The authorities must speak to Nigerians with clarity, urges PAT ONUKWULI
There are moments when silence stops being prudent and begins to look like evidence. Nigeria may now be standing at such a moment. The recent statement by United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth cannot be treated as routine foreign commentary. He said President Donald Trump directed the War Department to focus on protecting Nigerian Christians allegedly targeted by ISIS. He also said months of preparation and partnership-building helped kill ISIS’ “No. 2” Commander, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he linked to attacks on Christians and plots against the U.S. homeland.
That statement is reassuring and disturbing at once. Reassuring, because every genuine blow against terrorism is welcome. Disturbing, because it raises a hard question: what does Washington believe about Nigeria’s terror landscape that Nigerians are not being clearly told?
Nigeria has not been entirely silent on the operation itself. President Bola Tinubu confirmed and welcomed the joint U.S.-Nigerian operation that killed al-Minuki, praising it as a milestone in counter-terrorism cooperation. On the military success, Abuja spoke. On the American moral framing behind it, Abuja has been far more cautious.
