Opinion
Deborah: Atiku Abubakar and why votes are thicker than blood
Distressing pieces of bad news are everywhere. From the murder of Miss Deborah Samuel Yakubu by students of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto last Thursday, to the immediate distancing of Nigerian politicians from her killing, hope that a post-Muhammadu Buhari Nigeria will not be clone of its unjust and inequitable era seems to be fading. Between the Deborah murder, the political mockery on the political arena and the lack of regards for Nigerians by Nigerian rulers, two explainers respond to the distresses: They are the Sekere and the forest.
Sekere, the Yoruba musical instrument, is reputed never to be found wherever tears are being shed. Made of a gourd that is knitted round by beads and which its user twists, shakes or slaps to produce a medley of exciting sounds, Sekere and sorrow are strange bedfellows as this musical instrument can never be found in an assemblage of poets engaged in dirges. Proud of Sekere’s pedigree of being a springboard of joy and conviviality, Yoruba proudly thump their chests that Sekere does not cavort in an assembly of the downcast. Unlike the Sekere however, last week, and as it has been its wont, Nigeria again showed that Sekere’s antithesis excites it. From the political, the social, to the economic, the Sekere became a rare object in sight in Nigeria.
But the ululating sound of the Gbedu was everywhere. Before its virginity was violently taken off it by emerging trends of modernity, the Gbedu was a sacred drum that you found in groves of Ogboni secret cult adherents. Also known as the Ogido, the Gbedu belongs to one of the four major families of Yoruba drums. To set it aside as unique and underscore its sacredness, the Gbedu in ancient time was shawled by carvings of animals, birds and the phallus, which depicted its masculinity. During traditional sacrifice ceremonies, the Gbedu was brought out with blood sprinkled on its outward coverings of carvings and an assortment of sacrificial offerings is festooned round it which ranged from feathers of hens, sprinkles of palm wine and egg yolks.
As the week that just ended was meandering into its twilight, Northern Nigerian drummers went inside their bloodied groove to bring out and beat the Gbedu drum. The drum’s howling beat had hardly subsided when the female student, Deborah, was stoned to death and burnt like a ram in Sokoto. Her sin for deserving the fate of a ram in the abattoir was that she allegedly blasphemed the name of Muhammed, the Islamic prophet who died thousands of years ago.
Thereafter, the country was set on edge. Ordinarily, in a country where politicians strive to outdo one another in hypocritical scramble for the hearts of the people in the public square, Deborah’s murder was an opportunity for the political elite to wax lyrical in righteous indignation and casuistry. Press releases that are far distant from the dark groves of the politicians’ hearts are issued at an auspicious moment like this, written in emotion-laden language that points at their belief and desire for a better country.
As the news of Deborah’s murder filtered in on the social media last Thursday, it occasioned a scramble among, especially, presidential aspirants who are sprinting to Nigeria’s Aso Rock gate. You wouldn’t find any difference between their scramble and the one between 1881 and 1914, nicknamed the Scramble for and Partition of Africa, which resulted in its conquest. As Western European powers invaded Africa for the purpose of its annexation, these politicians also scrambled to share a chunk of the people’s hearts in the art of shedding crocodile tears over this bestial killing.
Serial presidential contender, Atiku Abubakar, would seem to have breasted the tape before anyone else. Couched in a distraught voice that spoke like a father and a nationalist genuinely touched and saddened by the barbarism, Atiku’s statement got to Twitter at exactly 12.20am on Friday morning and empathized admirably thus: “There cannot be a justification for such gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered and all those behind her death must be brought to justice. My condolences to her family and friends”.
In the language of Nigerian power, however, the above was not apropos. For Nigerian politicians, justice has no corresponding alphabet to politicking. So, when, a few minutes after the tweet, vultures that suck the flesh with their talons stained with blood, hopped on Twitter’s comment section threatening that, by that tweet, Atiku had lost their votes, with implicit threats that whenever he came to Sokoto, they would make him feel the pang of his infelicitous comment against Islam, it occurred to Atiku that votes were thicker than blood. One of them, going by the name, Otunba of Sokoto, told Atiku: “You just lost a million votes in Sokoto”.
That threat seemed to jolt the Turakin Adamawa who sprinted to delete the empathetic message.
