Public commentator and lawyer, Dr. Ope Banwo, has warned that Nigeria risks external intervention if the government fails to decisively address the country’s worsening insecurity.
Banwo gave the warning in a recently released video, where he cautioned the Nigerian government against giving the United States President, Donald Trump, what he described as a reason to take over the leadership of the country.
According to him, continued political handling of insecurity, including what he termed the “kid-glove” treatment of Boko Haram, ISWAP, terror financiers, and alleged sympathisers within government, could provoke foreign intervention.
Banwo argued that when a country is governed in a manner that leaves large segments of its population oppressed, or in ways that threaten the interests of more powerful nations, external forces often step in to “resolve the problem” in a way that humiliates the affected country.
He further stated that the United States would not allow Boko Haram, ISWAP, or ISIS to establish a strong and comfortable base in or around Nigeria, noting that such a situation would pose a direct threat to global security.
“There is no way the U.S. will allow what is happening in the North-West, North-East, and parts of central Nigeria to continue unchecked,” Banwo said. “It would be like leaving fire on the roof and going to bed.”
The lawyer added that the U.S. had learned hard lessons from the era of Osama bin Laden, whose activities eventually led to terrorist attacks on American soil.
“The U.S. would take preventive measures and insert itself into the situation to ensure that these terrorists do not later find their way into America as suicide bombers,” he stated.
Banwo also recalled that Trump had previously warned that he would intervene in Nigeria’s security crisis if the Nigerian government failed to act. He criticised Nigerian elites who, rather than pushing the government to tackle insecurity more effectively, have focused on arguing that Trump cannot interfere and that Nigeria is not Venezuela.
He warned that failure to address terrorism could result in sudden and drastic outcomes, including the possible removal of prominent figures such as the President, traditional rulers like the Sultan of Sokoto, and some governors who have been accused in the past of links to terrorists.
Banwo urged Nigerians and the political elite to take urgent steps to resolve the security challenges facing the country, warning that continued inaction could cost Nigeria its sovereignty.
“If Trump is given an excuse to remove the country’s leaders and possibly take its oil in the process, he will do it, and nothing will happen,” he concluded.
