OPEN LETTER TO ALL NIGERIANS
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Nigeria Must Rise Above Insults: Fix the Rot Within and Silence the World with Results
Fellow Nigerians,
The recent public threat from the President of the United States — that American forces could act in Nigeria and even “capture” our leader within 24 hours — has shocked and angered many of us. Whether spoken as bluster or policy, those words were humiliating and unacceptable. President Trump publicly directed the Pentagon to prepare for possible action in Nigeria, and his rhetoric about “guns-a-blazing” and decisive military steps has rightly stirred outrage at home.
Let me be plain: those who now cheer and openly invite a foreign power to “come and fix” Nigeria display ignorance of what that would mean. A foreign military intervention is not a television drama — it is war. It brings death, displacement, and the destruction of our communities and institutions. If the United States or any other country “comes” to Nigeria as a combatant, it will not be funny, and the consequences would fall hardest on ordinary Nigerians — the very people some think will be rescued by boots on foreign soil.
We have seen places the U.S. or other powerful nations once said they were helping end up fractured and struggling for basic services many years later. There are nations where foreign intervention was promised as salvation that today still wrestle with collapsed systems: access to clean water, steady electricity, functioning schools and clinics — basic needs — remain out of reach for millions. That should be a warning, not an invitation. We must not mistake short-term headlines for long-term security or wellbeing.
This moment must sharpen our resolve. The insult from abroad should be a wake-up call, not a pretext for surrendering our sovereignty. We must be sincere with ourselves: stop excusing corruption, stop protecting political patrons who act with impunity, and stop allowing criminal networks to buy protection with impunity. To those who profit from violence or turn a blind eye — this is on you. Investigate, arrest, prosecute, and let justice be seen to work. Extra-judicial answers are not the solution; institutional reform and accountability are.
Practical steps are clear and urgent. Demand and expect from your leaders a national security strategy that is intelligence-led, properly funded, and accountable. Insist on better coordination between our armed forces, police, and state security services. Push for community policing and investment in the towns and villages where radicalization and criminality take root. Invest in roads, schools, health care, and water systems — when ordinary people can get clean water and education, the appeal of violent groups is reduced. These are not distant or impossible tasks; they are our responsibility.
To those calling for foreign intervention: think of the boy or girl in your neighborhood who will live with the aftermath. Think of the mothers who fetch water, the farmers who must tend their fields, the students who want to finish school. If you truly love Nigeria, love her enough to demand reform, to vote responsibly, to hold leaders accountable, and to refuse the quick spectacle of foreign “rescue.” We can — and must — do this ourselves. We have the people, the spirit, and the resources to make our nation secure and dignified again.
Let this insult be our alarm. Turn the anger into action. Unite across religion, ethnicity, and party to insist on transparency, discipline, and patriotic service from those in office. When we restore competence, protect our citizens, and renew public trust, no foreign taunt will stick. Respect is earned by results, not by words.
We are capable. We must be sincere. Let us fix the rot within, not invite the wreckage of foreign war. Let us rebuild our institutions so that our grandchildren inherit a Nigeria that commands respect because of its strength, fairness, and care for every citizen.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I am Gbenga Onabamiro.
Convener, BETTER SOCIETY GROUP NIGERIA*
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