It’s shameless of the Nigerian government to blame the rising terrorist attacks in the country on a recent tweet by US President Donald Trump, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said.
The ADC described such a claim by the Nigerian government as “amateurish deflection and shameless attempt to abdicate responsibility.”
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, had, in a statement on Wednesday, blamed Trump for the recent terrorist attacks on a secondary school in Kebbi State and a church in Kwara State.
Trump had, in a series of tweets on his X handle, late October and early November, posted that there was ongoing Christian genocide in Nigeria.
In another tweet, the US President had redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Trump also threatened to impose sanctions against Nigeria, including a military action “to kill those terrorists who are killing Christians in Nigeria”
The terrorist attack on Monday left the Kebbi school’s vice procipal dead while the armed invaders abducted and went away with 25 female students of the school.
In the Kwara church attack on Tuesday, the terrorists shot three congregants dead and abducted 35 during a thanksgiving serve that was streamed live.
Responding to the SGF, the ADC, in a statement on Thursday by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, expressed surprise at Akume’s statement.
“We find it quite appalling that the APC-led Federal Government now claims its security failures are caused by a tweet by the President of another country.
“This is a shameful abdication of responsibility, a confirmation that the Tinubu government is overwhelmed by the security situation in the country and is clueless how to go about solving it.
“For years under the APC administration, Nigerians have suffered horrific massacres, mass abductions, and assaults on schools and worship centres.
“This situation has worsened with each passing year, particularly under the current administration as the bandits and terrorists get more emboldened by government’s failure to respond appropriately,” the ADC said.
The party said it’s disingenuous of the government to blame one tweet for the state of insecurity in Nigeria.
It continued, “Those killing Nigerians did not need to be instigated by Trump, they were already actively encouraged by a government that consistently fails to act decisively to stop the carnage, a government that is, even after nearly three years in office, still celebrating its electoral victory while the country is turned to a killing field.
“How can a government that takes pride in its sovereignty and has any modicum of self-respect blame one statement by a foreign leader for the collapse of its security system?
“Are we so vulnerable that a social media post from Washington can that easily turn our country upside down?
“If indeed Mr. Trump’s statement constitutes such a security threat. What has been the government’s evaluation of that threat, and what measures have the government put in place to mitigate the potential threat that could emanate from it?
“This is what any serious government would do. It would not just wait for these opportunistic attacks to start shopping for who to blame for its incompetence.
“Nigerians are tired of this government’s mentality and approach to tackling this problem of insecurity. But how can a government that is incapable of accepting responsibility be trusted to find a solution?”
The opposition party said there’s no doubt Nigeria is under siege because of the Tinubu-led government’s domestic negligence and incompetence rather than President Trump’s social media post.
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