Nigeria’s opposition leader, Peter Obi, has remained silent following comments from United States President Donald Trump suggesting that Nigeria is “on the verge of a religious war” — remarks that have sparked outrage and widespread concern both within and outside the country.
Trump, while speaking during a recent interview on an American conservative media platform, alleged that Christians in Nigeria were being “massacred” and that the United States might need to “take action” if the Nigerian government failed to stop what he described as “a genocide against Christians.”
His statement drew sharp criticism from Nigerian government officials, civil society groups, and international observers, who warned that such rhetoric could inflame religious tensions in Africa’s most populous nation, home to more than 230 million people almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.
Despite the global attention surrounding Trump’s claim, Peter Obi — a former governor of Anambra State and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party — has yet to issue any official statement. His silence has drawn mixed reactions from supporters and political commentators.
Some Nigerians on social media have accused Obi of avoiding sensitive issues, while others argue that his measured silence reflects political maturity in a highly polarized environment.
A political analyst based in Abuja, Musa Abdullahi, said Obi’s silence could be strategic. “Peter Obi is known for being cautious when commenting on international issues. However, this particular situation demands clarity because Trump’s statements touch on the unity and peace of Nigeria,” Abdullahi told Journalists.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria dismissed Trump’s comments as “baseless and inflammatory,” emphasizing that the country remains committed to protecting the rights of all religious groups. The Minister of Information stated that “Nigeria is not a war zone and no religious group is under systematic persecution.”
International observers, including the United Nations and Amnesty International, have repeatedly called for balanced reporting and caution against framing Nigeria’s complex security challenges in purely religious terms.
Peter Obi’s continued silence is fueling public speculation about his stance on Trump’s assertion and the broader conversation about religious coexistence in Nigeria — a nation still grappling with terrorism, economic instability, and political division.