Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, stated that the Nigerian leader was “well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America” following renewed U.S. pressure over the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

 

 

 

 

Onanuga’s comment came days after U.S. President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and threatened to halt all aid to the country.

 

 

 

 

Trump also issued a more severe warning, threatening 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.”

 

 

 

Reacting in a post via his X handle on Sunday, November 2, Onanuga asserted that President Tinubu had already anticipated the growing international attention on Nigeria’s security situation. He noted that the President had already issued strong, non-negotiable directives to the nation’s service chiefs.

 

 

“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 shared an excerpt from President Tinubu’s address to the military chiefs, which called for decisive and innovative action against emerging security threats across the country:

 

 

 

“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,” President Tinubu said.

 

 

The President further urged the military to deploy technology and innovation in tackling insurgency, vowing to provide full government support to ensure tangible results.

 

 

 

 

 

President Tinubu’s firm remarks come amid growing criticism from certain right-wing U.S. lawmakers, who claim that Christians in Nigeria face systematic persecution.

 

 

In October, a U.S. Senator, Ted Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill specifically seeking to sanction Nigerian officials accused of enabling the “mass murder of Christians.”