Engagement, not sabre rattling

On November 27, 2025, President Bola Tinubu constituted membership of US-Nigeria Joint Working Group (JWG) on Security. Led by National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, they include ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Interior, and Humanitarian Affairs. They also include Chief of Defence Staff, Director-General of National Intelligence Agency, Inspector General of the Nigeria Police, while the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and Embassy of Nigeria in the US will serve as secretariat.

The JWG is expected to strengthen security cooperation, serve as a central platform for coordinating strategies, implementing agreements and addressing shared challenges, such as jihadist groups in West Africa and violence against vulnerable communities.

The road to this frosty route began on October 31, 2025 when President Donald Trump announced the re-designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), reviving a 2020 designation during his first term, which was reversed in 2021 under the Biden administration.

The following day, he escalated tensions, accusing Nigeria of condoning “massacre” of Christians, threatening military actions and stoppage of aids. The US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee followed up with a hearing on November 20 to 21, 2025, where lawmakers debated sanctions, aid conditions and military options.

Daily Trust applauds the diplomatic push-back and proactive engagement by the Tinubu administration to reduce tension, including the haste injected towards addressing domestic issues arising from terrorism, banditry and other criminal activities by non-state actors. We also welcome the November 19, 2025 visit and meeting by a high-level Nigerian delegation to US, led by the NSA, with Congressman Riley M. Moore, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and other top officials.

We are encouraged with the seeming de-escalation of unfriendly posturing. At least, Trump has dialed back rhetoric, and US officials now describe Nigeria as a “partner” rather than a “disgraced country.” And instead of “guns blazing,” a high-level United States Congressional and State Department delegation led by Congressman Riley M. Moore were in Nigeria on a fact-finding visit.

But we note that all that has been heard about the JWG on security is from the Nigerian side. The US has been silent on the constitution of the body and those it appointed into it. We are also worried about the membership of the group as they are all appointees of President Tinubu.

Daily Trust believes that the idea of leaving out prominent Nigerians who have a history of high levels of diplomatic contacts and earned the respect of global leaders over the years does not show any preparedness to negotiate from a position of strength or knowledge. What Nigeria requires now is a national consensus of agenda and operations from array of respected Nigerians towards who would equally use the JGW platform to not only resolve insecurity but help provide new vistas for national development.

This involves bringing to the table intrinsically clear positions which remove Nigeria from a disadvantaged position as negotiations begin. We also note that the US has kept widening the issues. Even while the JWG has not formally met with its American counterparts, they have imposed visa restrictions on certain category of Nigerians. This could mean that they have no respect for the idea of JWG or are not interested in listening to the country’s officials. We note also that they have unilaterally sent a fact-finding mission and we have not been told whether this is part of the envisaged engagement.

Apart from these, Daily Trust is appalled at the minimal and lackluster role of the National Assembly as the CPC re-designation and Trump’s threats have raged. Clearly, they abdicated their responsibilities as representatives of the people when it mattered most. On a serious foreign issue of crisis facing Nigeria, the Foreign Affairs Committees of both chambers of the NASS have been found napping. Maybe they don’t understand that whatever agreements reached through the working group must be domesticated to have the force of enforcement.

Meanwhile, US is taking the constitutional route by working through its Congress and conducting open hearings. While the National Assembly dithers, Congressman Riley M. Moore pushed a resolution in the US House of Representatives condemning alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria. And Moore is going ahead with his joint legislation – Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 – which is establishing the moral and legislative groundwork for forthcoming President Trump’s engagement on Nigeria.

But Nigeria’s Senate and House of representatives seem to have gone mute. No public hearing has been conducted yet on the issues. Maybe it is because of their uninspiring position that no member of the NASS is part of the JWG at a time when the country should be working with singleness of purpose.

All that has been heard was the formation of ad hoc Senate committee on October 14, 2025 to prepare a “comprehensive position paper” on the allegations of Christian genocide. Since then, there has been no public hearing or actions. The House of Representatives scheduled deliberation on Trump’s threats for November 5, 2025. The outcomes still remain unclear as there have been no reported resolutions.

Again, beyond the JWG, we urge the federal government to accelerate the fixing of the internal challenges by prosecuting an all-out war against terrorists, bandits and any non-state actor within the country and defeating them. In addition, all the perpetrators of the killings and kidnappings should be apprehended and brought to justice.

We also urge the federal government to work towards intelligence-sharing and deployment of drone technology for joint operations with the Americans. Yes, the country needs any genuine help from its friends in the international community; therefore, cannot reject any good offer. And we caution that no unilateral move should be allowed.

But we affirm that Nigeria needs to do more to get  us out of this national predicament through a thoroughly though-out negotiated engagement, away from sabre rattling, where the present challenges become opportunities for a much more mutually beneficial and resilient relationship.

Going forward, Nigeria should never again allow any situation to deteriorate within the country that could draw external attention and ridicule. We should begin to adopt and execute quick containment measures as part of daily governance. Moreover, Nigerian officials should stop explaining situations and start taking steps to resolve them permanently. Until they do so, they would inadvertently be inviting interlopers who play God on the global stage.

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