Auwalu Rafsanjani: US Airstrikes Signal State Failure to Protect Citizens

Melissa Enoch

Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwalu Rafsanjani, has said that the recent United States airstrikes targeting Islamic State fighters in North-west Nigeria are a stark indication that the Nigerian government is failing in its constitutional duty to protect its citizens.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS yesterday, Rafsanjani said the incident highlights long-standing weaknesses in Nigeria’s security system, noting that the inability of the state to effectively safeguard lives and property has created conditions for external intervention.

He stated, “Obviously, this incident is a pointer to the fact that the country is failing in its constitutional obligation. The country is failing in its mandate to ensure that it protects the lives and properties of its citizens.”

He argued that the development also reflects deeper issues with Nigeria’s foreign policy, which he described as outdated and ill-suited to addressing contemporary security challenges through effective global engagement.

“It is an indication that we have also lost our foreign policy framework in the country. We probably have an outdated foreign policy that we would not be able to engage globally,” he said.

Beyond the security implications, Rafsanjani warned that the airstrikes could reinforce misleading narratives about Nigeria’s crisis, particularly the framing of the violence as a religious conflict.

According to him, terrorist activities in the country affect Nigerians across religious, ethnic, geographical and political lines, contradicting claims of a sectarian conflict.

Rafsanjani further criticised the government’s handling of terrorism over the years, alleging that political interests have undermined genuine efforts to dismantle extremist networks.

He said, “This attack, it further created misleading information that the country is in a religious war between the Muslim and Christians, and that is a very dangerous framing, which we all know as Nigerians, that is not the case.

“We have a problem of criminals, terrorists terrorising Nigerians, irrespective of their religious, ethnic, geographical, and political affiliation. And what the government has failed over the years to do is to tackle this issue in a very systematic way.

“As long as you prioritise personal interests above national interests, you will definitely land yourself in this situation that the foreigners will now have to come.”

The remarks follow confirmation by the United States that it carried out airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in north-west Nigeria. US President Donald Trump announced the operation on Thursday, describing it as part of a broader response to persistent extremist violence in the region.