Nigeria needs support, not threats – Canada-based Nigerian tells Trump

By Boye Oyeyemi –

A Canada-based Nigerian psychiatrist, Dr Abiola Oshodi, has said Nigeria deserves partnership and cooperation from the United States, not threats of war.

Speaking in a telephone interview with WESTERN POST, Oshodi said although Nigeria faces security challenges, it remains a sovereign nation that must be treated with respect.

“There are moments in history when a nation’s dignity is tested not by the bullets of war but by the tone of another country’s voice. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on Nigeria, coupled with his threat of possible military action under the pretence of ‘protecting Christians’, fit this scenario,” he said.

Oshodi noted that while the country mourns victims of insecurity across all faiths, no foreign power is entitled to lecture or threaten Nigeria.

“Yes, Nigeria has security challenges, but we are not a colony,” he stated, adding that foreign intimidation cannot solve the nation’s problems.

He urged the U.S. to support Nigeria in intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism cooperation and development initiatives rather than resort to threats.

“What we need is support, intelligence sharing, and strategic investment, not threats hurled across continents,” he said.

However, the psychiatrist and former media director for the APC Presidential Council in Canada during the 2023 elections said, “Reducing Nigeria’s security crisis to a ‘Muslims versus Christians’ narrative is misleading and dangerous.”