Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has stated that the Nigerian leader was “well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America,” following renewed pressure from the United States over alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
His remark came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and threatened to suspend all American aid to the country. Trump had further warned that the United States “may very well go into that now disgraced country guns-a-blazing, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists killing Christians.”
Onanuga, in a post shared on his X handle on Sunday, said President Tinubu had foreseen the growing international focus on Nigeria’s security situation and had already issued clear directives to the new service chiefs. He recalled that Tinubu had made strong remarks during a meeting with military leaders last Thursday, emphasizing accountability and urgent results.
“President Bola Tinubu was well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America as he told the new service chiefs on Thursday what Nigerians expect of them. No more excuses, he said. Nigerians want results,” Onanuga wrote.
He accompanied his post with an excerpt from the President’s address to the service chiefs, in which Tinubu urged the military to act decisively and innovatively against emerging security threats nationwide.
“Security threats are constantly evolving, constantly mutating. Of grave concern to our administration is the recent emergence of new armed groups in the North-Central, North-West, and parts of the South. We must not allow these new threats to fester. We must be decisive and proactive. Let us smash the new snakes right in the head,” Tinubu said in the excerpt.
The President also called for greater use of technology and innovation in fighting insurgency, pledging full government support to ensure effective results.
Tinubu’s comments and Onanuga’s reaction come amid intensifying criticism from right-wing U.S. lawmakers led by Senator Ted Cruz, who have accused the Nigerian government of turning a blind eye to the persecution of Christians. In October, Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill aimed at sanctioning Nigerian officials alleged to be complicit in “mass murder of Christians.”
