Japheth Omojuwa, author and political commentator, says former US President Donald Trump’s comments about Nigeria may have contributed to rising insecurity in the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that he added that he does not agree with the belief that Nigerian Christians feel safer or reassured by Trump’s claim that he would protect them from “persecution.”
Omojuwa voiced his concerns while questioning US Senator Kevin Cramer during the three-day Halifax International Security Forum in Canada. Omojuwa serves on the board of the forum.
Before Omojuwa’s intervention, Cramer had suggested that Christians in Nigeria might feel “pretty good” about Trump’s statements.
Trump recently threatened to send US troops “guns-a-blazing” into Nigeria — a country he referred to as “disgraced” — to eliminate what he called “Islamist terrorists” targeting Christians.
Responding in a clip shared on X on Monday, Omojuwa disagreed, saying he spoke as a Christian living in Nigeria.
“I do not feel good about Donald Trump. He called Nigeria a disgraced country. Frankly speaking, that’s not so bad, because he used to call us a shit hole country. So it’s a kind of improvement,” he said.
Omojuwa questioned whether powerful nations could provide help more responsibly and respectfully, without worsening fragile situations.
“For instance, America went to Libya. Libya has a causative effect on the terrorism challenges Nigeria and the Sahel are facing… Since Donald Trump said what he said for Nigerian Christians, Christians have been abducted in the church in the north-west of Nigeria.
“Muslim students have been abducted. I do not speak to the causation but there’s a correlation from the point Donald Trump spoke about Nigeria’s challenges and the escalation of terrorism,” he said.
He stressed the need for respectful global engagement:
“So decency apart, there are rules of engagement, there’s a rules-based global order. Is there a way to speak about Nigeria… in a respectful, decent way, not even just as president of America, but as a human being?”
Omojuwa also referenced the failed US–Nigeria arms deal as a factor undermining the country’s fight against terrorism, asking whether assistance could be delivered “without making things worse and without disrespecting Nigerian Christians and Muslims.”
Responding, Senator Cramer agreed that diplomatic language matters.
“The right words help. A more delicate way of saying something is obviously better than a more brutal way,” he said.
“A lot of people will say the right thing and do the wrong thing. Other people will maybe say the wrong thing and mean to do the right thing. Is there a better way to say? Certainly.”
The senator added that foreign aid would likely be more effective than military intervention in curbing terrorism, noting he had publicly disagreed with Trump over cuts to aid.
“I think, globally speaking, aid to friends… is a bargain compared to munitions,” Cramer said, adding that any intervention must align with local realities.
