The Trump Ultimatum: Why The Guilty Are Afraid, By SKC Ogbonnia

It is a widely held truth that Christian genocide is a part of the widespread insecurity that has crippled Nigeria for over a decade. An ample number of prominent Nigerians, including powerful politicians, such as the most recent presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu are on record to have admitted the carnage at various times. This fact also lays bare on the floors of both the Nigerian and American intelligence communities. Moreover, Boko Haram itself, an extremist religious group, remains very notorious for its devilish vow against Christians. Therefore, it belies belief that the Tinubu regime and the elite are suddenly gung ho in denial. They have continued to deploy an embarrassing cascade of propaganda to oppose an ultimatum by the U.S. President Donald J. Trump to deal with the problem squarely. But such a pattern of elite propaganda is not new, and there is a dubious ring to it.

A few years after Muhammadu Buhari assumed the presidency, terrorist attacks in Nigeria had reached an alarming crescendo. Sadly, the president appeared to be doing little or nothing to stem the tide.

This failure provoked many Nigerians to wonder why a nation of over 200 million people could not decimate visible terrorists with ease in an era of sophisticated technology. They wondered about the tens of billions of dollars claimed to have been committed without meaningful results. They continued to witness daily instances where the terrorists were openly brandishing their AK-47 and other weapons in broad daylight while the Nigerian armed forces looked the other way. The citizens were perplexed as to why the Federal Government could not smash the terrorists with the same zeal they attack and jail civil right activists.

The sum optics prompted an intense public outcry, rebuking the state for complicity. Even Reno Omokri, an ally of President Tinubu, labeled the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) as “anti-Christ” at the time. Yet, like the current controversy on Christian genocide, the Buhari regime forcefully pushed back and refuted any allegation of complicity. His team also viewed any critic on the matter as an enemy of the state. But then came a voice they could neither ignore nor smear.

Theophilus “T.Y.” Danjuma has an influence that spans several critical junctures in the nation’s religious, military, and political history. He rarely speaks, but when he does, Nigeria listens.

Danjuma rose and finally spoke. The former army chief, former defense minister, and a colleague of President Buhari not only decried the wave of insecurity, he also lamented that the Nigerian armed forces were indeed colluding with the terrorists. He then urged the citizens to arm and defend themselves. That was in 2018 under Buhari, a call he repeated in April 2025 under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

But the most damning bombshell came from a garrulous witness to history. The dateline is this very November 2025. A former chairman of the ruling APC, Adams Oshiomhole is now a serving senator under the same party. He is not only a confidant of President Tinubu, the former Edo governor is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, a ministry that is responsible for the nation’s internal security among other sensitive functions.

Oshiomhole relied on classified intel to inject a new perspective of how Nigerian leaders are culpable. He went down the memory lane as far back as the Buhari tenure to narrate how powerful people in the society have been weaponizing the insecurity in the country to wreck billions of dollars.

In one fell swoop, Senator Oshiomhole accused China as part of the illegal mining ring taking place in Nigeria and how the Nigerian armed forces do nothing while the Asian nation arms terrorist groups to protect the illegal venture. He expressed shock that the same China is now opposing President Trump for standing up against the killings in Nigeria.

Mr. Oshiomhole went further to caution that only the truth will set Nigeria free and then admonished the Tinubu regime for failing in its responsibility. In his words, “The federal government is not doing what it is supposed to be doing.” This strong indictment of Tinubu for inaction or indifference further gives credence to an allegation by Hajiya Nàja’atu Mohammed, a renowned activist, and former Commissioner at the Police Service Commission. She also served as the Director, Civil Society Liaison in the APC for the Presidential Campaign Council of Bola Tinubu before resigning in protest. In a widely circulated video, Mrs. Mohammed claimed that Tinubu confided in her that any serious “blueprint” on security in Nigeria is to step on “big toes”

Besides the cabal in illegal mining, these big shoes also belong to the government officials and their cronies who loot the funds budgeted for fighting insecurity. For the period 2023, 2024, and 2025 alone, Nigeria committed over 13 trillion naira (about 9 billion dollars) to that sector. It is not a new story that a greater chunk of this security money only goes to fatten the big toes.

The seemingly consensus is the major reason the Nigerian nation can no longer protect the lives and property of her citizens is because powerful people are complicit in the menace of insecurity in the country. This statement is instructive and forms the intellectual basis for this essay.

Therefore, the stout opposition to American intervention by the corrupt cabal within and outside the Tinubu regime is expected. The guilty are afraid. They are merely afraid of being held to account. They know this is not business as usual. Trump does not play, especially where a portion of the money being diverted is the financial assistance from America.

The most echoing excuse so far for opposing any American intervention borders on sovereignty. This school of thought argues that the country has the independent authority to govern itself without foreign interference. But that is sheer hypocrisy. The Nigerian elites quickly forget that sovereignty and patriotism go hand in hand. They want to forget that patriotism is the natural emotional response to the existence and protection of the sovereign state. The gospel truth is that these politicians and their cronies are profoundly unpatriotic and have already destroyed the county.

These are the same people who have for long killed and abandoned the critical local amenities and programs that suggest the extent of the nation’s existence or ability to govern itself. They have abandoned the local schools. They have abandoned the local hospitals. They prefer to live, vacation, and bank in foreign lands. Even worse, they prefer foreign currency to Nigerian legal tender. The objective fact is that these Nigerian elite have since made the country ungovernable, its sovereignty questionable, and themselves unaccountable.

Another narrative is that Trump has ulterior motives in Nigeria, which prioritize economic interests over genuine security concerns. But that is another hypocrisy. To begin with, the core proceeds of Nigerian natural resources already reside in foreign banks, thanks to the big toes. So, what other form of exploitation can be worse than the current situation where Nigerian masses are trooping out, willing to embrace the harsh conditions in immigration jails in the foreign lands as more hopeful than the situation in our native land?

Finally, there is the subterfuge that American intervention may leave the country a war-torn zone like Iraq or Afghanistan. This is clearly another scare tactic. A full-scale war becomes necessary where the host country resists the desired change.

The saving solution for Tinubu is to muster courage, step on the big toes, and fully embrace the American military intervention towards the desired change. Target and smash the critical areas, where Boko Haram or foreign herdsmen terrorize Christian communities. Thereafter, negotiate with the U.S. regarding rooting out the bandits colluding with the perpetrators of illegal mining.

SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC presidential aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.