PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will not visit President Donald Trump in the White House any time soon as he is focused of dealing with insecurity in Nigeria’s North, according to reliable sources close to the presidency.
“President Tinubu does not to want to give Trump any opportunity to disgrace Nigeria in the United States but is focused on dealing headlong with insecurity in the North,” a senior presidential source told Economy Post.
Another source in the presidency said President Bola Tinubu learnt some vital lessons from the first visit of President of Ukraine, Mr Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and South African counterpart, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, to the White House earlier this year.
“Well, President Tinubu saw what happened to Zelenskyy and Ramaphosa, where they were disgraced at the White House. He does not want that kind of embarassment and exchange of views built on false narratives. So, for now, he’s not planning any trip to the U.S.”
Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky clashed during an angry meeting at the White House in February 2025, with the U.S. president asking his Ukranian counterpart to be more ‘thankful’ for US support in war with Russia. Mr Trump also accused him of ‘gambling with World War 111’ by not going along with ceasefire plans led by Washington.
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Similarly, Mr Trump later humiliated South Africa’s Ramaphosa in front of the world’s media, accusing his country of human rights violations. He also rebuked Mr Ramaphosa for his country’s alleged poor treatment of white farmers and the ever-growing murder rate in the African nation.
Not the best times for Nigeria
These are not the best of times for Nigeria and the United States of America as President Donald Trump alleges Christian genocide in Nigeria, with the complicity of the government. Mr Trump, last weekend, took two decisive decisions against Nigeria over an alleged genocide against Christians and the government’s inability to contain it. He first redesignated Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ and followed it up with a threat to cut off aid and invade the nation to “wipe out Islamic terrorists.”
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” he claimed. “Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’ — But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!” Mr Trump wrote on Friday on a Truth Social post, which was later shared on the White House’s X handle.
He told the Nigerian government to take action against the alleged genocide or he would strike. “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and 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.
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“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,” he said.
His post was backed by several American Republicans and officials of his government, including his Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, who replied: “Yes sir. The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Trump plans to strike
A New York Times report on Wednesday said that the U.S. military had drawn up plans for potential airstrikes in Nigeria after Mr Trump directed intervention to protect Christians from terrorists’ attacks.
The report categorised the U.S. planned engagement in Nigerian into ‘heavy,’ ‘medium,’ and ‘light.’. Under the ‘heavy option,’ the U.S. government would deploy an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf of Guinea, with fighter jets or long-range bombers to hit militant targets deep inside northern Nigeria.
The ‘medium option’ involves the use of of MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1 Predator drones to target insurgents’ camps, convoys, and vehicles.
Under the ‘light option,’ the U.S government will share intelligence, logistics support, and joint operations with Nigerian forces against terrorist groups accused of mass killings, abductions, and church attacks.
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