Kabiru Marafa, a former Lawmaker has expressed support for United States President Donald Trump’s recent threat of possible military intervention in Nigeria, claiming that the warning could force authorities to act more forcefully to combat insecurity.
Marafa, who served at Zamfara Central in the senate from 2011 to 2019, made the comments on Wednesday in an interview with Politics Today on Channels Television.
“I strongly support the President of America, Donald Trump, for issuing that threat,” he said, insisting that he disagreed with Nigerians who criticized the former U.S. leader’s comments on the grounds of national sovereignty.
“I differ with a lot of Nigerians because most of them look at it from the perspective of sovereignty and patriotism, which I also subscribe to. But of what importance is sovereignty to a dead man?” he asked.
The former senator claimed that Trump’s remarks had once again drawn Nigeria’s security issues, particularly attacks on Christian communities to the attention of the world.
Last month, Trump accused the Nigerian government of failing to halt what he called the persecution of Christians and ordered the Pentagon to start formulating plans for potential intervention in Nigeria.
In a social media post, Trump warned that the U.S. would cut all aid to Nigeria if the killings persisted, adding that Washington “may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
He claimed to have instructed the “Department of War” to prepare for potential strikes, saying any attack “will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians.”
Marafa said that although national sovereignty is vital, the government’s foremost duty should be to protect human life. He continued by saying that Nigerian authorities were under more pressure to act decisively as a result of Trump’s stance.
Meanwhile, the United States recently designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged violations of religious freedom and the persecution of Christians.
