Sara Jacobs, a member of the United States (US) House of
Representatives, says President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy military action
in Nigeria was reckless.
Jacobs spoke on Thursday during a congressional hearing in
Washington DC of allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria.
The Christian persecution narrative had informed Trump’s
decision to redesignate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern”.
After the redesignation, Trump threatened that the US
military would go into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing to completely wipe out the
Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Jacobs acknowledged Nigeria’s persisting insecurity
challenges but warned about the religious colouration.
“Distorting what’s happening into a solely religious
narrative erases the real drivers of violence and makes it harder to implement
effective solutions, and it can fuel violence against the very groups the Trump
administration claims it wants to protect,” the US lawmaker said.
“That’s why I’m alarmed by President Trump’s rhetoric about
this violence and threats to go into Nigeria ‘guns-a-blazing’ and to wipe out
terrorists.
“We are already receiving reports of increased tensions
between Christian and Muslim populations following this rhetoric.
“President Trump’s threat is reckless, and any unilateral
military action in Nigeria would be illegal.
“Congress has not authorised force in Nigeria to protect
Christians, and any action without Nigeria’s consent violates international
law.”
The congresswoman said a military-led approach would risk
more civilian casualties and impunity, which will only fuel violent extremism.
“We need to use more tools from our foreign policy toolbox
if we’re serious about helping Nigeria protect its citizens,” she said.
That means we need to leverage diplomacy and engage with
Nigeria on how we can help support their response while pushing for important
reforms within Nigeria’s institutions,” she said.
Jacobs also stressed the need to fund programmes to help
prevent violence and address conflict drivers.
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