Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has stated that the Nigerian leader was well ahead of what he described as an orchestrated game unfolding in America following renewed US (United States) pressure over alleged Christian persecution.
Onanuga’s comment on Sunday, November 2, came days after US President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and threatened military action if the alleged killings of Christians continued. Trump on Saturday ordered the Department of War to prepare for possible action, warning the US may go into Nigeria guns a blazing to completely wipe out Islamic terrorists.
In a post on X, Onanuga asserted that President Tinubu had already anticipated the growing international attention on Nigeria’s security situation. He noted the President had issued strong, non negotiable directives to the nation’s service chiefs during their decoration ceremony on Thursday, October 31.
“President Bola Tinubu was well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America as he told the new service chiefs on Thursday what Nigerians expect of them. No more excuses, he said. Nigerians want results,” Onanuga wrote. He shared an excerpt from President Tinubu’s address to the military chiefs, which called for decisive and innovative action against emerging security threats across the country.
“Security threats are constantly evolving, constantly mutating. Of grave concern to our administration is the recent emergence of new armed groups in the North Central, North West, and parts of the South. We must not allow these new threats to fester. We must be decisive and proactive. Let us smash the new snakes right in the head,” President Tinubu said.
The President urged the military to deploy technology and innovation in tackling insurgency, vowing to provide full government support to ensure tangible results. He charged the security chiefs to carry out their duties with patriotic zeal and to be innovative, pre emptive and courageous. He also emphasized that Nigerians expect results, not excuses, and that the crisis which began in 2009 cannot be allowed to persist any longer.
President Tinubu’s firm remarks came amid growing criticism from certain right wing US lawmakers who claim Christians in Nigeria face systematic persecution. In September 2025, Senator Ted Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill seeking to sanction Nigerian officials accused of enabling what he called the mass murder of Christians.
Cruz claimed in a recent post that since 2009, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, with over 18,000 churches and 2,000 Christian schools destroyed. The bill seeks to impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on Nigerian officials who facilitate violence against Christians or enforce blasphemy laws. It also requires the US Secretary of State to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act.
However, Nigerian government officials have strongly pushed back against these characterizations. Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris Malagi described the claims as a gross misrepresentation of reality, stating that terrorist groups target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith. He emphasized that Muslims, Christians and those who identify with no religion have all suffered at the hands of these criminals.
Analysts point to Nigeria’s complex security environment, driven by multiple factors including ethnic rivalries, land disputes between farmers and herders, climate change impacts on resources, and various militant groups. While Christians have been victims of attacks, particularly in farming communities in the Middle Belt and central states, experts note that Muslims in the predominantly Muslim north have also suffered significant casualties.
The attackers are often identified as herders from the Fulani ethnic group, which is predominantly Muslim. However, tensions between herder and farming communities have a long history rooted in competition for dwindling access to farmland, rangeland and water due to climate change and population growth rather than purely religious motivations.
Gimba Kakanda, a special assistant to the vice president, wrote in an opinion piece that Nigeria’s conflicts are multifaceted, driven by ethnic rivalries, land disputes and criminality, with religion often secondary. The government maintains that while Nigeria faces security challenges including acts of terrorism perpetrated by criminals, couching the situation as a deliberate, systematic attack on Christians is inaccurate and harmful.
President Tinubu decorated four new service chiefs on Thursday at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Those decorated were General Olufemi Oluyede as Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Wahidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff, Air Marshal Kennedy Aneke as Chief of Air Staff, and Vice Admiral Idi Abbas as Chief of Naval Staff. The Senate confirmed the four nominees on Wednesday after a two hour closed door screening session.
The recent military leadership change followed weeks of speculation about an alleged coup plot, which both the Presidency and Defence Headquarters dismissed as false and mischievous. Onanuga told reporters the changes were routine and driven by the President’s concern about how the security situation was being addressed, adding that the Commander in Chief has the authority to hire and fire service chiefs.
