Reported by: L. Imafidon | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
ABUJA, Nigeria — A growing chorus of analysts, civil society figures and former security officials has questioned the motivation behind the recent intensification of U.S. involvement in Nigeria’s security landscape, arguing that Washington’s actions stem from strategic geopolitical interests rather than a narrowly humanitarian focus on protecting Christian communities. The debate has been heightened by recent developments, including coordinated U.S.–Nigeria airstrikes against Islamic State‑linked militants in Sokoto State on December 25, 2025, which U.S. President Donald Trump publicly framed as targeting extremists responsible for attacks predominantly against Christians. Trump’s announcement, delivered on his social platform, asserted that the strikes were aimed at those “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,” language that played into religious narratives about persecution.
However, this framing has been challenged both domestically and internationally. Critics note that Nigeria’s security crisis is highly complex, involving overlapping insurgencies, ethnicity‑based conflict and criminal violence that affect Muslims and Christians alike. The Nigerian government has stressed that extremist attacks do not single out any one religious community and emphasises cooperation with foreign partners based on counterterrorism needs, not sectarian priorities.
In November 2025, retired Nigerian Army Chief and former Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd.), criticised Washington’s narrative, arguing that the United States was using claims of Christian persecution as a pretext to advance broader geopolitical interests in West Africa. Dambazau asserted that Nigeria’s conflicts stem from multifaceted issues such as governance failures, economic disparities and the proliferation of arms, and that the portrayal of the crisis as a religious genocide oversimplifies reality and serves external agendas. Supporters of this perspective contend that U.S. policy in Nigeria and the wider Sahel aligns with broader strategic aims, including maintaining influence in resource‑rich regions, countering rival global powers, and ensuring long‑term military and economic positioning on the continent. Online commentators have echoed this view, arguing that the U.S. interest in Nigeria goes beyond humanitarian concern and is tied to long-term geopolitical leverage and access to strategic assets.
These criticisms are not unique to Nigeria. Similar scepticism has been expressed in other African contexts, where U.S. military interventions and counterterrorism operations are viewed through the lens of power projection and securing influence amid global rivalries. Analysts in West Africa more broadly have warned that interventions styled as humanitarian or protective can mask deeper strategic goals involving resource access and regional dominance. At the same time, there are voices within Nigeria who argue that American engagement — even if partly strategic — can have positive effects by augmenting local efforts to confront violent extremism and by saving lives where domestic forces are stretched thin. Some religious leaders have welcomed the strikes as a necessary means to curb militant threats that affect communities of all faiths, including Christians.
Nigerian officials have responded cautiously to international criticism, stressing that cooperation with the U.S. and other partners is based on mutual consent and shared objectives, and that all operations are carried out with respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty. Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar clarified that recent airstrikes were conducted at Nigeria’s request and involved intelligence sharing, and he rejected claims that the operation was motivated by sectarian considerations. The contrasting narratives — that U.S. involvement is either a protective gesture for persecuted communities or a strategic bid for geopolitical dominance — reflect deeper debates about sovereignty, security and foreign influence in West Africa. As Nigeria continues to grapple with its internal security challenges and as international cooperation increases, observers say the debate over motives will remain a central part of public discourse.
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