Erstwhile Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines Yemi Farounbi and Chief Bode George have warned President Bola Tinubu against visiting US President Donald Trump over his threat to intervene in the killing of Christians in Nigeria.
Farounbi said Tinubu must avoid actions that portray Nigeria as seeking validation from leaders who have little regard for Africa’s dignity. George, on his part, said the threat was not caused by religious bigotry but a lack of social security ,which deserves urgent attention from Tinubu.
The duo spoke on Eagle 102.5 FM., Farounbi said: “Tinubu should not go and meet Trump. “Nigeria’s president represents the soul of over 200 million people. He should not visit anyone who once called African nations ‘shithole countries.’ “We must act like a sovereign nation that values itself, not one begging to be recognized.”
He added: “We cannot claim we didn’t see this coming. For years, Catholic bishops from Benue and Plateau states have appeared before the US Congress and European Parliament, presenting statistics of Christians killed by militants, yet Nigeria offered no strong counter-narrative.”
He also noted that Nigeria had not maintained a full-fledged Ambassador in Washington for years, leaving the country’s image undefended. Farounbi said:“Our story was never told officially and so such diplomatic negligence allowed foreign lobbyists and politicians to define Nigeria as intolerant and unsafe”.
George said Trump’s threat was “an early warning shot, emphasizing that “as a naval officer, I interpret it as a warning shot”. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief added: “First, I was shocked when President Trump made the statement and the next thing was the Secretary of State, who also commented; and the Secretary of Defence also made a comment.
“That was what gripped me. I will plead with the managers of our country because what is going on now is like the APC using some disgruntled people to destabilise the political stability in the country. “To be frank, I expect the security agencies to have a quick meeting because it is either some people are trying to undermine the country or the information is not quite right.
“In Western Nigeria, the issue of religious bigotry has never been a problem because you will hardly find any household that will not have Christmas, Muslims and traditionalists in our area here. “The programme we had in Bornu State at that time suddenly just erupted and went on till the end of President Jonathan’s time.
“You remember kidnap of Chibok girls and all those things that were going on. “That issue has not yet been cleared cos the American military was also part of it, but they pulled out because they couldn’t understand what we were trying to do. Maybe, it is still that information that is resonating on the table of the President.”
