A retired Professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos, Lai Olurode, has said that the recent threat by United States President Donald Trump to launch military action against Nigeria is not driven by any genuine concern for the safety of Christians in the country but by racial, economic, social, and political motives.
Mr Trump had recently designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), based on false claims that Christians were being systematically killed in the country.
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He later threatened that unless the Nigerian government stopped what he called “the genocide of Christians,” the United States under his watch would take military action.
The Nigerian government has, however, repeatedly rejected Mr Trump’s false allegations, insisting that terrorist attacks in the country target both Muslims and Christians and that there is no state policy or pattern of persecution against any religious group.
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In a statement made available to Premium Times, Professor Olurode described Mr Trump’s claim as a “smokescreen” designed to mask deeper interests.
“Nigeria has, over the years, suffered indiscriminate terrorist attacks that target military installations, public infrastructure, economic assets, and all places of worship — Christian and Muslim alike,” he said.
“There’s hardly any state in the country that has not fallen victim to such violence. Yet, under the present administration, there are emerging indicators that acts of terrorism are actually declining.”
‘Trump’s motives are racial, economic, and political’
According to the former National Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Trump’s posture toward Nigeria reflects a long-standing pattern of racial bias and hostility toward non-white nations.
“Since his campaign for the White House, Trump has demonstrated hatred for black Americans and coloured people generally,” Mr Olurode said.
“His immigration policies were hallmarks of racial bigotry and opposition to the melting-pot ideal that America once stood for.”
The professor added that Mr Trump’s rhetoric and policies have consistently undermined multiculturalism and global cooperation, values that once defined the American experiment.
Mr Olurode also linked Mr Trump’s posture to economic self-interest, particularly the revolution underway in Nigeria’s oil sector, spearheaded by the Dangote Refinery.
“For the first time in Nigeria’s history, we are refining our own oil. This development undoubtedly reduces dependency on American oil workers, shippers, and refineries,” he said.
“The Dangote phenomenon must be giving America sleepless nights. As Walter Rodney once argued in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, the West prefers Africa to remain dependent. A self-sufficient Nigeria disrupts that structure.”
Socially, the sociologist said, Nigeria’s growing global cultural influence, from its diaspora community to its creative industries, is reshaping perceptions abroad in ways that some American conservatives, including Mr Trump, find unsettling.
“Nigerians in the diaspora are not just economic migrants; they are cultural ambassadors. Our music, art, and entrepreneurship are now embedded in the social fabric of major Western cities. Trump and his allies are no friends of this multicultural reality,” he said.
‘America fears a stable Nigerian democracy’
Politically, Professor Olurode argued that powerful nations often seek to destabilise emerging democracies in order to maintain dominance.
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“America’s global triumph feeds on fuelling instability in fledgling democracies. Few powerful nations ever believed Nigeria could sustain 25 years of uninterrupted democracy,” he said.
While condemning Mr Trump’s “provocative and dangerous” rhetoric, Professor Olurode advised President Bola Tinubu’s administration to remain calm, diplomatic, and strategic in its response.
“We must display decorum and caution in dealing with the most powerful country in a unipolar world,” he urged. “This is not the time for emotional outbursts or morbid patriotism. America can crush a fly with a sledgehammer. Nigeria must avoid walking into that death trap.”
The professor called on Nigeria’s political and intellectual elites to set aside their differences and rally behind the federal government in defence of their country’s sovereignty.
“If Nigeria goes under, there will be no country left for our diverse aspirations,” he said.
