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Following President Donald Trump of the United States’ threat of military action, reactions have persisted, with some Nigerians calling on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to act decisively and immediately against terrorism.

This petition follows President Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and his threat to send US military personnel there due to alleged widespread Christian persecution and deaths.

According to ZINGTIE, President Trump responded to claims of rampant persecution and genocide against Christians by designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, or CPC.

Trump went on to say that if the Nigerian government “continues to allow the killing of Christians,” he had directed the Defense Department to get ready for potential military action.

In reaction, President Bola Tinubu said that Nigeria’s national reality was not reflected in the portrayal of the country as religiously intolerant.

Tinubu added that the government’s “consistent and sincere efforts to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians” were not taken into consideration by the characterization.

Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed hope that the United States will continue to be a close ally in Nigeria’s fight against violent extremism.

In support of Nigeria, several nations and international leaders have warned Trump against taking any direct or indirect military action that may destabilize the whole West African subregion.

“These false and dangerous claims” that a “Christian genocide” is occurring in Nigeria and the West African region were vehemently denied by ECOWAS.

Additionally, it stated that terrorist-related violence did not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, religion, or ethnicity.

In a similar spirit, in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats of military action, the Chinese government has promised its unwavering support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, stated that China vehemently opposes any nation that uses human rights and religion as a pretext to meddle in the domestic affairs of other nations and threaten them with force and penalties.

“As Nigeria’s strategic partner, China opposes any attempt by foreign powers to use religion or human rights as a pretext to meddle in another country’s internal affairs or impose sanctions and military threats,” Ning said.

Anouar El Anouni, the EU’s spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said the union had “taken note” of the US administration’s remarks but was still committed to working together to help Nigeria’s stability.

“We respect Nigeria’s sovereignty and constitutional commitment to religious neutrality. Our position is one of solidarity with Nigeria.

“Solidarity with the victims of violence, with the authorities working to protect citizens, and with the Nigerian people, who overwhelmingly desire peaceful coexistence beyond ethnic and religious divides,” he said.

Some Nigerians praised Trump’s warning, claiming that it reflected the nation’s long-standing realities, while others said that analysts were misrepresenting his message.

In an interview with ZINGTIE, Mr. Anyebe Ekainu stated that too many innocent lives have been lost in Nigeria and emphasized that if President Trump wants to take action, he must do it right now to ensure that no one is left.

“We have had more than our fair share of bloodletting in this country. A lot of Christians have been killed, especially in Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Adamawa and Taraba States. What about those killed in the church attack in Owo? The list is endless,” he said.

Mike Divine, a social critic, accused analysts of misrepresenting President Trump’s remarks.

“Those arguing against Trump’s position should explain why Leah Sharibu of the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction is still missing till date.

“They should also explain the presence of the mass grave displayed by Plateau pastor Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, where scores of victims were buried. We are told that facts are sacred while comments are free,” he said.

Salaudeen Hashim, the program director of the CLEEN Foundation, who also spoke with ZINGTIE, bemoaned the fact that Nigeria was being labeled a “Country of Particular Concern” for the second time, calling it an awful stigmatization.

According to Hashim, it is crucial to have people who can communicate strategically and provide the reality on the ground because terrorism and insecurity do not choose their victims.

Additionally, he bemoaned the fact that Nigeria has not had diplomatic presence in the majority of nations for the past two years, emphasizing the need to improve Nigeria’s diplomatic ties.

“Our diplomatic relationships need to be strengthened and we need to look at our foreign policy. It has not been getting us anywhere and we need to look into that.

“Also, we need to define our international interest, every country has what we call strategic national interest and sometimes it is not negotiable. What is our strategic national interest and I think it’s important for foreign affairs to make this clear.

“Finally, we have had terrorism charges going on, those who have been called perpetrators will need to deal with that very quickly and lastly, we need to step up our intelligence in target counter terrorism and prevent the occurrence of what is currently on ground,” he said.

According to Michael Akor, Donald Trump’s recent declaration that he will step in to address the ongoing unrest in Nigeria—specifically, the genocide against Christians—is a positive development.

“As a concerned citizen of Nigeria whose major passion is to witness a country devoid of acrimonies, restiveness, banditry and extremism, I deem it as an answered prayer.

“Nigeria is of course , a sovereign nation, but sovereignty doesn’t mean total absence of interference by a more sovereign Nation. When the sovereignty of a nation becomes shaky, concerned nations can help in restoring solidity and balance to her sovereignty,” he said.

