Nigeria’s former presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has urged the United States to support Nigeria with advanced technology to combat insecurity, rather than issue threats of military action.
Kwankwaso, who contested the 2023 election under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), said Washington should focus on helping authorities address violent extremism through intelligence and technological support.
“The United States should assist the Nigerian authorities with better cutting-edge technology to tackle these problems, rather than posing a threat that could further polarise our country,” he wrote on X on Sunday.
His remarks follow comments made by US President Donald Trump, who accused Nigeria’s government of failing to protect Christian communities and warned the US could intervene militarily. Mr Trump described the situation as an “existential threat” to Christians, alleging that radical Islamist groups were responsible for widespread killings.
“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’,” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social. He also directed the US “Department of War” to prepare for potential action, saying any operation would be “fast, vicious, and sweet”.
Nigeria’s government has not formally responded to the comments. Security analysts warn that external threats could complicate diplomatic relations and inflame religious sensitivities in Africa’s most populous nation, where security forces are already battling insurgency and communal violence across several regions.