I write this with deep concernnot anger, but concernover what increasingly appears to be a troubling pattern in the posture of the United States under President Donald Trump toward Nigeria, particularly its Muslim communities and northern leadership.

Since Trumps return to office, a narrative has steadily gathered momentum in Washington: that Nigeria is a theatre of Christian genocide, orchestrated or tolerated by Muslim political actors. It is a grave allegation. It is also one that many credible Nigerian authorities, religious leaders, security experts, and independent analysts have consistently challenged as simplistic, selective, and dangerously misleading.

Nigerias security crisis is real. Terrorism, banditry, communal clashes, and criminal violence have devastated communitiesMuslim and Christian alikein Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna and beyond. But to reduce this complex web of criminality, governance failure, climate pressure, and arms proliferation into a one-dimensional religious war is not analysis; it is advocacy.

The genesis of this framing can be traced to lobbying efforts and reports amplified in foreign policy circlessome originating from discredited advocacy groups, whose data and claims have been publicly questioned by investigative journalists. Yet, these narratives have found fertile ground among certain US lawmakers and religious pressure blocs eager to fit Nigeria into a broader global persecution template.

President Trumps earlier designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over alleged religious persecution was controversial. The redesignation months later reinforced the perception that Washington had settled on a narrative, regardless of Nigerias internal complexities.

Driven by this ill-informed framing, Trump ordered a Christmas Day airstrike on Sokotohistorically the seat of Nigerias Islamic Caliphateas a symbolic gesture aimed at appeasing his Christian constituency. The strike occurred despite Sokoto being neither an epicentre of terrorism nor banditry. The Muslims did not protest the deliberate provocation, even after discovering that local collaborators were feeding Americans the so-called ‘Christian genocide’ narrative as a strategic ploy to influence Nigeria’s 2027 presidential tickets.

Now comes the introduction of the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 by US lawmakers Chris Smith, Riley Moore, Brian Mast, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Bill Huizenga. The bill seeks sanctionsincluding visa bans and asset freezesagainst former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and certain Fulani-affiliated groups such as the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.

More disturbingly, the legislation appears designed to pave the way for categorising Muslim political leaders as well as Fulani-ethnic nomad militias as foreign terrorist organisations.

It is so worrisome to scandalise a prominent political figure like Kwankwasoa Muslim who is not known as a religious extremiston the eve of his alignment ahead of Nigerias upcoming presidential election is deeply scandalous. Equally dangerous is the attempt to criminalise an entire ethnic identity under the sweeping label of Fulani militia, setting a perilous precedent.

Criminal elements exist across all ethnic and religious lines in Nigeria. But the Fulani, like the Igbo, Yoruba, Tiv, Kanuri, Ijaw or any other group, are a diverse population numbering in the millions. Collective blame is not justice; it is profiling.

Nigeria has welcomed increased U.S. military engagement, with AFRICOM officials meeting Nigerian security leaders and American troops now permitted to operate in the country. The government has also invested millions of dollars in diplomatic outreach and strategic lobbying. Yet the shift from partnership to punitive labelling raises an uncomfortable question: what exactly is Washington seeking?

And more importantly, what does Trumps new posture mean for Nigerians, Muslims and non-Muslims alike? Should it push us toward suspicion of one another or toward questioning the motives behind externally driven narratives, including those shaped by controversial reports from certain advocacy groups, especially the Onitsha-based Intersociety operated by a screwdriver salesman and other IPOB platforms?

If the concern is truly religious freedom, then policy must be anchored in verifiable evidence, not selective outrage. Terrorisms epicentresBorno under Boko Haram, Zamfara under banditry networks, Niger under insurgent infiltrationdo not fit neatly into a Christian-versus-Muslim binary. Victims in these theatres include imams, pastors, farmers, traders, and children of every faith.

As I reflected in my previous articles, the narrative that Nigerias Muslims are collectively complicit in anti-Christian persecution is not only inaccurate; it is inflammatory. It risks deepening mistrust within Nigerias fragile social fabric. It emboldens extremists who thrive on polarisation. And it externalises what should remain a sovereign, evidence-driven security discourse.

But sanctions based on politicised framing or fictitious advocacy-driven reports by secessionist and anti-Muslim groups undermine the credibility of international accountability mechanisms.

If President Trumps America truly seeks stability in West Africa, it must engage Nigeria in partnership, not profiling; in evidence, not emotion; in diplomacy, not designation.

Nigerias Muslims and Fulani ethnic groups do not need appeasement. They need fairness. Our country needs fact-based engagement, not fear.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of An Encounter with the Spymaster and Award-Winning Crisis Communication Strategies.
yashuaib@yashuaib.com

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Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Yushau Shuaib in Government House, Kano

Developmental Politics: Between President Jonathan and Governor Kwankwaso
By Yushau A. Shuaib

At an informal gathering a few months ago, discussants attempted a comparison between President Goodluck Jonathan and some of the governors in the break-away new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP). While some argued that the President and the governors are birds of the same feather as typical of Nigerian politicians, others insisted that there is obvious uniqueness that defines their individualities.