While outrage gripped the land that had been painted with crimson, politicians, especially those seeking electors’ votes, weighed the ounces of their statements in empathy to Deborah. It took Vice President Yemi Osinbajo more than 24 hours before his comment came. As I write this, none has come from Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Even the president’s was steeped in the usual puritanical escapism associated with lame duck government statements. Even if it did, nobody would believe him. Buhari has run a government in the last seven years that is lean on justice against malefactors but lusciously rotund in cavalier grandstanding. “No person has the right to take the law into his or her own hands in this country. Violence has and never will solve any problem,” Buhari said.
Pray, why would a president, held to be an emblem of justice and equity, now be seeking to upstage the ecumenical cadences and spiritual narratives of the Imam or the pulpit sermon of the pastor? The animals of Sokoto go luscious because Nigeria has been a consequence-less country. It is worse under a man like Buhari who sees his first responsibility in Aso Rock as a defender of the Islamic faith. In virtually all continents of the world where human beings inhabit, you cannot rule out the tendency of some of our brothers extending their hands in a handshake to our ape brothers. This they do in an attempt to link up with their pre-historical mammalian ancestry. Wherever this occurs, flaunting the scorching fangs of the law, governments of such countries always come out to violently reset the brains of these apes. But we know that this won’t happen under this president. It has never happened. Buhari himself, as a presidential aspirant, had espoused this religious fundamentalism and crude lawlessness when he made reference to the blood of baboon and dogs.
Many people have been talking tongue-in-cheek since Deborah was murdered. The truth is that, Northern Nigeria is home to one of the most horrendous religious fundamentalism that the hapless people of Nigeria are forced to stomach. The killing of Deborah and reactions to it have proved very graphically that yoking the north and south together was one of the most fundamental errors of Nigeria’s nation-statehood. While a negligible percentage of northern purists shudder at this barbarism, millions others believe that religion and its tenets should take precedence over human life. This is the root of the fundamentalism that killed Deborah. It is sickening that in this 21st century, a people could be this dogmatically wedged to and rigidly affixed to an interpretation of scriptures, at the detriment of humanity. There is no difference between the religious fundamentalism and extremism of the Sokoto animal butchers who killed Deborah and the ones of ISIS and Al-Qaeda. They are both sired by and linked to negative outcomes such as prejudice, hostility or even armed conflict that religious fundamentalism brings.
In southern Nigeria, the character of religion is more discerned and indeed discernible. What is my business if you blaspheme Jesus Christ? Am I His armour bearer? Or that you tore pages of the Bible and defecate on it? That is your business for which you will have your day with Him in judgment – if indeed there is one. Why should anyone seek martyrdom for foreign religions whose hereafter theologies are basically guesswork?
Christianah Oluwasesin, Grace Ushang, Gideon Akaluka and others after them are products of the useless martyrdom that some adherents of Islamic religion crave. Their claim for those horrendous murders was that the holy writ says they would be beatified if they kill their fellow beings. Oluwasesin got lynched in Gombe in 2007 by secondary school students. They had accused her of rubbishing the Qur’an. What happened was that, while invigilating an exam, she was confronted by cheating students. Irked, Oluwasesin snatched the paper from them. To her chagrin, she discovered that the leaflet was a Qur’an. She met her waterloo. Ushang, in 2009 in Maiduguri, got raped and murdered. Her sin? She had the effrontery of wearing the trousers of the NYSC. I remember that in Yelwa-Yauri in 1992, my female colleague corps members were almost lynched inside the Yauri market for wearing similar trousers. Gideon Akaluka was the precursor of the earlier two. He was beheaded in Kano in 1995. His sin too was disrespecting the Qur’an.
Bible and Quran, written thousands of years ago, must be made to adhere to the quests of today’s world. You cannot ask for an unthinkable adherence to a call to kill “infidels” written in an almost pre-historic era at a modern time like this. Whether in Christianity, Islam or any other faith, the moment you allow your brain to go on sabbatical while you read the writs of the faiths, you have become indistinguishable from an animal. The Bible or Quran cannot be bigger than humanity. Man was not made for religion but religion was made for man. Nothing weighs as hugely as humanity and its essence.
