Elderstatesman, renowned Nigerian international affairs scholar and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to tread a prudent path in order to avoid U.S President Donald Trump’s invasion threat.
Akinyemi, a foremost Professor of Political Science, who once served as Director General of the prestigious Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), also emphasized that Nigeria must not rise to the bait of aggressive rhetoric.
This comes after Trump threatened to put “boots on the ground” in Nigeria if the government fails to stop the killings of Christians in the country.
However, the Nigerian government has pushed back against allegations of Christian genocide in the country.
Speaking on the development during an interview with Arise TV and monitored by Pan-Atlantic Kompass on Tuesday, Akinyemi advised that the Tinubu administration should stop issuing press statements and prioritize effective diplomacy.
According to him, this involves utilizing established back channels and engaging Nigerian diplomats to initiate “behind-the-scenes dialogue” with key U.S decision-makers, including the State Department, Congress, and other influential figures.
He also called on Tinubu’s administration not to rely on the verbal support Nigeria has gotten from China, the European Union, and other countries in approaching Trump’s invasion threat.
Akinyemi maintained that those support would mean nothing to Trump’s invasion threat.
He stated: “Please don’t let us get ourselves onto the wrong track. China and the European Union will all come to support you verbally. But from our experience of what Ukraine has been going through, confronting America with verbal support is not going to do us any good.
“So, don’t let us go on to that. What we should be asking now is, what should Tinubu’s administration be doing? I believe that his government and his security forces should show a willingness, a determination, and the ability to confront these people (terrorists) and to defeat them.”
Akinyemi also added that Tinubu’s administration must show efforts that it can tackle the security concerns, especially concerning religious communities.
He pointed out that the Nigerian security apparatus has been infiltrated by criminal elements.
He continued: “I have had you say on your program that if we can do what we did in ECOMOG, why can’t we take on these people? And the answer is simple, because we’re not united domestically.
“A consensus must be created by the domestic, I mean by Tinubu’s administration. And what that means is that Tinubu’s administration must give directives to its own troops, and those troops must obey those directives.
“If it’s necessary, Tinubu should clean out those troops to make sure that you know there is no one within the security hierarchy that is leaking information to Boko Haram, ISWAP, or whatever it is.
“Don’t forget that we had a big experience under Jonathan, when the Chibok girls were picked up by the Boko Haram. The Americans came in quietly at the invitation of the Jonathan administration, and in collaboration with the Nigerian troops, they discovered the camp where these girls were being kept. And they said, Alright, we will throw gas into those camps, and while everybody is sleeping, including the Boko Haram, we will go in with the Nigerian troops and take out the girls.
“When the Americans sent the reconnaissance aircraft over the camp, what did they find? Boko Haram fighters were wearing masks, which means somebody within the Nigerian army had leaked information to Boko Haram.
“The Americans then pulled out. They were not going to subject their troops to this. So, we must clean out from within the Nigerian troops, people who are sympathetic towards the Boko Haram, or ISWAP, or whatever it is.
“If you want to stop Trump from doing what he says he wants to do, the Nigerian administration must show a determination to clean out this ourselves.
“Also, let us not get into internal civil war or religious civil war. Christians are not being killed. Muslims are not being killed. Nigerians have been killed. And for the first time, we are getting a superpower, who says, I want to help you clean up this mess.
“And we are busy fighting amongst ourselves. This is happening. This is not happening. He said he was coming to help us clean out the mess that we have not been able to clean out all these years.”
