January 13, 2026
In a lengthy interview with the New York Times on January 9, 2026, President Trump threatened more missile attacks on Nigeria. His continued attempt to intimidate Nigeria is based on his false claim that the Nigerian government is allowing genocide against Christians living in Nigeria. This course of action, essentially terrorizing Nigerians with his whimsical threats, is dangerous to all Nigerians, including Christians, as well as to the entire continent of Africa.
After declaring Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern on October 31, President Trump proceeded to threaten to cut one billion USD of aid, and militarily intervene into Nigeria with guns blazing. President Trump claimed this was necessary to save our great Christian population around the world.
To the complete surprise of the people of Nigeria and their government, on Christmas Day, 2025, the U.S. military fired sixteen Tomahawk missiles into the Bauni Forest in the State of Sokoto, northwest Nigeria. The alleged target was the Lakurawa group, a lower level militia that claims affiliation with the Islamic State. This military attack on Nigeria by the so called U.S. Department of War, was a failure, actually impotent, despite claims by the Trump administration that the operation was a complete success that killed multitudes of ISIS fighters.
Examine the reality on the ground: US missile strike
- The concentration of leaders of ISIS is in northeast Nigeria, in Borno State, not in the northwest state of Sokoto.
- Four of the sixteen Tomahawk missiles did not explode-a 25% failure rate.
- Some of the unexploded missiles were found hundreds of miles from the target.
- There is no evidence that any high-level ISIS targets were killed by the missile attack, or even how many.
Yet, President Trump foolishly threatened another missile attack on Nigeria January 9.
Trump’s Motivation
What does President Trump not know about Nigeria? Everything!
He like many American Presidents, knows nothing about African nations. He has no understanding of the complex dynamics of Nigeria, and he doesn’t care about the welfare of 240 million Nigerians. His crusade to save the Christians in Nigeria from genocide is identical to his false campaign to protect white farmers from South African genocide. President Trump is not concerned with Africans, white or black, Christian or Muslim. These are domestically manufactured issues to appease his MAGA white-evangelical base in the U.S.
Consider the fact that Nigeria: has vast reserves of oil and the largest reserves of gas in the world; for the first time in its existence, it is refining and exporting large quantities of its own processed oil; is a partner member nation of the BRICS; has close economic ties with China, with over 20 billion USD invested in Nigeria by China last year.
It is estimated that Nigeria has 37.28 billion barrels of oil and 210.54 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Trump’s Prejudice vs Development
American leaders, both Democratic and Republican, unfortunately have the same unthinking deficiency as President Trump. They all fail to understand that it is in the genuine national self-interest of the U.S., for Nigeria to achieve successful economic growth. American presidents, such as John Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt, knew the importance of promoting economic development as a fundamental principle of foreign policy. That concept has been forgotten, nay, completely vanished from American lexicon. Presently, the U.S. is bereft of leaders, who comprehend, that raising the standard of living of every Nigerian, indeed all Africans, is a benefit to America’s economy and security.
Unfortunately, President Trump has a deep-seated prejudice regarding the advancement of our civilization. His special advisor, Stephen Miller, put it this way: We live in a world that is governed by force…governed by power…These are the iron laws of the world. This is blatantly untrue. It could never be true. Yet, it is through this perverted lens that President Trump views Nigeria, and Africa. All true statesmen know that civilization is governed by human creativity. The real criminality is President Trump’s betrayal of America’s principles in favor of Thomas Hobbes’ bestial belief of humankind.
Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 35 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, consultant on Africa, and an analyst of global strategic relations. Mr. Freeman strongly believes that economic development is an essential human right. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com, also publishes on: lawrencefreeman.substack.com, “Freeman’s Africa and the World, and on X @lkfreemansafrica