Aside the Deborah murder, there are other parallels to the strange weirdness that has gripped Nigeria in recent time. And the forest seems the most fitting description of where we have found ourselves. In Africa, the forest is not just a mosaic of long stretches of scary landscape, huge trees that seem to offer handshakes to one another; it is not merely the habitat where scary chirps of crickets and birds and animals are heard, neither is it just the abode of flaura and fauna. The forest is the place where the unexplained and the inexplicable live. If you doubt this, read the classics of D.O. Fagunwa. It is why hunters who make the forest their dwelling places, who suddenly get lost inside its strange labyrinth, are highly respected and venerated as superhuman. Hunters are reputed to tango, in a life and death battle, with strange and deadly animals, deploying their physical brawns and supernatural powers inherited from their forebears.
Our children have been at home for months now, no thanks to the ASUU-government imbroglio and no one seems to care. In the states of the north-central, north-east and north-west, there is a greater harvest of human bodies than they do annual crops. Hopelessness has seized the land like a pestilence. Yet, politicians are stone deaf and morbid dumb to this reign of crimson. All they do is muzzling and stampeding for political offices. We now have a canvass of serious contenders for positions and appointment-inspired declarations of intents. Billions of naira of government’s money and already stashed away cash are being floated in space to attain life-long ambitions of politicians while hunger persistently wracks the bellies of the people.
In situating where we have found ourselves, I will go to the forest still to secure an explainer. Especially, for the cat-and-mouse game between the political and governmental elites and the people. When hunters go to the forest to hunt game, they use this peculiar, centuries-old expedition methodology that is aptly captured by the “we” and “them” bifurcation. The hunting crew encircles a forest which is believed to be the habitation of games – mongoose, impala, antelope and so on. Those with guns and cutlasses, with their weapons on the ready, are ranged at the front while the rest of the crew is saddled with the task of beating the bush with huge woods from the back.
With this, experience tells them that the animals will scramble out of their holes. When the animals thus try to escape, the armed hunting crew shoots them to death. At the close of the day when the whole crew gets home with their spoils and the animals are shared, the armed hunters, who do next to nothing but shoot, get what the Yoruba call the Itafa which consists of the meaty thighs and head. The yokel who beat the bush get the almost meat-less portions of the animal. Espousing the sense in not being a yokel, late Apala musician, Ayinla Omowura, sang that his opponents merely beat the bush in a hunt for games and he was the hunter with the gun who would coast home with the chunkiest meat – “E f’awon were sile…” he upbraided them. Resigning to fate in an unholy alliance as this, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, another musician of that age, sang that when given the bony back of the animal in this equation, it signified that he would see his enemies’ end, their back.
In the hunting for the goodness of the land of Nigeria, the elites – political, governmental, business etc – secure an unfair advantage over the generality of the people. In saner climes, that ambivalence by Atiku Abubakar should open the door out of the presidential race for him. It will however not, because this unfair dealing with the people is normal in elite-people tango. His scramble to explain this gaffe worsens the gravity of the deletion of the tweet. It is why justice, to the political and governmental elite, has dual colour. It is why murderers deserve empathy and the ones murdered do not. It is why Godwin Emefiele, Nigeria’s No 1 banker, could mock Nigerians that he was not bothered if they had heart attacks in their quest to have the best man to administer them. It is why Goodluck Jonathan could tell that humongous lie that Miyetti Allah bought him his presidential form on the platform of a party that tore the remnants of his credibility to shreds. It is why our votes, rather than our humanity, matter more to Atiku Abubakar, Tinubu and the rest political harlots. It is why Nigeria is not wired to be ruled by brainy but hare-brained politicians. It is why we are where we are.
Dr. Adedayo, a lawyer, journalist and columnist writes from Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria
As the road to 2027 gradually unfolds across Oyo State, political conversations are shifting from routine permutations to deeper questions about competence, generational leadership, and measurable impact. In Ibarapa East, that conversation has found a new voice in Yusuf Abiodun Ramon — a Lanlate-born technocrat whose entry into the race for the State House of Assembly is redefining what representation could mean for the constituency.
In a political environment often dominated by familiar faces and conventional calculations, Ramon presents a profile shaped by technical discipline, structured thinking, and solution-driven engagement. His professional background, anchored in analytical precision and systems management, forms the foundation of his public service aspiration.
For him, representation must move beyond ceremonial presence to practical responsiveness — laws that reflect local realities, oversight that protects public resources, and advocacy that translates into visible development.
