The duo of former Jigawa State Governor and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Sule Lamido, and Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South have called on President Bola Tinubu to engage former leaders of the country and seasoned diplomats to defend Nigeria’s image before the United States of America.
Following US President Donald Trump’s recent statement designating the country as a “country of particular concern,” Tinubu has been warned of an “ominous” threat of war against Nigeria, which he has to avoid at all cost.
Describing the situation as grave and potentially catastrophic, Lamido urged Nigerians to rally around the nation’s sovereignty and set aside political differences in the face of external provocation.
“The threat of war on Nigeria from President Trump of the United States of America, under whatever guise, is very ominous. The consequences of such action cannot be imagined,” he said.
He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demonstrate statesmanship by convening an emergency meeting with all former Presidents and Heads of State to forge a united national front.
“President Tinubu must swallow his pride and invite all our past leaders for a closed-door meeting to discuss and find a way around this dangerous development,” Lamido stated.
According to him, Nigeria’s former leaders are strategically positioned to engage Washington and President Trump through quiet diplomacy—away from the media spotlight—to de-escalate tensions and address the underlying concerns.
Lamido warned that Nigeria no longer has the luxury of time, urging that unity, restraint, and wise diplomacy must take precedence over pride and partisanship at this critical moment.
Reacting to the development, Ndume said Nigeria must urgently counter the narrative by engaging respected diplomats and credible international figures.
“Before things get out of hand, Nigeria should engage seasoned diplomats like Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Babagana Kingibe, Professor Sulu Gambari, and Amina Mohammed of the United Nations,” Ndume said in a statement on Saturday.
He added that the Federal Government should liaise with the American Embassy in Abuja to provide accurate information about Nigeria’s security situation.
“We can change the narrative by ensuring that we aren’t tagged a ‘country of particular concern,’ but rather a ‘country of special concern,’ so they can give us all the support, including arms and ammunition, to effectively contain terrorists,” he said.
Ndume also criticised the Bola Tinubu administration and the Senate for failing to respond promptly to earlier warnings from US lawmaker Riley Moore regarding Nigeria’s security image.
He urged the government to engage Washington with factual data showing that terrorist attacks in Nigeria affect both Muslims and Christians.
“I have alerted the government and even moved a motion. Nigeria is a sovereign state,” Ndume said.
“It’s not about what the United States can do to us, but about the misconception and ripple effects of classifying us as a country of concern. Muslims have been killed too. The genocide isn’t against Christians but Nigerians generally.”
New National Star reports that Trump, in a post shared on his Truth Social account and the White House’s X handle on Friday, claimed that Christians were being massacred in Nigeria, describing the situation as “a genocide.”