Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has called on President Bola Tinubu to take firm action against United States (US) President Donald Trump over his threat of military action against Nigeria. In a post on his verified Facebook page on Sunday, Gumi condemned Trump’s threat as an insult to Nigeria’s sovereignty and called for an immediate diplomatic response.
“For Trump to threaten a sovereign country with military attack is a profound disrespect to our authority, but we can rise above it,” he wrote. The cleric advised the government to summon the US ambassador to demand a retraction, warning that failure to do so should result in severing diplomatic ties.
“President Tinubu should summon the US ambassador; they either retract their threats or we sever diplomatic ties with this irresponsible regime,” Gumi stated. He warned that failure to respond decisively could embolden further foreign interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs.
Gumi further noted that Nigeria has viable alternatives for economic and military partnerships, stressing that the country must not be overly dependent on any one nation. “There are lots of other options for our economic expansion and military alliance,” he added.
Trump on Saturday said he has instructed the Defense Department to prepare for possible action in Nigeria over the country’s alleged killing of Christians. The US president wrote on social media that if the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns blazing, to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.
The move came a day after Trump designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over alleged violations of religious freedom. A few hours before Trump’s threat, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu released a statement stressing that his government continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” Tinubu said on Saturday.