Rather than debating developmental issues, the argument dwelt largely on the characters of the individual political officers. Coincidentally, the debate came at a period when I had just published an article on an encounter I had with one of the gladiators of the nPDP, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State after honouring an invitation extended to me by his hardworking and talented media aides, Baba Dantiye and Jafar Jafar.

Therefore, when my friends requested my opinion about the issues being debated, I felt hesitant because of the unfortunate way a powerful lady had engineered my premature retirement from the federal civil service 20 years after I joined.

The summation of my contribution is this: Many may have reservations about President Goodluck Jonathan, but I will not join the bandwagon of bashers of any government in power for attempting to be different. As a person, President Jonathan looks cool; his face reflects innocence, while his soft voice depicts harmlessness. His occasional promises are reassuring while his smile is infectious. Though he hardly swaggers like the big-guy, his simple gait portrays his humility.

Jonathan could be credited for some successes in the political and economic front, especially the inter-party tranquillity. The only snag is the intra-party rivalry within the ruling PDP. If Federal Capital Territory should be used to assess his presidency, then good roads network, sprawling housing estates, stable fuel supply, apparent opulence with state of the art automobiles cruising on the roads and ongoing railway projects should be considered as a plus.

Nevertheless, it is just unfathomable that his seeming charismatic demeanour and accomplishments are being rubbished by confrontational stances, inactions and misdemeanour of some of the major players in his admiration.

On the other hand, because of the close encounter I just had with Kwankwaso, I told my friends that the governor is a down-to-earth personality and sincere in his frankness. Beneath the humour of his occasional jokes are loaded messages and lessons to be learnt. He leaves you with an impression that: you may enjoy the laughter but get the message.

Having worked as an engineer for about two decades before becoming the governor of the state, Kwankwaso understands major developmental challenges in Kano which he frontally confronts in his second tenure. The hallmarks of his administration are developmental initiatives in the provisions of houses, scholarships, development of entrepreneurship skills among the youths, massive road projects and improvement of electricity supply for the benefit of the people.

Unlike Abuja where the Ministry of Finance struggle to accommodate capital projects, Kwankwanso makes sure that capital expenditure in Kano takes the largest chunk of the budget. In 2012 for instance, 63 percent of the state budget was dedicated to capital, while only 37 percent was tied to recurrent. So far this year, 75 percent of the budget has been devoted for capital and the remaining 25 percent allocated to recurrent expenditure. His administration avoids frivolous expenditures by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

At the inception of his administration, Kwankwaso eliminated the allocation of security-vote to his office to block leakages. He also improved internally generated revenue from a paltry N400 million to N1.8 billion monthly. In addition to this, he reduced recurrent expenditures (from Government House, Deputy Governor’s office and all other MDA’s), thus saving up to N500 million monthly. To ensure transparency and accountability in governance, his administration now publishes weekly resolutions of the State Executive Council for wide dissemination to the populace.

As a former legislator who was elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, one may understand why Kwankwaso believes in the rule of law and allows due process as the guiding principle of his administration. While attempting to ban street begging and motorcycles as means of commercial transportation in the state, the Governor followed all legal and due processes and the state is now enjoying the dividends of the actions.

Not a person to be fooled by political scheming, the leader of popular Kwankwasiya political movement has a perfect understanding of Nigeria’s political dynamism having been a delegate to the 1994 Constitutional Conference. His involvement in the activities of progressive governors under the banner of nPDP is seen by his admirers as his quest to ensure equity and justice in the democratic process.

The former Minister of Defence certainly has a mind of his own and so, it is understandable that he has refused to be an errand boy or a copy-cat. It is also possible  that his prudence and determination to conserve funds for serious projects that will benefit the greatest majority of the state indigenes is a reason why his faithful wife remains out of public glare without maintaining the prevalent but illegal Office of the First Lady even though theirs is a monogamous family.

While some states are still facing enormous security challenges and political tension, Kwankwaso was able to curtail the excesses of religious fanatics and sectional politicians in the state due to some strategies he deployed as Chief Security Officer of his state. Some attribute his ingenuity to the experiences he garnered while serving as Defence Minister, Presidential Adviser on Dafur and Somalia and his membership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) at various times.

A few weeks after the debate, while attending a programme in the United States of America, I received a call from one of the friends present at the forum. He told me Governor Kwankwaso wanted to see me immediately. On my return, I proceeded to Kano where I met the Governor one-on-one for more than one hour discussing developmental issues and how his administration has so far impacted on the people. We chatted about related political and social stability in Kano and the various programmes being undertaken in other parts of the country.

A surprising take-home for me from the discussion was the kind words the Governor had for President Jonathan despite the heated disputation among them. At a point, he described Jonathan as “a president who means well for the nation but I always wonder what other people do in his name.”

