News

OPINION: Trump Of War

Published

6 months ago

November 6, 2025

By Israel Adebiyi

When a man stays too long where he passes excreta, different kinds of flies will visit him. This Yoruba adage carries deep metaphorical meaning about the dangers of overstaying or remaining in an undesirable, corrupt, or degrading situation. It teaches that there is wisdom in knowing when to leave a place, position, or situation. Staying too long in an unpleasant or unproductive environment can bring unnecessary troubles, shame, or ridicule. Just as flies gather where filth remains, prolonged presence in one spot, especially one associated with decay or negativity, can attract unwanted attention, gossip, or enemies. Donal Trump, the “gun blazing” U.S President has hit this home, setting the Nigerian public sphere on fire.

Nigeria’s long, unending bromance with insecurity and the reign of non-state actors breathing down the necks of innocent citizens has finally caught global attention, and not in a flattering way. For years, the most populous black nation sat comfortably amid filth – moral, economic, and political. We normalized insecurity, institutional decay, and leadership failure, as though chaos were a national identity. Now, the flies have arrived, from within and without, and this time, the buzzing comes from the White House.

For those who may have forgotten, back in 2018 in his first term in office, Trump had branded African countries a “shithole”. A subsequent meeting with late President Muhammadu Buhari that same year dwelled largely on the compelling reasons that earn Nigeria that label – killing of Christians in the Middle Belt.
These were his exact words about seven years ago: “We have had very serious problems with Christians who are being murdered in Nigeria. We are going to be working on that problem very, very hard because we cannot allow that to happen.”

Seven years down the line, the same allegations have resurfaced. In a statement that shocked the global diplomatic community, Trump, in his usual unfiltered bravado branded Nigeria “that shameful country” and threatened possible military invasion over what he called “the ongoing Christian genocide in Nigeria.” His words have sparked outrage, debate, and even admiration among some Nigerians. But behind the drama lies a hard truth: a nation that refuses to manage its rot will one day become a playground for the flies of ridicule.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR:[OPINION] AMUPITAN- “His-Story” Beckons

Let’s not deceive ourselves, Trump’s language was offensive, reckless, and imperialistic. Yet, what moral high ground does Nigeria currently occupy to push back convincingly? Since Boko Haram’s rise in 2009, the country has spiraled from insurgency to banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and armed robbery. From Chibok to Dapchi, from Southern Kaduna to Benue, and from the Northwest to the Middle Belt, blood has flowed too freely.

Almost two decades later, the question is no longer whether the government can protect its people, it is whether it even knows how to try.

Billions of dollars have vanished into so-called counter-terrorism operations, yet terrorists still move with ease, sometimes better armed than the troops sent to confront them. Villages are erased overnight. Farmlands are deserted. IDP camps have become permanent homes for millions. And in the midst of all this, politicians trade blames, hold thanksgiving services, and prepare for the next election cycle, while Nigerians bury their dead in silence.

It is this silence that the world now interprets as complicity.
And when a nation appears complicit in its own tragedy, it loses the moral right to indignation.

Trump’s threat should offend every Nigerian, but it should not surprise anyone. Nations that fail to fix themselves invite pity, and sometimes, predation. We have built a global reputation as a land of endless potential and endless failure. The “Giant of Africa” now stands on the frail legs of corruption, insecurity, and poverty.

It is this contradiction that emboldens the likes of Trump to hurl insults and contemplate intervention.

For a country so rich in natural resources, human capital, and spiritual fervor, Nigeria’s misery index is a paradox too glaring to ignore. Inflation sits above 30 percent, the naira gasps at ₦1,600 to a dollar, and youth unemployment continues to rise. When leadership turns failure into culture, ridicule becomes inevitable.

The greater tragedy, however, is not Trump’s words but Nigeria’s weakness that made them plausible. For years, our leaders have slept through crises. The insurgency grew under their watch. Banditry expanded under their silence. Farmers abandoned their fields. Schools became abduction zones. The economy bled, and they responded with propaganda and prayer breakfasts.

We have been a country at war without admitting it. And because we have refused to confront our internal decay, our tragedy has become global gossip.

The #EndSARS protest of 2020 was a warning shot, a generation’s cry against oppression and bad governance. Yet, five years later, nothing has changed. The same impunity that dehumanized young protesters at Lekki Tollgate now governs our security architecture. The same arrogance that dismissed public outrage then, dismisses international concern now.

What is perhaps more disturbing than Trump’s arrogance is the chorus of applause from some Nigerians, Christians and non-Christians alike, who celebrated his threat as divine justice. They cheer an outsider’s insult as though humiliation were a cure.

