Former Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has clarified that US President Donald Trump’s comments on Nigeria’s insecurity were widely misunderstood, insisting that the United States intends to assist rather than invade the country.
Akinyemi stressed that the ongoing violence in Nigeria should not be framed as a religious conflict, saying, “Christians are not being killed, Muslims are not being killed, Nigerians are being killed.” He described the crisis as one of national survival and unity, urging a “common sense” approach to understanding the scale of killings in various regions.
Akinyemi addressed the controversy around reports of genocide, highlighting the disparity in perception depending on population density. He argued that the situation in some communities constitutes genocide in practical terms, even if not technically under international law definitions.
Regarding Trump’s remarks, Akinyemi said: “Trump didn’t say he was coming to invade Nigeria, to occupy Nigeria. He said he was coming to help us to clean out the mess that we have not been able to clean out all these years.” He warned against misinterpreting the offer of assistance as a threat of invasion.
The former minister emphasized that Nigeria cannot rely solely on verbal support from global powers like China, Russia, or the European Union. Instead, decisive domestic action is required. He cited past failures, including foreign collaboration during the Chibok girls’ abduction in 2014, to underscore the need for internal security reforms.
Akinyemi called for a thorough purge of the Nigerian security forces to eliminate sympathizers of terrorist groups and urged the government to demonstrate determination in tackling insecurity to minimize the need for foreign intervention.
“If we don’t get any assistance and we don’t have the ability and the willingness to confront these things, we’re going to die,” he warned.
