One had expected the National Assembly to have summoned the president and his security chiefs to give a brief on the presence of America’s soldiers on Nigerian soil. That was not done. It was not done either out of fear of offending the president or the Americans. Senate President Obot Akpabio lacks the courage and capacity to extend such an invitation to his principal who endorsed him as president of the 10th Senate. Honestly, since creation and to the existence of a country called United States of America (USA), I have never for once admired anything America, and I don’t hate America.
America to me is just like any other country on planet earth. It was a British colony just like Nigeria that struggled to develop to be what it is today. I have no business with that, because as an individual, I stand to benefit nothing from that. I hate America because it was deeply involved in slave trade that enslaved innocent Africans for their dark skin.
I hate America because it brags beyond comprehension. America, as the claimed number one world Police that intrudes into the internal affairs of weaker countries against international laws was approached by a section of Nigeria’s ethno-religious bandits with a claim that there was Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria that needed America’s attention for solution as a perpetual intruder into internal affairs of other nations. And today, partly based on the lies traded on American soil by the bandits, something looks curious about the ongoing overt intervention of the United States in the internal affairs of Nigeria.
Those in the picture or should be in the picture of why American soldiers are on Nigerian soil are sitting askance. On December 25, 2025, from their base in neighboring Ghana, American soldiers bombed a village in Sokoto State claiming it harbored bandits.
It was completely a useless exercise. The targeted bandits had already vacated the base before the bombs. Then there was another claim that the soldiers were in Nigeria to train Nigerian soldiers. Again, that’s not a convincing reason because Nigeria has one of the best well-trained soldiers, at least in Africa, who can train their personnel.
Those responsible are not saying anything about the impropriety or otherwise of the real mission of those soldiers in Nigeria. Before now, we were told by experts in international affairs that the internal affairs of an independent sovereign nation, is sacrosanct. They most of the time rely on what they call doctrine of non-interference that formed the kernel of the argument of the federalists when Nigeria’s federal and semi federal elements converged on Aburi, Ghana in 1967 to negotiate the best arrangement that was to serve the general interest of its constituent groups.
The failure of the discussion threw Nigeria into a spasm. The civil war that followed remains the sorest point of the country’s statehood till date. In fact, it was trite discourse in the ‘70s and ‘80s during the liberation struggles of some African countries, such as Angola, South Africa, and Namibia, and the like, to state that the internal affairs of individual countries are inviolable.
This doctrine on non-interference has since been broadened by the United Nations and the African Union to include the right of a people to self-determination. Such rights are now considered not only as inviolable but also as inalienable.But all these seem to have melted away into nothingness in our present situation in Nigeria.
We no longer hear about the sanctity of the internal affairs of sovereign nations. Even in peacetime, the privacy of countries is steadily violated with reckless abandon. This is the case with our Nigeria. It is indeed strange that we no longer hear experts in internal relations pontificate or split hairs about the rape of nations by more powerful entities. What is happening in Nigeria at the moment is a case in point. United States took the strange and unexpected step of moving into Nigeria to carryout air strikes, our experts in internal relations and diplomacy have not found it fit to delve into the matter. They have shied away from the vexed issues.
There is no analysis; no elucidation. There is nothing from the experts that suggests that America’s ‘rudely’ incursion into Nigeria’s territory is right or wrong. So, where are our International relations and diplomatic experts? What passion holds this weight upon their tongues so much so that they cannot speak up?
Why are our acclaimed experts silent? Is their silence part of the growing culture of compromise that has become the new normal under the rapacious order in Nigeria? What happened is still fresh in our memories. It is still ongoing. American security operatives violated Nigeria’s territorial integrity on December 25, 2025. They had a field day in Sokoto state. when they were through with their murderous adventure and unsolicited operation, it was claimed that unspecified number of terrorists were killed. The Nigerian government, caught napping in the entire drama, chose the dishonorable path of studied silence. It behaved as if nothing took place on the soil it governs. No responsive or responsible government behaves that way of Tinubu led government.
Even when the government was practically forced out of silence, it could not tell Nigerians the truth of what transpired. Part of the growing curiosity is that there is no outrage from any quarters about the way the government is administering the country by the nose. Because no issue was made of America’s December invasion, the country is emboldened to make more incursions into Nigeria. Right now, America has deployed 200 troops to Nigeria as we were told. Their mission was not clearly stated in Nigeria.
What are they supposed to be doing in Nigeria? To train our soldiers as claimed? When has Nigeria become a satellite American State so much so that America can take any pleasant and unpleasant action in Nigeria at will? Obviously thrown into confusion and doubt by what is ongoing, the Nigerian government, in its unwillingness to tell Nigerians the bitter truth, has decided to take cover under an arrangement called Nigeria—US working group.
What is really the job of the group? Why is it considered normal for America to flex muscles on Nigerian soil if we have a committed government in place?
What has become of our sovereignty?
The oppositeness of what things have become in Nigeria should be one of our utmost concerns as a people.
Why have things become what we think they should not be under an APC led government?
It is question after questions without convincing answers. Beyond the façade of securing Nigeria, a job our own country is supposed to do for itself, America’s mission in Nigeria remains nebulous. What is America’s ultimate intent, to murder innocent Nigerians under the guise of fighting terrorists or to deepen the existing division within Nigerians?
What is America really driving at? I believe that full disclosures are yet to be made in this matter shrouded in secrecy. But as we look forward to that, America on its part must recognize, and I believe it does, that its mission in Nigeria would not have mattered if Nigeria has a proper government in place. In fact, America’s intrusion into Nigeria is suggestive of state failure. Since the Tinubu led government has woefully failed to secure Nigeria, America can as well do the job for it. Given this unpalatable state of affairs, it would have made a better sense for America to redirect Nigeria towards the path of good governance than intrusion. Why is America not taking interest in what will become of Nigeria if the lame duck government in power stretches beyond 2027 by manipulation?
Or is it in the best interest of America for Nigeria to continue to grovel on its belly so that America will have a job to do?
Right now the Trump administration is running from coast to coast. It is looking for individuals and groups to square up within its unexplained mission in Nigeria. But it is not even doing a thorough job here. In Nigeria, we have anti-democratic elements.
These men and women operate at the highest levels of government. From the presidency to the national assembly, the story is same rot.Before our own very eyes, a cabal that wants Nigeria to remain in a state of state capture is struggling to ensure that the 2027 elections are manipulated.
The government in power is fully aware, supportive and cannot win an election if the contest is to be free and fair. For that reason, it is putting-in-place mechanisms and structures for election rigging. I would think that an America that is so interested in the stability of Nigeria should take interest in the rigging plan.
As a model for democratic governance, America should take interest in mentoring the developing world where elections are manipulated to suit the fancies of unpopular leaders.If credible people without baggage are elected to govern Nigeria, for instance, America will have no business coming over here to fight our internal wars. America should therefore redefine its engagement in Nigeria to focus on free and fair elections.
It is more rewarding to have a free and fair electoral contest in Nigeria than to eliminate a thousand and one terrorists in minutes.I have said mine! God Bless Nigeria!
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