But as the Yoruba proverb warns: “Omo ale lo n fi owo osi juwe ile baba re.” Only a bastard points to his father’s house with the left hand.

Criticizing one’s country is noble when done in the spirit of correction, but applauding its shaming is folly. A foreign bomb will not discriminate between the guilty and the innocent. Trump’s rhetoric is not motivated by love for Nigeria’s Christians, it is driven by the old Western savior complex, where Africa is the backdrop for another man’s ego and another nation’s geopolitical theater.

If history has taught us anything, it is that America does not invade to save, it invades to reshape. Ask Iraq. Ask Libya. Ask Afghanistan. They all began with the language of “liberation” and ended in ruins.

We are a people living dangerously on the brink, between pride and paralysis.

Trump’s verbal assault should not drive us to defensive anger; it should drive us to national introspection. This moment calls for leadership that listens, acts, and reforms with courage.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR:Nigeria @65: A Long Walk To Freedom

Nigeria must rebuild faith in governance, starting with security sector reforms. We need intelligence-driven operations, proper welfare for troops, and an end to political interference in military command. Every attack on a community should prompt accountability, not recycled condolences.

Equally vital is rebuilding trust between the government and citizens. We must stop treating civic outrage as rebellion. Democracy thrives on the people’s voice, not their silence. When government disconnects from public pain, even sympathy from abroad becomes weaponized.

Finally, leadership must abandon propaganda and embrace truth. Nigerians are not asking for miracles; they are asking for sincerity.

America’s saber-rattling may fade, but the insult will linger if we fail to change. The way out is not to fight Washington’s words, it is to fix Abuja’s reality. A nation that works will not need to plead for respect. The flies will leave when we clean our house.

Nigeria remains a great country, wounded, weary, yet still standing. But greatness is not measured by slogans or population; it is measured by justice, accountability, and the value we place on human life.

If our leaders will finally lead, if our citizens will rise above apathy, and if our institutions will choose integrity over indulgence, then maybe, just maybe, the story will change.

And at that time, when the world looks our way again, it will not be with contempt or pity, but with admiration. Until then, we must keep asking:
When will Nigeria stop attracting flies and start commanding respect?

News

Xenophobic Attacks: Oshiomhole Tells FG To Retaliate Against South African Companies In Nigeria

Published

13 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

Senator Adams Oshiomhole has called on the Federal Government to retaliate against South African businesses operating in Nigeria following the recent attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

Speaking during plenary on Tuesday, Oshiomhole said the Federal Government should consider revoking the working license of South African owned companies such as MTN and DSTV.

He argued that Nigeria must respond firmly to what he described as persistent hostility against its citizens.

“I am not going to shed tears. If you hit me, I hit you. I think it is appropriate in diplomacy. It is an economic struggle,” Oshiomhole said.

He argued that while some South Africans accuse Nigerians of taking their jobs, Nigerians should return home and take over employment opportunities created by major South African companies operating in the country, including MTN and DSTV.

“When we hit back, the President of South Africa will not only talk but will also go on his knees to recognise that Nigeria cannot be intimidated.

“We will not condone any life being lost. If a crime has been committed under the South African law they have the right to bring any such person to justice, but to kill our people as if we are helpless, we will not allow that,” Oshiomhole added.

DAILY POST reports that several Nigerians in South Africa have reportedly been attacked, and their businesses destroyed, in ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.

News

IGP Orders Officers Display Name Tag On Uniform, Gives Update On State Police

Published

13 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

The Inspector General of Police, IGP, Tunji Disu, has ordered all police personnel to always have their name tags on their uniforms for easy identification.

Disu disclosed that only police personnel who are undercover are exempted from displaying their name tags.

Speaking on Tuesday, Disu said: “All police officers should have their name tags. All of us on the high table have our names apart from the undercover among us so if you look at all the Commissioners of Police we have our name tags, so it’s not our standard.

News

Court Orders SERAP To Pay DSS Operatives N100m For Defamation

Published

18 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has ordered a non-governmental organization, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, to pay N100 million as damaged to two operatives of the Department of the State Services, DSS, for unjustly defaming them in some publications.

The court also ordered SERAP to tender public apologies to the defamed officers,
Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele, in two national newspapers, two television stations and its website.

Besides, the organization was also ordered to pay the two operatives N1 million as cost of litigation and 10 percent post-judgment interest annually on the judgment sum until it’s fully liquidated.

Justice Yusuf Halilu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory gave the order on Tuesday while delivering judgment in a N5.5 billion defamation suit instituted against SERAP by the DSS operatives.