Ramon argues that the future of Ibarapa East lies in leadership that listens deliberately, plans strategically, and delivers measurably. He speaks of strengthening rural infrastructure, expanding youth-driven economic opportunities, and institutionalising transparency as core pillars of his agenda. In his view, governance must not merely be symbolic; it must be structured, accountable, and people-centred.
Rooted in Ile Odede, Isale Alubata Compound, Ward Seven of Ibarapa East Local Government, and maternally linked to Ile Sobaloju, Isale Ajidun Compound, Eruwa, Ramon’s story is not one of distant ambition but of lived experience. He is, in every sense, a son of the soil — shaped by the same roads, schools, and economic realities that define daily life in Ibarapa East.
“I was born here. I grew up here. I understand our struggles, our strengths, and our untapped potential,” he says. “Representation must go beyond occupying a seat; it must translate into preparation, competence, and genuine commitment to development.”
His academic journey mirrors that philosophy of steady growth. He began at Islamic Primary School, Lanlate (1995–2001), proceeded to Baptist Grammar School, Orita Eruwa (2001–2007), and later earned a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, between 2009 and 2011. Refusing to plateau, he advanced his intellectual horizon and is now completing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of Lagos. “Education,” he reflects, “is continuous capacity building. Leadership today requires both technical knowledge and administrative insight.”
That blend of engineering precision and managerial training has defined a professional career spanning more than a decade. Shortly after his diploma, Yusuf joined Mikano International Limited as a generator installer, gaining hands-on experience in industrial power systems — a sector central to Nigeria’s infrastructural backbone. He later transitioned into telecommunications at Safari Telecoms Nigeria Limited, where he received specialized training in Industrial, Scientific, and Medical radio bands, strengthening his expertise in network operations.
In 2013, he became a Field Support Engineer at Netrux Global Concepts Ltd., then a leading ISM service provider in Nigeria. Over four formative years, he immersed himself in telecom infrastructure deployment and maintenance, mastering field coordination, logistics management, and real-time technical problem-solving.
Since July 2017, he has served as a Field Support Engineer with Specific Tools and Techniques Ltd., a power solutions firm providing services to major operators including MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria. In that capacity, he operates at the frontline of ensuring energy reliability and network uptime — responsibilities that demand discipline, accountability, and systems thinking.
For political observers in Ibarapa East, this trajectory matters. It reflects more than résumé credentials; it speaks to a mindset anchored in efficiency, coordination, and measurable outcomes — qualities increasingly demanded in legislative representation.
Beyond the private sector, Ramon’s political exposure is neither sudden nor superficial. A loyal member of the progressive political family in Lagos, he once served as a personal assistant to a former lawmaker, gaining practical insight into legislative procedure and constituency engagement. Within his community, he has quietly extended financial support to small-scale entrepreneurs and students — modest but consistent interventions rooted in personal responsibility.
“My interest is my people,” he states firmly. “Ibarapa East deserves strategic, responsive, and capable leadership at the State Assembly. We must move from rhetoric to results.”
Across the constituency — from Lanlate to Eruwa — development priorities remain clear: youth employment, vocational empowerment, rural road rehabilitation, stable power supply, agricultural value-chain expansion, improved educational standards, and stronger lawmaking that directly reflects community needs.
Political analysts argue that Ramon’s technocratic background positions him uniquely at the intersection of policy formulation and practical implementation. At a time when national discourse increasingly favours competence over grandstanding, his profile resonates with a broader generational shift toward performance-driven governance. His engineering discipline reinforces problem-solving; his business training strengthens administrative understanding; his grassroots roots anchor his empathy.
For Ibarapa East, the 2027 election cycle may represent more than a routine democratic exercise. It may mark a recalibration of expectations — a demand for representation that understands both the soil beneath its feet and the systems that drive modern development. As political alignments gradually crystallize in Oyo State, Yusuf Abiodun Ramon’s declaration signals the arrival of a candidate seeking to translate private-sector structure into public-sector impact.
One thing is clear: the conversation about the future of Ibarapa East has begun — and it is now framed around competence, credibility, and capacity.
Oluwasegun Idowu sent in this piece from Eruwa, Ibarapa East LG, Oyo State
“In a sky where delays are normal, one airline flies with precision and trust. Ibom Air shows that reliability can be a strategy”.
