Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has dismissed claims that Nigeria’s security challenges amount to a religious war.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to the writer, the country’s unrest is driven by extremist violence rather than a clash between Christians and Muslims.
His remarks came in response to comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently asked the Department of Defence to prepare for possible action in Nigeria, accusing the government of failing to stop the alleged killing of Christians.
In an interview with Democracy Now, Soyinka criticised Trump’s remarks, saying they misrepresent the complexity of Nigeria’s situation and could inflame sectarian divisions.
He explained that what is happening should be understood as a campaign by extremist groups exploiting religion for political and economic purposes, not a war between two faiths.
Soyinka said, “We must separate Nigeria’s long-standing internal problems from President Trump’s recent response.”
“The Christian-Islam, or Islam-versus-the-rest kind of dichotomy has existed for decades. It became truly horrendous when politics got mixed up with religious differences.”
The writer accused Nigeria’s political class of manipulating religion for power and allowing extremists to act with impunity. Citing the case of a student lynched over alleged blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad, he lamented that the killers faced no consequences despite video evidence of the crime.
He said, “When perpetrators of such horrors go free, it strengthens the perception that a brutal war is going on between Christians and Muslims.”
“In truth, we are dealing with extremists — political Islamists, known sometimes as ISWAP or Boko Haram — not with Muslims as a people.”
Soyinka further warned that these extremist factions have aligned with international terrorist groups, obtaining advanced weaponry that often outmatches Nigeria’s security forces.
The academic also blamed successive governments for neglecting to address the spread of violent fundamentalism. He said, “When we have sweeping statements like Trump’s, it doesn’t make things easier. It expands the regions of hostility and makes peaceful resolution even more difficult.”
Touching on his revoked U.S. visa, Soyinka joked that Trump should be flattered by his past comparison of the American president to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
He said, “I have a feeling that I haven’t been flattering Donald Trump — and I see no reason to do that.”
“Trump has said he likes war — I’m quoting him. Idi Amin was a man of war and brutality. Idi Amin even called himself the last king of Scotland. He claimed he was going to liberate Scotland from the British.”
