Afenifere has alleged that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to invade Nigeria stems from economic motives and displeasure with President Tinubu’s independent policies, not human rights concerns.
The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threat to invade Nigeria was politically and economically motivated, according to VANGUARD reporting.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jare Ajayi, Afenifere said the allegation that the Nigerian government is complicit in the killing of Christians by bandits was “an attempt to give a dog a bad name to have a justification to kill it.” The group alleged that Trump’s “harsh tone” was aimed at pushing President Bola Tinubu into economic concessions.
“By sounding so harsh, Mr. Trump hopes to get President Tinubu to negotiate with him with a view to having more inroads into Nigeria’s economy and to possibly force Nigeria to buy more goods, especially weapons, from America,” Ajayi said, linking U.S. displeasure to Nigeria’s growing ties with China.
He dismissed the genocide claims, stressing that terrorists target economic interests, not religion.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu urged Nigerians to defend the government against foreign threats, saying, “Our President is taking the right decisions… let us go out there and be proud and defend this government. They are doing the right things.”