The judge found SERAP liable for unjustly defaming the two DSS operatives with allegations that they unlawfully invaded its Abuja office, harassed and intimidated its staff, in September 2024.

In the offending publication on its website and Twitter handle, SERAP alleged that the two operatives unlawfully invaded and occupied its office with sinister motives.

The judge held that the publication was in bad taste especially from an organization established to promote transparency and accountability, as nothing in the publication was found to be truthful.

The DSS staff had listed SERAP as 1st defendant in the suit marked CV/4547/2024. SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, was listed as the 2nd defendant.

In the suit, the claimants – Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele – accused the two defendants of making false claims that they invaded SERAP’s Abuja office on September 9, 2024..

Counsel to the DSS, Oluwagbemileke Samuel Kehinde, had while adopting his final address in the mater urged the judge to grant all the reliefs sought by his client in the interest of justice.

He admitted that although the names of the two claimants were not mentioned in the defamation materials, they had however established substantial circumstances that they are the ones referred to in the published defamation article by SERAP on its website.

The counsel submitted that all ingredients of defamation have been clearly established and the offending publication referred to the two officials of the secret police.

However, SERAP, through its counsel, Victoria Bassey from Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, law firm, asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that the two claimants did not establish that they were the ones referred to in the alleged defamation materials.

She said that SERAP used “DSS officials” in the alleged offending publication, adding that the two claimants must establish that they are the ones referred to before their case can succeed.

Similar arguments were canvassed by Oluwatosin Adefioye who stood for the second defendant, adding that there was no dispute in the September 9, 2024 operation of DSS in SERAP’s office.

He said that since SERAP in the publication did not name any particular person, the claimants must plead special circumstances that they were the ones referred to as the DSS officials.

Besides, he said that there is no organization by name Department of State Services in law, hence, DSS cannot claim being defamed adding that the only entity known to law is National Security Agency.

The claimants had in the suit stated that the alleged false claim by SERAP has negatively impacted on their reputation.

The DSS also stated, in the statement of claim, that, in line with the agency’s practice of engaging with officials of non-governmental organisations operating in the FCT to establish a relationship with their new leadership, it directed the two officials – John and Ogunleye – to visit SERAP’s office and invite them for a familiarization meeting.

The claimants added that in carrying out the directive, John and Ogunleye paid a friendly visit to SERAP’s office at 18 Bamako Street, Wuse Zone 1, Abuja on September 9 and met with one Ruth, who upon being informed about the purpose of the visit, claimed that none of SERAP’s management staff was in the country and advised that a formal letter of invitation be written by the DSS.

John and Ogundele, who claimed that their interactions with Ruth were recorded, said before they immediately exited SERAP’s office, Ruth promised to inform her organisation’s management about the visit and volunteered a phone number – 08160537202.

They said it was surprising that, shortly after their visit, SERAP posted on its X (Twitter) handle – @SERAPNigeria – that officers of the DSS are presently unlawfully occupying its office.

The claimant added, “On the same day, the defendants also published a statement on SERAP’s website, which was widely reported by several media outfits, falsely alleging that some officers from the DSS, described as “a tall, large, dark-skinned woman” and “a slim, dark skinned man,” invaded their Abuja office and interrogated the staff of the first defendant (SERAP).

John and Ogundele stated that “due to the false statements published by the defendants, the DSS has been ridiculed and criticised by international agencies such as the Amnesty International and prominent members of the Nigerian society, such as Femi Falana (SAN)”.

“Due to the false statements published by the defendants, members of the public and the international community formed the opinion that the Federal Government is using the DSS to harass the defendants.”

They added that the defendants’ statements caused harm to their reputation because the staff and management of the DSS have formed the opinion that the claimants did not follow orders and carried out an unsanctioned operation and are therefore, incompetent and unprofessional.

The claimants therefore prayed the court for the following reliefs: “An order directing the defendants to tender an apology to the claimants via the first defendant’s (SERAP’s) website, X (twitter) handle, two national daily newspapers (Punch and Vanguard) and two national news television stations (Arise Television and Channels Television) for falsely accusing the claimants of unlawfully invading the first defendant’s office and interrogating the first defendant’s staff.

“An order directing the defendants to pay the claimants the sum of N5 billion as damages for the libellous statements published about the claimants.

“Interest on the sum of N5b at the rate of 10 percent per annum from the date of judgment until the judgment sum is realised or liquidated.

“An order directing the defendants to pay the claimants the sum of N50 million as costs of this action.”