Trump: Nigeria’s legitimacy threatened by religious rhetoric.
Trump wrote in a post on his social network: If the Nigerian government allows the killing of Christians to continue, the United States will immediately cut off all aid to the country and may go to war against Abuja and destroy the so-called Islamist terrorists responsible for this violence.
Trump also threatened to designate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” due to violations of religious freedom.
Behind Trump’s threat
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, one of the top oil producers, and is roughly divided into a Muslim-majority north and a Christian-majority south. The country faces ongoing insecurity, including the insurgency of Boko Haram and ISIS terrorists in West Africa, banditry, clashes between farmers and herders, and sectarian violence.
Trump’s statements portray this violence as targeted persecution of Christians and declare that Christianity in Nigeria is under “existential threat.”
While Nigeria’s problems are real and complex, analysts stress that many of the violent incidents also affect Muslims. Most of Boko Haram’s victims are said to be Muslim. The gap between the government’s description of the violence and the available data reinforces Trump’s warning, as does his lack of strategic and diplomatic certainty.
The language Trump used to threaten the country is significant both for its directness and its implications. He told the Nigerian government that if it continued to kill Christians, the United States would immediately cut off all aid and assistance to Nigeria. In other words, he threatened military action while promising to cut off aid immediately.