President Donald Trump has once again warned that the United States will immediately stop all aid and assistance to the Nigerian government if it fails to put an end to the widespread violent killings in the country. In a presidential broadcast posted online on Wednesday, Mr Trump declared: “If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killings of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria.” He added that the US is “going to do things to Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about.”
This latest warning escalates the diplomatic pressure on the Nigerian administration and follows Mr Trump’s earlier threat and explicit order for the U.S. Department of War to prepare for a potential offensive invasion of northern Nigeria. Last week, the President had signalled his serious intentions by re-designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” citing persecution of Christians.
Mr Trump had previously warned that “U.S. troops would storm Nigeria, gun blazing,” to wipe out the armed bandits and “Jihadists” allegedly committing genocide against Christians. He stated: “If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Confirming the seriousness of the order, Mr Trump said: “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!” This declaration confirms that an “unwarranted and unwelcome military operation” has begun to take shape.
According to a report by The New York Times, plans for the military operation are underway, with the US military considering three distinct options for the attack, as disclosed by defence sources familiar with the plans. The military contingency plan, submitted by the US Africa Command, outlined the options as light, medium, and heavy, each designed for a controlled escalation of force against targets on Nigerian soil.