In Nigeria’s skies, where flight delays and cancellations are often taken as routine, Ibom Air has quietly rewritten the rules. From the moment it launched in June 2019, the Akwa Ibom State–owned carrier has treated reliability not as a bonus, but as a core strategy—turning punctuality, discipline, and operational excellence into a competitive edge that passengers can count on.
While most airlines chase rapid expansion or flashy promotions, Ibom Air has chosen consistency. Flights depart on schedule, disruptions are minimal, and communication with passengers is clear and timely. This predictability has quickly earned the airline a loyal following among business travellers, professionals, government officials, and families for whom time is invaluable.
The airline’s approach is methodical. Every flight is treated as a commitment, and operational decisions are guided by structured planning, not improvisation. This discipline underpins everything from scheduling to fleet management, ensuring passengers experience flying without surprises.
Central to this model is Ibom Air’s modern fleet. Its Airbus A220-300 and Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft are fuel-efficient, comfortable, and rigorously maintained to meet both manufacturers’ specifications and the regulatory standards of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and international aviation bodies. Safety here is a culture, not a compliance exercise.
Cabin cleanliness and aircraft health are equally prioritized. Passengers consistently step into neat, hygienic, and professionally maintained cabins, reinforcing confidence and comfort even before take-off. In a sector where small details signal operational quality, Ibom Air’s standards speak volumes.
Technology quietly drives reliability across operations. From booking and check-in to flight coordination and customer service, modern systems enhance efficiency, reduce disruptions, and ensure smooth communication. These tools allow the airline to anticipate challenges rather than merely react.
R–L: Dr. Solomon Oroge, a consultant, and Mr. Idowu Ayodele, journalist and media practitioner, aboard an Ibom Air flight.
Service delivery follows the same disciplined pattern. Pilots, cabin crew, engineers, and ground staff operate under strict professional standards. Courtesy is paired with efficiency, and calm, structured service ensures passengers feel confident throughout their journey.
The Ibom Flyer loyalty programme reflects this structured approach, rewarding consistent passengers and fostering long-term engagement. It turns reliability into a tangible benefit for frequent flyers.
From its hub at Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, Ibom Air serves major Nigerian cities including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Enugu, while extending its reach to West Africa with flights to Accra, Ghana. Expansion is deliberate, prioritizing sustainability over rapid growth that could compromise service quality.
Measured growth allows the airline to maintain operational excellence and service consistency even as demand increases—a strategy that contrasts sharply with competitors whose rapid expansion often strains resources.
Mr. Idowu Ayodele, journalist and media practitioner, pictured inside an Ibom Air aircraft.
Beyond commercial success, Ibom Air has become a national example. It has created employment, stimulated tourism, and strengthened regional connectivity, projecting a positive image of Nigerian aviation at a time when confidence in the sector is often fragile.
The airline has also challenged assumptions about government-owned enterprises. By combining professional management with operational autonomy, it demonstrates that public investment can achieve efficiency, accountability, and competitiveness.
Reliability, in the case of Ibom Air, is than a promise—it is a deliberate business philosophy. It shapes operations, informs decisions, and builds passenger trust consistently.
Technology, discipline, and attention to detail converge to produce an airline that works. Every element, from fleet maintenance to cabin service, supports the promise that Ibom Air delivers what it advertises—without surprises.
In a market where uncertainty has been the norm, Ibom Air has shown that consistency can be a strategic advantage. Passengers no longer fly with anxiety; they fly with confidence, knowing their schedules will hold and service will meet expectations.
Ultimately, Ibom Air is not just an airline—it is a model of operational excellence in Nigerian aviation. By prioritizing reliability over spectacle, discipline over improvisation, and planning over shortcuts, it sets a benchmark for the industry and a standard for passengers: in the skies, predictability is priceless
Idowu Ayodele – Journalist, Ibadan, Oyo State
0805 889 3736 | megaiconpress@gmail.com
In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the concept of the “Greek gift” was invented. The Trojan Horse became the undoing of Troy, ending a decade-long war in which many Greeks had perished, including the mighty Achilles. The Trojans accepted the Greeks’ gift, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In the past few days, both social and conventional media have been agog with reactions to President Donald J. Trump’s threat to the Nigerian government regarding terrorism. In his words, Nigeria must “address the genocide against Christians in the North and Middle Belt, or else the U.S. will cut aid to the country and, in addition, come into the country guns blazing in an attempt to flush out the terrorists.”
