The 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has called on the United States to assist Nigeria with “cutting-edge technologies” to combat insecurity rather than issuing threats that could deepen national divisions.
Kwankwaso made the appeal on Sunday via his X handle, following President Donald Trump’s recent designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over alleged Christian persecution.
Trump had claimed that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” accusing “radical Islamists” of widespread killings. He further warned that the US could suspend aid and potentially deploy troops to Nigeria if the Federal Government failed to act.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump wrote, directing the US Department of War to prepare for “possible action.”
Responding, Kwankwaso urged a diplomatic approach, stressing that Nigeria’s insecurity cuts across ethnic, political, and religious lines.
“It is important to emphasise that our country is a sovereign nation whose people face different threats from outlaws across the country. The insecurity we face does not distinguish based on religious, ethnic, or political beliefs,” he said.
The former Kano State governor further advised the Nigerian government to appoint special envoys and permanent ambassadors to engage with the US and represent Nigeria’s interests internationally.
“To my fellow countrymen, this is an important moment where we should emphasise unity of belonging over division,” he added.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu’s administration dismissed Trump’s genocide claim, affirming Nigeria’s commitment to religious freedom.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it recognise government efforts to safeguard freedom of religion and belief,” Tinubu said in a statement. “Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.”
What you should know
Rabiu Kwankwaso urged the US to help Nigeria tackle insecurity through technology and diplomacy, not military threats.
His statement came after President Donald Trump warned of possible US intervention over alleged Christian persecution, a claim President Bola Tinubu’s administration firmly rejected as misrepresenting Nigeria’s religious and democratic reality.