Ibrahim Mohammed also applauded the concept so as to nip insecurity in the bud permanently from Nigeria.

“It’s really denigrating that a supposed giant of Africa (Nigeria) has continued to remain trapped in the fangs of religious genocide, banditry, tribal unrest, kidnapping and other forms of maimings.

“It’s even heart-aching that these grievous mishaps inflicted on innocent citizens are usually trivialized and politicized, hence successive governments have continued to allow them to look like normal fates or deserved happenings in Nigeria.

“The sighs of the average citizens who are victims of these heinous crimes against humanity are always given cold shoulders by Nigerian leaders, since they are well armed with security agents that shield them and their family members from falling as victims like the common citizens,” he lamented.

Similarly, Abdul Rahman stated that the expected intervention of US President Donald Trump is a positive step because Nigerian governments have failed to stop the threat.

“Donald Trump’s statement which tagged Nigeria as a nation of concern, is a big slap on the faces of our leaders. This exposes them as weak and sterile leaders. If I were them, I would bury my head in shame.

“This genocide has continued unabated for donkey years, yet no proactive and decisive steps from our leaders to truncate it. The best our leaders always do is to release press statements condemning a genocide, then they go and sleep and wait for another attack to release another toothless press statement condemning the attacks.

“The obvious lackadaisical and careless attitudes our leaders have continued to display in the face of such grievous crimes against humanity, are enough to stair the intervention of external bodies, lest Nigerians wake up one day and realize that more than half of the citizens have been wiped out by the pampered marauders,” he said.

According to Anthony Ameh, “Since Donald Trump issued this important warning, a lot of people in the political circles have been fidgeting and devising defensive tactics to condemn Trump.

“Appallingly worrisome is the recent protest by some groups in the Northern part of the country, as a resistance to any possible intervention of the US.

“The likes of Sheik Gumi have continued to speak against the planned intervention, insisting that Trump shouldn’t intervene.

“Why are they this desperate? It is of course due to the fact that their hands are not clean. If the government is serious, the likes of Sheik Gumi, the protesters and other suspected supporters of these extremisms ought to be arrested.

“The intervention of Trump is good. Anybody opposing the idea is probably a suspect, because I see no reason why a sane Nigerian would resist assistance to solve a problem that has lingered for donkey years without any sign of solution from our government.

“Some of them claim that Nigeria is a sovereign nation, hence another nation is not supposed to interfere in her issue, but the same Nigeria receives aid from US China, and other nations during economic quagmires and other emergencies such as disease outbreak. We should stop playing hanky panky games with serious national issues.”

On his part, Joseph Adah welcomed the warning of the US president, stating Nigeria’s underprivileged masses are helpless at this juncture.

“Donald Trump’s “invasion of Nigeria” is a welcome idea that thousands of Nigerians will be happy about and of course, are eagerly waiting to see the reality of it,” he said.

Emmanuel Ucha stated that for years, innocent Nigerians had been killed.

He said, “Truth be told, the terrorism activities in Nigeria seem to have overpowered the Nigerian Government; therefore, the need for Trump to intervene and end the criminal activities against humanity a permanent end will be most cherished.”

Speaking as well, Felix Sunday claimed that because the attackers’ actions are linked to individuals in positions of power, crises tend to endure.

“The criminal activities of terrorism in Nigeria are perceived to have a deep connection with some leaders and that’s why some terrorists’ activities are carried out openly.

“The government of the day unfortunately is giving deaf ears to such serious cases, either for political reasons or reasons that are known to them at the detriment of helpless Nigerians and the activities keep going on unquestioned.

“An example of such a scenario is where a fellow Nigerian will be advising the Nigerian Government to ‘allow the terrorists to guard Nigerian forest in order for peace to reign’.

“This means the individual knows the terrorists and has serious business with the terrorists. Still, such fellows walk freely without being questioned. Therefore, foreign intervention is highly required,” he stated.

Additionally, Chibueze Obi applauded President Donald J. Trump’s planned invasion, emphasizing that it is a positive move that will stop terrorism and its sponsors in Nigeria.

“Let’s not be deceived that Trump wants to wage war against Nigeria.

“It’s not a war against Nigeria as a country but against the terrorists and their sponsors in Nigeria,” he stated.

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