Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has urged President Bola Tinubu to hit back at former U.S. President Donald Trump after Trump’s threat of military action against Nigeria, calling the comment an affront to the country’s sovereignty and demanding a firm diplomatic response.
Writing on his verified Facebook page on Sunday, Gumi described the threat as an insult and urged the federal government to take immediate steps to defend Nigeria’s dignity.
“For Trump to threaten a sovereign country with military attack is a profound disrespect to our authority, but we can rise above it,” he wrote.
Gumi said the next move should be for Abuja to summon the U.S. ambassador and demand a public retraction, warning that failure to do so should trigger a full break in ties.
“President Tinubu should summon the US ambassador; they either retract their threats or we sever diplomatic ties with this irresponsible regime,” he said.
Beyond a show of diplomatic muscle, Gumi urged Nigeria to look outward for alternatives in trade and defence cooperation.
“There are lots of other options for our economic expansion and military alliance,” Gumi added.
The cleric’s intervention ramps up pressure on the presidency to respond decisively as debates swirl over diplomatic, economic and security options in the wake of the controversial U.S. remarks.
