Daniel Bwala
Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on policy communication, says it is diplomatically inappropriate for the United States government to undertake military action in Nigeria without the consent of the federal government.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC World Service, Bwala said Nigeria remains a sovereign country and that any form of intervention on insecurity should be collaborative.
Last Friday, US President Donald Trump labelled Nigeria a “country of particular concern (CPC)” over claims of Christian genocide in the West African country.
The US leader also warned the Nigerian government to “better move fast” or he would make good his threat to stop all US aid and assistance to the country.
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Subsequently, Trump threatened to unleash the department of war on Nigeria to fight the terrorists “that attack our cherished Christians”.
Speaking on the development, Bwala said there is a “misconception” of the comments made by Trump, adding that issues will be addressed when the US leader and President Bola Tinubu meet.
The presidential spokesperson commended Trump for authorising sale of arms to Nigeria during his first term.
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He said Trump’s interest in the fight against Boko Haram extremists in Nigeria is welcome, adding that such a move must be guided by data.
“I think there is a miscommunication of the statement of President Donald Trump, which I believe that when the leaders (Trump and Tinubu) meet, hopefully in the coming days, they will be able to iron out,” he said.
“There is no genocide against Christians in Nigeria but there is insecurity that affects people of all religious and non-religious faiths in Nigeria, of which Christians are part of.
“We are grateful to President Donald Trump because if we recall, it was during his first term that he used executive powers to authorise the sale of arms for us to fight insurgency. That is a good faith on his part.
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“In his second term, he has indicated his interest in fight against extremists, Boko Haram, which we welcome. We believe that a data-driven assessment is what can be relied upon rather than isolated reports and social media videos.”
Asked if he would welcome direct US military action as stated by Trump, he said: “If it is a joint action with the Nigerian government, that is fine, because Nigeria is a territorial and sovereign country.
“I don’t think, diplomatically, it is right to invade a country without collaboration with that country especially if that country is your partner in the fight against insecurity.
“Where you will see that form of intervention is when there is an intelligence assessment that the country is in fact fuelling the crisis, in which the Americans want to intervene. That is not the case in Nigeria.”
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