Sincerely speaking, the tweet made by the U.S. President sounded a bit comical to me, as did many other commentaries that followed. Comical not in a ridiculous sense, but in a comedic sense.
This piece is not written to support or oppose any particular view, but to lay down facts in the most succinct and objective manner, thereby allowing for the independence of a balanced position.
In 2009, a terror group named Jama’at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da’wa wa al-Jihad (popularly referred to as Boko Haram) emerged with the aim of establishing Islamic rule across Nigeria. According to the group, Sharia was the only path to true progress, and any faith other than Islam was haram (forbidden).
Soon after, this group began launching vicious attacks against Christians and Christian places of worship. From singularly attacking Christians, their targets shifted to government institutions and facilities, and on 28 November 2014, one of the greatest attacks against fellow Muslims occurred with the bombing and mass shooting of Juma’at worshippers at the Kano Central Mosque. Over 120 worshippers were killed and another 260 critically injured.
The point here is to underscore the fact that Boko Haram—and indeed all other extremist groups in Nigeria—are not targeting Christians alone, as earlier claimed, but are pursuing a more sinister agenda of land grabbing with the colouration of economic, psychological and socio-political domination of conquered territories, with intentions of spreading across the country.
From the Northeast, the activities of wanton killing and destruction perpetrated by terrorists spread to the North Central region, particularly Plateau and Benue States. What originally began as farmer–herder clashes metamorphosed into full-blown village and community sackings, where Fulani invaders razed entire communities, leaving hundreds dead or wounded while survivors were displaced and left with harrowing experiences in IDP camps.
This wave of destruction continued, with one of the bloodiest in recent times occurring in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, on the night of 13–14 June 2025. According to Amnesty/CE/UN/NGO, over 200 people were gruesomely massacred, several houses burnt to ashes, and about 3,000 people displaced and rendered homeless. In 2025 alone, Amnesty reported more than 10,000 additional people displaced in Benue across several local governments, ranging from Gwer West to Agatu, Ukum/Gbagir, Logo, Kwande and Guma.
From the North Central, terrorism—or better still, banditry—also found its way to the North West. The activities of bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements were consistently reported in Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, and even Katsina, which was once regarded as the true home of hospitality, as its state slogan depicts, and as I can also attest considering how much I enjoyed the peace and serenity of the state during my days therein as a Youth Corps member. Reuters.ng reports that as of 2025, approximately 2,456 people had been killed in the North West region across multiple states. In addition to this, about 7,260 people, including schoolchildren and commuters on highways, had been abducted, with several millions of naira collected by kidnappers as ransom payments. Some parts of the South West, South East and South South have not been spared the atrocities of terrorists and bandits.
Therefore, it is safe to say that the entire country has, at one time or the other, experienced the activities of bandits, terrorists and kidnappers. The intensity of attack, however, differs from region to region.
Late General Sani Abacha once said that “if any insurgency lasts for more than 24 hours, a government official has a hand in it.” This saying more or less amplifies the complexity of the terrorism–banditry–kidnapping problem in Nigeria. Nigeria is a country abundantly blessed with all manners of rich mineral resources. Apart from the vast arable land required for productive agriculture, there is virtually no region of the country that does not possess one valuable solid mineral or another.
From iron ore in Zamfara, Kogi and Enugu; gold in Kaduna, Kebbi and Osun; lithium in Nasarawa, Kwara, Oyo and the FCT; bitumen in Ondo, Edo and Ogun; plus other industrial minerals like gypsum, kaolin and limestone, with deposits of over one billion tonnes across many states—Nigeria is sitting on an incredibly underutilised treasure worth billions of dollars. The government’s inability to adequately manage these vast potentials provides fertile grounds for opportunistic scrambling, illegal mining, chaos and its attendant conflicts.
One can therefore boldly say that the chaos and violence camouflaged as terrorism and banditry is indeed a calculated campaign driven not just by Islamic extremism but by land grabbing and occupation for the purpose of blood mineral extraction and illicit mining.
