A political storm has exploded after Abubakar Sadeeque Abba, a political science and international relations professor at the University of Abuja, alleged that Donald Trump’s threat against Nigeria has nothing to do with religion, but everything to do with revenge.
According to Abba, Trump is furious because President Bola Tinubu allegedly funded Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign through France, a move the former US leader has never forgiven.
“To stop Tinubu from becoming president in 2027. I can swear by my Quran. Because Tinubu was among the people who contributed money to give to Kamala Harris for her campaign, and Trump has vengeance, he will never forgive that,” Abba said on Trust TV.
The professor claimed that Trump’s renewed interest in Nigeria has deeper political and economic motives.
“Look, what Trump is coming to Nigeria to do is not about Nigeria’s Christians or Muslims, nor Northerners or Southerners. It is why did Tinubu, through France, mobilised, including Macron, money for Kamala Harris. They knew that if Trump became the American president, there was going to be a problem for the whole world. That is the first reason,” he stated.
Abba alleged that Washington’s growing fixation on Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves was another major factor.
“The second reason is that the American stronghold in the Middle East is slipping away from their fingers. They needed another stronghold of energy resources, oil. The Arab kingdoms are facing the greatest challenges of their life,” he said. “There are inside storms brewing politically because there are common men tired, and it is only America that is holding them down.”
He continued, “Nigeria is a very hot spot for them. Nigeria, Angola, and Algeria are some of the areas that they are looking at. Our energy experts are saying that the oil reserve in Nigeria is far more than in the Arab countries. And America knows that more than anybody else.”
The don further noted that President Tinubu’s refusal to fully align with Western powers — except France — has unsettled Washington.
“The third reason, which is very fundamental, is that for the first time in so long a time, since Abacha, Tinubu was the first president in this country to look away from the Western world. In fact, France is the only friend Tinubu has. Nigeria is not depending on France. It is France and Macron that are depending on Tinubu and Nigerians now,” Abba said.
The professor’s explosive claims have added a new twist to the escalating tension between Washington and Abuja, and may deepen speculation about the true motives behind Trump’s harsh rhetoric on Nigeria.
