By Suleiman Umaru and Elizabeth Chukwuma
Those who thinks that Donald Trump, the North American country of the United States, US, cares for Nigeria security, may have to do a rethink.
The American President who is more interested in mining the minerals and rare earth elements in rich mineral endowed countries appears to have looked up to Nigeria taking advantage of the increased Banditry and terrorism activities in the north western and north central states of the Nigerian Federation to penetrate the ranks of the country’s political Leadership to help out.
Trump had stopped short of asking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to give the US, approval to establish a military base in the most populous West African country to help deal decisively with the Jihadists allegedly killing Christians which security experts had described as laughable. This is because the security situation of the country affects both the Christians and Muslims as the jihadists operate under the influence of drugs.
He was said to have even threatened to stop all ‘’aid and assistance to Nigeria’’ to force Tinubu to make a deal with the American government that may lead to exploitation of Nigeria’s mineral resources and rear earth elements by American companies. Call it business transactions clothed in guise of coming to help fight terrorism in the country.
Many had expected the Nigerian President to call the bluff of Trump who has nothing to offer to Nigerians but misery as Terrorism was a creation of France, US and other western powers. Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Policy Communications, may have shocked Nigerian, when he reported in his official X-handle, on Saturday, November 2, 2025, that the Nigerian Leader will meet Trump soon to discuss the allegations of Christian Nigeria.
He had alluded to the fact that the meeting between the world Leaders would focus on counter-terrorism cooperation, noting that the US, in the past government, in the past had autorised the sale of arms and ammunitions to Nigeria, which he had claimed was adequately utilized to fight against banditry and terrorism in different parts of the group including the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Separatist group in south eastern Nigeria.
But reports making the rounds indicates that the Nigerian President is scheduled to travel to the US, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, amid the allegations of Christian genocides in Nigeria to forestall Pentagon intervention as directed by Trump. There are indications that the American President has reportedly given the go ahead to VP. James David Vance, to meet with the Nigerian President during the trip, barring last- minute changes show how Trump treats African Leaders.
This may have informed why most Nigerians, would not want President Tinubu who has been looking for an opportunity to have a one-one discussion with Capt. Traore by sending invitations to him but turned down, would want him to ignore his threats of intervention in Nigeria as nothing would come out of it.
There is no country, in any part of the world where the US had entered like the central country of Ukraine, currently at war with Russia, Congo, DRC, where it had signed a deal of over US $24trn of cobalt and other mineral resources in the country.
The situation was the same in the Sahel region, until Capt. Ibrahim Traore, the interim President of Burkina Faso, minerals Abdulrahamane Tchiani of Niger Republic and Assimi Goita of Mali. who had opted out of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, manipulated by France and the US, to form the Alliance of Sahel Sahels, comprising the Sahel countries where there are no traces of terrorists activities to give room to justify their military presence in the region but still funding the terrorists.
Perhaps, to seek foreign approval to address the Nigeria’s internal security of battling the armed herdsmen, turned killer gangs in the north central states of Benue, Plateau, Banditry in the north western states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina and Boko Haram onslaught in the north eastern states of Borno and Yobe may have emboldened President to consider it as a matter of urgency to plant to visit the US.
The latest of the militant groups that may have found Nigeria safe haven to operate are the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, JNIM, based in Mali and active in Burkina Faso which was said to have attracted the attention of the Internationational Community because of their killing spree, both Christians and Muslims but not limited to Christians as alleged in different quarters both within and outside the country.
The JNIM, comprising of four-Mali based terrorist groups -Ansar al-Din, al-Murabitun, the Macina Liberation Front, MLF, and the Sahara state subgroup of al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM, which could no longer stand the superior fire of the Burkina Faso’s soldiers had found their way into Nigeria through the Nuku forest in Kwara state, where they had spread to Benue and Plateau to cause more mayhem in the guise of being the traditional herdsmen fighters operating in the north central region.
Political analysts would want resident Tinubu to take a cue from the young Military Capt. Traore who had proved a difficult nut to crack by the western Leaders that despite plot by the US and French manning companies to find their way its way back to the Sahel subregion, the US, President, who had quietly recalibrated the country’s Sahel strategy, by trading military support to the Junta Leaders battling Jihadists for lucrative access to the AES, countries vast mineral and rare earth elements, particular, Lithium, gold and uranium but turned down is no longer finding it funny.
Note, Trump, had repeatedly described Burkina Faso, as a home of Terrorists while France ascribed to it as one of ‘’the poorest countries in the African Continent’’, but the US, President in recent times had sent different delegations to Ouagadougou, the Burkina Capital to meet the Burkinabe Leader.
One of the US delegations was said to have been led by one Will Stevens, Secretary -General for West Africa but could only meet Marie Traore, the Burkina Faso Foreign minister and the county ‘s other high -ranking officials to discuss with them.
It would be recalled that the Junta Leaders of the Sahel countries had turned away from France, the US and other western alliances in favour of true governance that prioritizes sovereignty to tackle its Jihadists challenges without seeking for the World Bank/IMF loan, aid or assistance from France to buy weapons. This may have stunned the world powers because of what is happening in the Sahel countries that they were said to have intensified funding of the terrorists to make life more miserable for the people.
Only recently, the US, Department of State, had ordered non-emergency employees and their family members to leave Mali due to their safety risks, further stating that the US government cannot offer routine or emergency routes to the country’s citizens outside of Bamako due to safety risks.
Marco Rubio, US, Secretary of State, had alluded to the increased kidnapping, assault, armed robbery, home invasion and carjacking in the Sahel country of Mali aggravated by the road blocks initiated by the armed groups which are found everywhere in the country just as Nigeria security situation had been described of being of a ‘’particular concern’’.
Many believes that Trumps failed attempts to penetrate the Sahel States Junta Leaders may have informed why he had used the Jihadist excuse to penetrate the Nigeria government to help fight the Jihadists in order to spy on Traore , who had escaped 34 attempts to forcefully remove him from office and install a puppet in office that could do the biddings of the western powers and grant them easy access to the country’s gold and other mineral and rare earth elements .
Described as the lion of Africa who had awaken the consciousness of the African Leaders over western imperialism and the -neo-colonial tactics of exploitation of the African countries’ vast mineral resources and rare earth elements may have encouraged President Trump had looked for every available opportunity to hunt down the AES, Leaders to stop their development which had spread to Ghana, Namibia and other African countries but a cause to France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Italy and other EU, countries including the US and the United Kingdom.
