the terrorism situation in nigeria is terrible
On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 3:19 PM Jibrin Ibrahim <jibrinibrahim891@gmail.com> wrote:
Nigeria on the brink as we handover sovereignty to the Americans
Jibrin Ibrahim, Deepening Democracy, Daily Trust, 13th February 2026
In my column of 9th January 2026 entitled "Nigeria in Trump world: The
Dangers Ahead" I warned about the way in which President Tinubu is
handing over our country to American imperialism and the necessity to
change course. I feel obliged to come back to the theme so soon
afterward because of the speed at which we are moving towards
perdition.
We recall that our president, Bola Tinubu, begged President Trump to
shoot missiles on Nigeria on Christmas evening, allegedly to kill
Islamist terrorists. Clearly, the Nigerian presidency had not read the
new national security strategy which states bluntly that all American
action would only be in the interest of the United States alone and
not any other country. The idea that the United States would act to
protect Nigerian Christians who are suffering from genocide
perpetrated by Islamic terrorists is as far from reality as can be.
After that opener, the Americans informed the world that they had sent
a some troops to Nigeria without stating the number. Then last week,
the Americans announced they were sending 200 additional troops to
Nigeria. Then the Americans through one Republican congressman
proposed a bill titled the Nigeria Religious Freedom and
Accountability Act. The bill was sponsored by US lawmakers, Reps.
Moore (R-WV) and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa
Subcommittee, Chris Smith (R-NJ). The bill mandates the U.S. Secretary
of State to submit a detailed report to Congress on efforts to address
religious violence and mass atrocities in Nigeria. Tinubu gave the
Americans an inch and now they are taking a mile including making laws
on our country and monitoring it as if it were a protectorate.
An interesting dimension of this protectorate approach to Tinubu's
Nigeria is the sanctions they are including in the bill to punish one
person they dislike in Nigeria, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso,
presenting him as a dangerous Muslim fundamentalist who must be death
with. The reason why Riley Moore and his colleagues singled him out
was that Kwankwaso was the only prominent Nigerian politician who
openly criticized the United States' designation of Nigeria as a
Country of Particular Concern. In a public statement, he had argued
that the designation was unhelpful and poses the risk of exacerbating
interreligious tensions in Nigeria. The American arrogance is so high
that they cannot accept any criticism of their actions. As the
columnist Farooq Kperogi has argued, the irony is that Kwankwaso as
Kano's governor was famously unenthusiastic about the introduction of
Sharia in 2000. The issue is that the Americans do not accept
political criticism of their policies. Of course, Kwankwaso's
political ambition for the next elections are well known and the
Americans are indicating that they would fight the political coalition
he is building hereby interfering in our internal politics.
The overriding lesson of American foreign involvement in the past
eighty years is well known. The United States spent 20 years failing
to create a stable government in Afghanistan and killed the Libyan
President replacing a functional developmental state with a fractured
state that set-in motion massive distribution of small arms and light
weapons to entrench terrorism in Africa. The tragic consequences of
the 2003 war in Iraq continue to beset America and the Middle East.
The United States has also repeatedly destabilized Latin American
countries, including Chile, Cuba, Guatemala and Nicaragua, by trying
to oust a government through force. In every country in which the
United States have intervened to bring "democracy" and "stability",
they have left the country in ruin, destroyed national cohesion,
introduced guns into the streets and left the countries much worse
than they found them.
It is important to remember that Nigerians have consistently opposed
defense agreements with foreign countries since the 1960s when the
Balewa administration was forced to abrogate the Anglo-Nigerian
Defense Agreement, because the agreement contained a clause which
allowed the Royal Air force to overfly and test its aircrafts in
Nigeria. The Agreement also allowed the Royal Air Force to station
maintenance staff in Nigeria. The Balewa administration was pressured
to abrogate the Agreement because public opinion perceived it as an
impairment of Nigeria's freedom of action which might draw the country
into hostilities against its wishes. This remains true.
In 2001, in his bid to ostensibly re-professionalize the Nigerian
army, President Obasanjo almost unilaterally signed the "Military
Cooperation Agreement Between the US and Nigeria." To its credit, the
Ministry of Defense responded appropriately by opposing the agreement
arguing that, the ministry was not involved in the negotiations
between Nigeria and the US. In fact, the agreement was highly
criticized by Lt General Victor Malu, the Chief of Army Staff at the
time, when the US military officers demanded for Nigeria's strategic
doctrine and unfettered access to its strategic military locations.
According to General Malu, those were "exclusive to Nigerians only"
adding that "a friend today can be an enemy tomorrow."
It is shocking that for the first time in our history, we are giving
up on our sovereignty and handing over the country to the Americans.
As I argued on 9th January, I have so much nostalgia for the proud and
assertive Nigeria of 11 January 1976 when our Head of State told the
world and the American President, Gerald Ford, that Africa has come of
age. In his speech at the OAU Summit in Addis Ababa, General Murtala
Mohammed declared:
"Africa has Come of age. It is no longer under the orbit of any extra
continental power. It should no longer take orders from any country,
however powerful. The fortunes of Africa are in our hands to make or
mar. For too long have we been kicked around: for too long have we
been treated like adolescents who cannot discern their interests and
act accordingly. For too long has it been presumed that the African
needs outside 'experts' to tell him who are his friends and who are
his enemies. The time has come when we should make it clear that we
can decide for ourselves; that we know our own interests and how to
protect those interest; that we are capable of resolving African
problems without presumptuous lessons in ideological dangers which,
more often than not, have no relevance for us, nor for the problem at
hand. Nigeria has come to this Assembly determined to co-operate with
you, Mr. Chairman, and with all member States to put a stop to foreign
interference in our Continental matters. As an African nationalist of
distinction, I trust that your wise guidance will direct our
deliberations to fruitful conclusions of which our peoples will be
proud."
That moment of pride is difficult to find in Nigeria today as
delegations after delegations go to the United States to beg them to
come and solve our problems. What is most painful is our loss of
statecraft. Nigeria no longer has well informed diplomats that could
explain to the president that he is leading the country astray. The
invitation to the United States to bomb our country, to send their
troops to kill our terrorists and make laws determining how our
country is run is an indication of the abdication of responsibility by
Nigeria's political and military leadership. It raises fundamental
questions about sovereignty, constitutional governance, civilian
protection, and the integrity of Nigeria's social contract. At the
heart of this crisis is the apparent abdication by the President of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of his
constitutional role as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. By
inviting a foreign government to manage what is fundamentally an
internal security challenge, the President ceded sovereign authority
in a manner that undermines Nigeria's constitutional order.
We are witnessing a profound breakdown of institutional accountability
mechanisms. Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is
unequivocal: "the security and welfare of the people shall be the
primary purpose of government." This provision represents a central
pillar of Nigeria's social contract. Any security action, especially
one involving foreign military forces, must be grounded in
transparency, civilian protection, and democratic oversight. None of
these standards were met.
Nigerians should be particularly troubled by the severe deficit of
information regarding the nature, scope, legal basis, and rules of
engagement governing the collaboration between the Nigerian and U.S.
governments and their security agencies. Why is the National Assembly
not exercising any oversight on the matter?
As for the Nigerians enthusiastically applauding American military
intervention to save Nigerian Christians from genocide, they should do
their research. Is it not American arms and intelligence that are
being used in the current genocide against Christians in Palestine and
Syria?
Professor Jibrin Ibrahim
Senior Fellow
Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja
Follow me on twitter @jibrinibrahim17
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