The Nigerian government has dismissed President Donald Trump‘s threat of a U.S. military deployment to the West African country, saying it is meant to trigger a meeting over concerns about the persecution of Nigerian Christians.
Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, told the Associated Press on Sunday that Trump’s warning is merely his “style of going forceful in order to force a sit-down and have a conversation.”
He later said a meeting between the two countries could happen “in the coming days,” a timeline that comes as Trump is ramping up the pressure on Nigeria.
Besides his threat for the military to go in “guns-a-blazing” to target Islamic terrorist groups operating in parts of Nigeria, Trump also designated the West African nation a “country of particular concern.” That designation applies to countries that have engaged in or tolerated “particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” according to the U.S. State Department.
The Nigerian government has pushed back on the notion of a “genocide” against Nigerian Christians, though Bwala acknowledged on Sunday that the country faces “serious security challenges” in protecting religious freedom from terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, which remains active and seeks to topple the government and impose Islamic law.
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Still, despite the terrorism problems, Bwala signaled any U.S. military action in Nigeria would be unwelcome.
“It would not be diplomatically appropriate for the United States to take unilateral action without engagement and consent from the Nigerian government,” he said.
