Following Donald Trump’s recent claims of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to meet with his American counterpart in the coming days.
Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, stated that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the escalating tensions and to make clear Nigeria’s stance on counterterrorism and religious violence.
Bwala affirmed that both leaders are dedicated to enhancing collaboration in the battle against terrorism and insurgency in a statement released on Sunday through his official social media account.
“President Trump has assisted Nigeria a lot by authorizing the sale of arms to Nigeria, and President Tinubu has adequately utilized the opportunity in the fight against terrorism, for which we have massive results to show,” Bwala said.
Discussions, he said, would also center on varying opinions about whether terrorist strikes in Nigeria exclusively target Christians or have an impact on people of all faiths.
“Both President Bola Tinubu and President Donald Trump have shared interests in combating insurgency and all forms of terrorism against humanity,” Bwala said. “As for the differences as to whether terrorists in Nigeria target only Christians or all faiths and no faiths, the matter will be discussed and resolved by the two leaders when they meet, either at the State House or the White House.”
The scheduled meeting comes after Trump threatened to use military force against Nigeria on Saturday due to purported anti-Christian murders.
The former U.S. president claimed to have given the recently renamed Department of War instructions to “prepare for possible action” against what he called Islamic terrorists in Nigeria in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“The U.S. 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 said, without identifying any specific groups or incidents.
Additionally, he threatened to halt all American assistance to Nigeria if the Tinubu administration “continues to allow the killing of Christians.”
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians! WARNING: The Nigerian government better move fast!” Trump wrote.
The U.S. State Department’s global watchlist for religious persecution has already designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” which Trump had previously stated.
Since then, the Nigerian government has denied the claims of Christian genocide, affirming that freedom of religion is guaranteed by the country’s constitution and that President Tinubu is still dedicated to defending the rights of people of all faiths.
