Osun State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has called for calm and renewed diplomatic engagement between Nigeria and the United States following re-designation of Nigeria as ‘country of particular concern’ (CPC) and threats by the US President Donald Trump to take military action over alleged attacks on Christians in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Monday through his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, Governor Adeleke appealed for “peaceful interface” and constructive dialogue between Abuja and Washington, warning that military intervention would only worsen the situation.
“I appeal to the Presidency of the United States of America to support Nigeria to fully implement the recently developed national security strategy,” Adeleke said. “The new strategy is comprehensive and capable of taking on the monster of banditry and terroristic killings in many parts of the country.”
The governor’s remarks came amid heightened tension between the two countries after President Trump, in a post on Truth social, threatened to halt US aid to Nigeria and possibly launch military operations in Nigeria to “wipe out terrorists” allegedly targeting Christians.
The statement, which drew mixed reactions globally, prompted Nigeria’s Presidency to initiate diplomatic engagements with Washington.
Governor Adeleke, while commiserating with families affected by violence in the North, said the U. should work with Nigeria through diplomatic channels to strengthen counterterrorism efforts rather than resorting to threats of force.
“The American intervention is a wake-up call to rigorously implement new security measures and forceful counter-terrorism actions in partnership with diplomatic allies,” he stated. “We need help from the United States and others to solve the terrorism challenge.”
According to him, a “high-powered engagement at the presidential level” would enable the American government to better understand the scope of Nigeria’s security challenges and the progress being made by security agencies.
“We need our international partners to expand their support for the Nigerian security agencies and its political leadership to face national security challenges,” Adeleke added. “Peaceful interface between Abuja and Washington holds the key rather than military intervention by the American government.”
The Osun State governor also lauded President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing diplomatic efforts to calm tensions and reassure Nigeria’s Western allies of the country’s commitment to human rights and security reform.
“This is the time to unite as a nation to support the national leadership to frontally address internal and external threats for the protection of the citizenry,” he said. “We need peace, not war, to deepen our democracy and protect our citizens.”
Adeleke’s comments joined a growing chorus of voices urging restraint and diplomacy in the wake of Trump’s controversial warning, which many Nigerian officials and analysts have described as “provocative” and “ill-informed.”
