.”

Such pessimism is also echoed in American academic circles. According to several experts from The Libertarian Institute, US military intervention in Nigerian affairs is unlikely to achieve success but would nevertheless pose a serious threat of further destabilization of the country, with few people in the United States possessing a sufficiently clear and comprehensive understanding of Nigerian complex problems and the means to resolve them.

As for Trump’s assertions that Christians in Nigeria, who number around 110 million and constitute one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in the world, are subjected to violence by the government and face the threat of extinction, his statements bear no relation to the actual state of affairs.

“In every respect—strategic, financial, reputational, and moral—expanding our involvement in the affairs of the troubled northeast of Nigeria is a terrible idea. It would bring little to the table, except perhaps appeasing that segment of Americans who harbour animosity towards Islam and hypocritically pretend to care about the plight of Nigerian Christians,” conclude the experts from the aforementioned institute.

Trump’s Demarche in the View of the International Community

In the opinion of the International Crisis Group, Washington’s claims that the Nigerian authorities sponsor anti-Christian violence fail to take into account Nigeria’s constitution legally guaranteeing freedom of religion. This is despite the fact that President Bola Tinubu per se is a Muslim, while his wife is not just a Christian but a pastor at one of Nigeria’s largest Pentecostal churches.

In terms of the reaction of the African community, the Chairperson of the African Union, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, commenting on Donald Trump’s statements that Christians in Nigeria are victims of jihadists and face an “existential threat,” stated at a press conference in New York on 12 November 2025 that “there is no genocide taking place” in the troubled northern region of Nigeria.

Denying the genocide of Christians in Nigeria, he went on to say that a superficial approach to assessing the situation in the country distorts the true causes of the violence, which reside in terrorism, forced migration, competition for agricultural land, access to water, and the struggle for natural resources. “The complexity of the situation in Nigeria should make us think twice before making such statements,” Youssouf emphasised. “The primary victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians, and I assert it based on documentary evidence.”

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), headquartered in Abuja, has also refuted claims of genocide against Christians in Nigeria, characterising them as deliberate attempts to sow division, heighten instability, and undermine social harmony across West Africa, as Nigeria’s Vanguard reports. In a communiqué published by the regional organisation, it is pinpointed that extremist groups operating in the region, including Nigeria, attack people of all faiths indiscriminately—Muslims, Christians, and followers of traditional religions—without distinction based on gender, ethnicity, or age.

According to the Turkish broadcaster TRT World, Trump’s statement regarding the genocide of Christians and the threat of military intervention is merely a smokescreen, disguised as humanitarian concern, to bring one of Africa’s largest countries under American control.

The broadcaster further recalls that American interventions, from Iraq to Libya and from Afghanistan to Somalia, each justified by the ideals of democracy, freedom, and humanitarian considerations, have today left those countries in ruins: they are destabilised, fragmented, and in a worse state than before.

Commenting on the American president’s statements concerning Nigeria, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that China, as a comprehensive strategic partner of Nigeria, supports the right of its government to choose a development path that complies with its national characteristics and realities. “We oppose interference by any country with the internal affairs of other nations under the pretext of protecting religion and human rights, and we oppose unjustified threats of sanctions and the use of armed force,” the diplomat emphasised.

After representatives of the United States Department of Defence confirmed that, in line with President Trump’s directives, they had developed plans for both airstrikes and ground operations to protect Nigeria’s Christian community, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated at a press briefing on 8 November that the Kremlin is closely monitoring the situation and calls on all the parties to strictly adhere to the norms of international law amid the growing tensions in the country.

Victor Goncharov, expert on African affairs, PhD in Economics

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