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Realising the importance of knowledge, skill acquisition and job creation, the Kano State government through its Kwankwasiya slogan is fighting ignorance, street begging and other vices through massive investment on education and critical infrastructure.

This writer was recently invited by the duo of Jafar Jafar and Baba Dantiye, Media Assistant, and Director Public Relations respectively to Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State. While still waiting inside the reception hall of the Government House, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his Deputy, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje strolled in. They were on their way to inspect some ongoing projects in the city. They asked a guest and myself to join the team on the inspection tour. Who am I to resist such a gesture, considering various perceptions about the governor and impressions on the ongoing projects in the state?

I must admit from the outset that I had close encounter with, and supported former Governor Mal. Ibrahim Shekarau during his eight year tenure. Due to that affinity, some aides and supporters of the current Governor Kwankwaso have often challenged some of us to make sincere appraisal and comparisons of the two administrations in the state.

As the convoy moved from sites to sites, youths and the elderly especially women trooped out to hail the governor. While we sighted some newly established schools, we were at the sites of ongoing megacity project aimed at decongesting the old city. The new city is spread in three estates: Kwankwasiya, Amana and Bandirawo with different types of residential accommodations with provision for schools, security posts, commercial and recreational centres. Other ongoing projects include: construction of dual carriage way complete with street lights; fly over bridges; rehabilitation of roads; modern trailer parks and the important independent power plant project, which is expected to generate 35 MW of electricity from Challawa and Tiga Dams in Kano. Already the street and traffic lights in the metropolis have become functional through independently generated electricity without depending on PHCN.

Rather than talking about past administrations or accusing presumed political enemies for whatever excuses, Kwankwaso is so passionate about education projects in the state with new schools being established, and some created from abandoned structures.

The governor traced the security problem in the country to ignorance and lack of proper knowledge of religious and moral injunctions. He said parents procreate in dozens as if they were meant for sale and abandon them to becoming almajiranci (destitute beggars) without provision for feeding, clothing and shelter, which he described as ‘un-Islamic.’ “We cannot continue to tolerate begging in our city. Never!” he declared matter-of-factly.

In an effort to discourage child beggars from the streets and ensure their return to schools, the state has reintroduced free feeding, materials and uniforms for pupils in primary schools. Schools for Quranic and Islamic studies are now established to incorporate western education and skills acquisition. The curricula is designed in such a way that knowledge acquired would empower the participants and improved their standard of living spiritually and socially so that they could become useful to themselves and the society.

Related to this, the government has created rehabilitation centres for destitute where they could learn some skills rather than prostituting and constituting themselves into nuisance on the streets. The state is working on a law to ban shameful act of begging anywhere in Kano.

Though the newly established North-West University has fulfilled NUC requirements and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, there are also various skill acquisition institutes for entrepreneurship development to empower people to be self-employed. Some of the institutes include those deliberately designed for training on fishery, poultry, livestock, farming, film-making, and even sports among others. The most impressive is the Kano Corporate Security Institute which graduates would replace tired but refused to retire security gatemen who are indeed very old.

On Corporate Security Institute, the governor said: “The initial idea is to ensure that we have professionally trained security personnel who are strong, healthy, mentally alert young men and women. We cannot continue to have old people doing the jobs while their children and grandchildren are jobless. We want to see indigenes of Kano well-dressed, proud in corporate security outfit doing their job professionally and earning decent living.”

While scholarships are provided to indigenes for foreign studies on specialised fields of medicine, engineering, piloting and other science-based education, the state is working to ensure that additional teaching hospitals could be provided for universities in the state. There is balance in gender representation in the scholarship scheme that encourages female-education, especially in the specialised field of paediatrics and gynaecology. An average Northerner would rather prefer a female medical doctor to attend to the crucial medical needs of their wives.

On the source of funding, Governor Kwankwaso said the state relies on the Federation Account and its improved internally generated revenue (IGR) to fund the projects. He emphasised that his administration has refused to secure any new loan, locally or internationally as it prioritises its budget for infrastructure and human capital development. Capital expenditures take lion’s share of over 70% while recurrent services take the remainder.

During the tour, Dr. Kwankwaso was bold in tackling his officials and contractors at each site, dishing out instructions on the need for quality jobs that should meet deadlines and specifications. He often threatened to sack officials or revoke contracts that fail the demand of the job. I saw this with my korokoro eyes!

With just two years to the end of the tenure, could Kwankwaso complete his missions, visions and the projects before he leaves? His aides give an impression that “Kwankwasiya is not just about the unique dress code and Red Caps, the administration symbolises due process, transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline towards achieving its goals within the tenure.”

This article by Yushau A. Shuaib has been published in June 2013 by People Daily, Blueprint, Punch, Thisday, Vanguard, Daily Sun, Nigerian Tribune, Premium Times, Eagle Online….

Related to this, the government has created rehabilitation centres for destitute where they could learn some skills rather than prostituting and constituting themselves into nuisance on the streets. The state is working on a law to ban shameful act of begging anywhere in Kano.

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