Soyinka Slams Trump Over Threat to Deploy US Forces to Nigeria

• Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has criticised former U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to send American forces into Nigeria, warning that the remarks display a dangerous “pre-set mindset” and ignore the country’s complex security realities.

Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has criticised former U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy American forces to Nigeria.

Soyinka made the remarks after meeting Governor Hyacinth Alia in Makurdi on Friday.

The nonagenarian cautioned that Trump’s comments reflected a “pre-set mindset” and failed to recognise the complexities behind Nigeria’s security challenges.

“You don’t just open your mouth and say, ‘I’m coming to help you whether you like it or not.
With poor, almost non-existent analysis, you say you are coming with ‘guns blazing’,” he said.

He stressed that while governments have a duty to protect citizens, victims of violence deserve respect.

“At least respect those finding solutions to this unacceptable situation,” Soyinka added.

Trump declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” on October 31 over alleged killings of Christians. In a post on Truth Social, he claimed Christianity faced an existential threat in Nigeria.

“Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote, urging U.S. lawmakers to investigate and insisting that action must follow.

He asked Congressman Riley Moore and Chairman Tom Cole to study the situation, maintaining that the U.S. must protect Christian communities worldwide.

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Trump had earlier threatened to send American forces into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” if attacks continued, with reports suggesting that U.S. military officials had drafted contingency plans for possible intervention.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has dismissed Trump’s claims, insisting that Nigeria does not persecute Christians and that the portrayal “does not reflect our national reality.”

Tinubu noted that since 2023, his administration has continued engaging both Christian and Muslim leaders to strengthen national security.