By Moji Danisa
When the United States lands in Africa, it is almost always under the familiar banner of “democracy,” “security,” or “human rights.” Yet, decades after Washington’s steady march across the continent, few African nations can claim to have emerged stronger from the embrace. Instead, many are left reeling, their political structures hollowed out, their economies weakened, and their sovereignty quietly eroded beneath the weight of foreign interests disguised as help.
The story of America’s footprint in Africa is as complex as it is troubling. From the U.S. military’s expanding network of bases across the Sahel to its covert intelligence operations in the Horn of Africa, the pattern is unmistakable; wherever America goes, instability follows closely behind. Now, with President Trump again eyeing Africa, particularly Nigeria, the question looms larger than ever, what exactly does Trump want from us?
The collapse of Libya in 2011 remains one of the most glaring examples of American intervention gone wrong. Under NATO’s banner and with Washington’s strong push, the coalition toppled Muammar Gaddafi’s government, ostensibly to protect civilians. But when the dust settled, Libya was not liberated, it was broken. The power vacuum unleashed a torrent of weapons and fighters across the region, fuelling jihadist insurgencies and paving the way for a wave of military coups from Mali to Niger. What began as a “humanitarian mission” ended up destabilizing half of West Africa. Till date, every conscious Africa still blames Obama and Hillary Clinton for the death of Moamar Ghadaffi and the chaos Libya has become.
Elsewhere, the scars of America’s involvement run deep. In 1998, al-Qaeda bombed the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, killing more than 200 people and injuring thousands. The victims were overwhelmingly Kenyan and Tanzanian. Washington’s response, airstrikes on Afghanistan and Sudan, neither brought closure nor justice to the host countries. Instead, the attacks reinforced the sense that African lives are collateral damage in America’s endless wars and that the U.S. uses African soil as both a battleground and a buffer for its own security.
Trump’s latest attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty, his misguided and largely false categorization of the killings in Plateau region as Christian Genocide with a threat to bring in American military to help the situation, is nothing but a guise to invade Nigeria and destabilize growth gained so far in the country’s democracy.
With its massive population, growing energy sector, and recent tilt toward BRICS, the economic bloc seeking alternatives to Western dominance – Nigeria has become an irresistible prize. Under Trump’s return to political prominence, talk of new “trade partnerships” and “security cooperation” with Nigeria may sound benign, but the subtext is clear; Washington fears losing influence to China and Russia, and Nigeria is the crown jewel of Africa’s strategic landscape.
The question, then, is not whether America’s military presence in Africa helps or harms, but whose interests it truly serves. For many Africans, the answer is painfully evident. From Libya’s ruins to Niger’s coups, from Kenya’s trauma to Nigeria’s looming courtship, the pattern endures – America arrives promising stability, and leaves behind uncertainty.
Whatever name it wears, aid, partnership, democracy – America’s mission in Africa has long ceased to be about Africans. It is about power. And as history shows, when great powers come bearing gifts, Africa often pays the price. Say NO to Donald Trump’s Trojan Horse!
Yes, Christians are being killed but so are Muslims and other ethnic groups. The carnage in Northern Nigeria, especially the North East selects no religion. Mosques have been bombed during Friday worship, as well as churches on Sunday.
Whole villages have been uprooted and the Internally Displaced Persons Camps have as many Muslims as Christians. School kidnappings aren’t restricted to Christian schools, since the terrorists took hold of those regions, Muslim schools have recorded kidnappings. Displaced farmers and persons kidnapped by bandits, sacked villages – there is no selection.
Let’s look at the South East, the IPOB terrorism in that region does not discriminate. It targets whoever without caring for religion.
Kidnapping by Bandits is all about money and not religion.
We do agree and it is so glaring that what Nigeria lacks, is the political will to decisively deal with sponsors of terrorism and their military moles.
However, the government has already taken action towards strengthening it’s resolve to change that, especially with the change of its heads of military and the military hierarchy. President Tinubu is two years in power and his government has brought in sweeping reforms. While America struggles under the weight of Trump’s ego, Nigeria is slowly recovering from years of an economy held in the jogular by corruption. Let Nigeria breathe!
Donald Trump will do well to face America and put his house in order.
Nigeria will not open our resources to serve America’s interest, Nigeria will not serve as a base for the US military. Tinubu must say NO to America ‘s Trojan Horse.