Thus, a sophisticatedly armed radical Islamic Fulani ethnic militia, often operating under political protection, carries out multiple killings, displacements and kidnappings across the Northeast, North Central and North West, after which reports reveal that foreign miners appear following the death and displacement of indigenes to exploit the lands.
Amnesty International has also reported that Nigeria loses over $9 billion annually to illicit mining of gold, tin and lithium, with a significant portion—estimated at 10%—funding violence and corruption. The report further revealed that the involvement of some government elements in this corruption is not in doubt, as eyewitness reports of survivors and satellite surveillance footage revealed the connivance of certain government personnel. Some survivors have also repeatedly claimed that they witnessed helicopters in the middle of the night dropping weapons and ammunition for the bandits—a disclosure corroborated by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi in an interview on African Stream earlier this year.
So, it is right to say that the violence and carnage are just a smokescreen and a catalyst to a far-reaching economic, psychological and socio-political agenda of certain influential elements in the country. This is part of the reason why the billions of naira spent on security to equip the military to better fight insurgency have not yielded much result to date.
In addressing the threat of President Donald Trump, I would like to start by recounting a little history about the 47th President of the United States and his previous antecedents. In January 2018, at a news conference in the White House, President Trump referred to Haiti and some African countries—including Nigeria—as “shithole countries” that should not be accorded immigrant status in the U.S.
Furthermore, his government’s stern immigration policies and visa restrictions clearly reflect a hostile stance towards Africa and some other Global South countries. In light of this, it is hard to understand where the sudden genuine concern for Nigerian Christians is coming from—more so when a U.S. congressman earlier this year revealed that USAID played a significant role in the funding of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. This concern was never mentioned when Late President Muhammadu Buhari visited the White House a few months after the “shithole” saga and was praised by the same Trump for his valiant efforts in fighting Boko Haram and ISWAP, despite staggering reports of attacks and killings in the Northeast and North Central during that period.
Under the erudite scholarship of Professor Kunle Ajayi, I learnt several years ago, in one of our Politics of Global Economic Relations lectures, that in world politics and global socio-economic relations, the overriding determinant of states’ decisions and actions is strategic interest. Altruism is hardly ever a factor.
Present realities of Nigeria’s economic relations are fast approaching self-sufficiency—particularly in the oil sector, where Nigeria was once a major importer of finished petroleum products from the U.S. The Dangote refinery, having begun domestic refining and production of petroleum products, is fast taking over a market once dominated by imports from the U.S. This shift, no doubt, is taking jobs away from American oil workers—no cheering news for the country’s oil conglomerates. Secondly, China has since replaced the United States as Nigeria’s foremost trading partner.
According to Nairametrics (2025), the value of trade between Nigeria and China between 2023–2025 totals approximately $50 billion compared to an estimated $30 billion with the U.S. This paradigm shift would certainly not be palatable to the U.S. or her president, who happens to be a dogged businessman that hates the word “no”. From this perspective, it is not difficult to see where President Trump is coming from.
Be that as it may, I think Nigeria needs to employ shrewd diplomacy in dealing with the U.S. under a president like Donald Trump. Regardless of international law and conventions, the U.S. has repeatedly proven itself willing to take unilateral military action against countries, defying the rule of law and popular global opinion. So those hinging on Nigeria’s sovereignty as a deterrent to the U.S. are not good students of history.
What is, however, more important in all of this is that global attention is once again drawn to the horrible atrocities of these criminal elements in Nigeria. The country cannot continue to behave as though it is normal headline news when people are slaughtered daily, and families and homes are torn apart.
I believe this is an opportunity for the government to rejig the entire security architecture of the country, with the needed political will, to once and for all end these killings. Strategic partnership with the United States in this regard is not a bad idea. With its extensive experience in counter-terrorism operations and access to sophisticated military technology and intelligence, the U.S. can assist in identifying and eradicating the major financiers and enablers of terrorism and banditry. It is not rocket science that when the financing of terrorists ends, terrorism ceases to exist.
However, this should be done only on the basis of shared interest, mutual respect, trust, and understanding reflective of a healthy and balanced foreign policy relationship. By prioritising constructive diplomacy, dialogue and partnership, Nigeria can work with the United States in a strategic alliance to restore peace, security and confidence across the nation. That is the way to go.
Olusegun Hassan, Ph.D
Public Policy Analyst and Social Commentator
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