By Rita Enemuru, Reporting
A Professor of strategic management and human capital development, Professor Okey Ikechukwu, has urged President Bola Tinubu to halt government’s effort in debating international criticism regarding Nigeria’s insecurity and prioritize the immediate elimination of terrorists and bandits operating across the country.
Speaking on Channel Television on Friday morning, Professor Ikechukwu described Trump’s threats as a maximally statement aimed at drawing global attention to domestic insecurity.
Speaking, he acknowledged that Trump’s commentary, which expressed concern over the plight of Christians, was not fabricated but was based on direct reports from Nigerians and media sources within the country.
The Professor stressed that Trump was not acting arbitrarily, but on information conveyed to him by concerned Nigerian citizens.
According to him, this international attention should serve as a wake-up call for the government to put an end to insecurity in the state.
“Trump is not a Nigerian so he must have been acting on information given to him.
“Some Nigerians went to make representations on the plight of Christians from the perspective they saw it, then media reports from Nigeria were also referenced to lead to Mr Trump making a statement on invade Nigeria,” he noted
However, Professor Ikechukwu emphasized that the practicalities of a military invasion of the West African nation made the idea unfeasible.
He questioned the logistics of any aerial strike aimed at differentiating between religious groups in a civilian setting.
“Donald Trump cannot invade Nigeria just like that,” he stated. “Fo example, if he invades Lagos or Maiduguri, would Christians and muslims be having different labels such that when you want to shoot from the air, you know that this is a christian or muslim so you should kill him and protect a christian?”
He explained that the threat should not be taken literally as a military plan, but as a deliberate rhetorical tool in political engagement.
He termed this approach a “maximally statement,” which takes an extreme position to initiate necessary dialogue on a crisis.
“So that is what you call a maximally statement when an issue is brought to you and you want to engage,” Professor Ikechukwu elaborated.
“When you take that extreme position, then conversations will begin. There is no question of him coming to bomb Nigeria.
That is not how it works. You can seek for collected actions,” he added.
Furthermore, Professor Ikechukwu pointed out that the sovereignty of Nigeria and the competing interests of other global powers would prevent any unilateral military action by the United States.
He noted that geopolitical interests, particularly economic ones, would protect Nigeria.
“The other truth of the matter in responding to Trump’s is that every nation has its sovereignty,” he affirmed.
“You cannot unilaterally invade a nation without consultation.
“If you want to invade Nigeria, remember that other countries have interest here. Don’t forget the economic angle too.”
He highlighted that global powers, including China, have significant economic interests in Nigeria, particularly with mineral resources like lithium, creating complexities for any potential US intervention.
He stated that US foreign policy typically requires a vested interest before taking military action.
“America does not waste bullet if it has no interest to gain but the summary point is that if there are saying bad things about us and what they are saying is happening here, it’s for us to ask ourselves what are we getting wrong,” he posed.
“Not just that, what should we do to make this not to happen again? For it to disappear.”
Professor Ikechukwu concluded that the enduring presence of insecurity, such as banditry, Boko Haram, and kidnappings, is the core problem, and that arguing against the international narrative is futile.
The only solution is to eliminate the problems entirely.
“It’s for us to show that there is nothing wrong and the only way to do that is to remove the things that they are complaining about,” he insisted.
“Make bandit disappear, we won’t talk about it. Clean out Boko Haram, we won’t talk about it.
“Prevent the capturing of our girls who represent the future of this country and we won’t talk about it.
“Arguing back is not the same as removing the problem,” Professor Ikechukwu asserted.
“What is important is that the problem needs to be eliminated.
“We are unsafe no argument about that and it can be captured from various perspectives,” he concluded.
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