Soludo Reminds Trump of #BlackLivesMatter in Response to U.S. Invasion Threat

Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Anambra State in Nigeria and seeking re-election, has adopted a stance emphasizing internal governance, national sovereignty and the complexity of Nigeria’s security challenges; he argues that violence in his region is not merely Christian vs Muslim, but involves “people killing themselves… The people in the bushes are Emmanuel, Peter,  and John, all Christian names… it has nothing to do with religion.” 

 U.S.  President Donald Trump has positioned himself as a global defender of persecuted Christians and a strong-action leader. In recent remarks he labelled Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom, threatened to cut U.S. aid and even ordered preparation for possible military action unless the Nigerian government curbs alleged mass killings of Christians. 

Soludo remarks on the issues and what happened in America during the Black Lives Matter movement

During the summer of 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. surged after the killing of George Floyd and other African-Americans by police. Large protests spread across the U.S. and around the world, highlighting systemic racism, police brutality, and racial inequality. 

However, some commentators made provocative remarks about global solidarity or intervention, though no serious proposals of “Africa invading America” occurred. 

According to Soludo’s remarks the example he cited was: “You had policemen killing some blacks… I remember the #BlackLivesMatter protested, and somebody would say maybe Africa should go and invade America because blacks are being killed?” 

Soludo’s reaction to Trump and his statement

Soludo responded to Trump’s threat of U.S. military intervention in Nigeria by emphasising Nigeria’s sovereignty and rejecting the framing of the violence in Nigeria as purely religious. 

He stated: “As a country, America has its own rights to have its own views about what is going on elsewhere… But when it comes to what it does, I am sure it must also act within the realm of international law.” 

He further made the rhetorical point that if one applied the same logic to U.S. racial violence, “maybe Africa should go and invade America because blacks are being killed? I’m not quite sure.” 

He insisted that any assistance to Nigeria should be on Nigeria’s own formal request “not through external threats.” 

Trump’s response to Soludo and the broader context between U.S. and Nigeria

In response to the situation, President Trump announced that the U.S. would “immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria” if the killings of Christians continue, and ordered the Pentagon/Defense Department to prepare for possible action, including troops on the ground or air strikes. He said: “Could be. I mean, other things. I envisage a lot of things. 

They’re killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria… We’re not going to allow that to happen.” 

While this is not a direct response exclusively to Soludo, it frames the wider U.S. posture toward Nigeria which Soludo was reacting to.

Nigerians React as Soludo Tells Trump: ‘Fix Your House Before Fixing Ours’

Reactions in Nigeria have been mixed but largely critical of the U.S. threat. Many Nigerians oppose the idea of a foreign military intervention, warning that previous U.S. invasions left nations in worse states. For example, one social media user wrote:

 “Is there a single country the US has invaded that it has not left in ruins? We must be cautious about what we support for the sake of politics.” 

Religious bodies and regional groups also pushed back. The Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria said categorising Nigeria as persecuting Christians “reflects a one-sided narrative” and urged national unity over foreign intervention. 

Analysts and security experts warned that threats of invasion or coercion may drive Nigeria closer to China or Russia and damage U.S. credibility. 

 Briefly, Soludo’s remark, “If Africa followed your logic, we’d have invaded U.S. over #BlackLivesMatter,” is a rhetorical device meant to highlight what he sees as a double standard: if the U.S. considers intervening militarily in Nigeria because of killings of a religious group, then by that same logic one might expect African nations to intervene when black Americans are killed.

 His argument emphasises Nigeria’s sovereignty and calls for dialogue rather than external military coercion. On the other hand, Trump’s posture is one of forceful global moral leadership with readiness to use military power, which many in Nigeria regard as a threat to national sovereignty. The public reaction in Nigeria underscores caution, scepticism about foreign military intervention, and an insistence that Nigeria’s internal security challenges are more complex than religious persecution alone.

If you like, I can pull direct quotes from several Nigerians describing their reactions (social media, official statements) so you can see the full range of views.

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