December 29, (THEWILL) — On Thursday, December 25, 2025, on the orders of President Donald Trump, the United States launched airstrikes targeted at terrorist camps based in Sokoto in NorthWest Nigeria. The event took the entire country by surprise, indicating that the Americans were serious about their promise to confront terrorist groups operating within the country’s borders.
Mixed reactions immediately trailed the airstrikes, with some Nigerians openly hailing the US for its decision. Others chose to be cautious in their assessment of the situation. This group was clearly not inclined to view the development in positive light. Responding to critics over the Cuban missile crisis, late US President John F Kennedy once said, “A desperate situation requires a desperate solution.” This seemed to be Trump’s view-point when he vowed to deal severely with terrorists operating on Nigerian soil and killing innocent Christians. To those who celebrated the Christmas Day airstrikes, the worsening insecurity in the country is a desperate situation enough to justify an alleged military collaboration between Nigerian and US authorities to launch an attack against a mutual enemy on Nigerian soil.
However, those who are worried about the implications of such collabos insist that the Bola Tinubu Administration should urgently take the battle to Boko Haram, Islamic State West African Province, Lakurawa and the likes, instead of pretending that Nigeria is safe. But this will require the rehabilitation of the country’s security architecture first.
One of the steps the Federal Government should take, they argue, is to put an end to deadly clashes between herdsmen and farmers by introducing a legislation against open grazing across the country. Herders should be made to embrace ranching or face the full wrath of the law.
Nigerian borders are porous, allowing unbridled entry of extremists from other parts of Africa. The government must fix the porous borders and end the influx of arms and ammunition in the country.
For long, there have been calls for the introduction of state police without meaningful response from the Federal Government. Now is the time to consider legislating the subject, if only for the purpose of ending the current insecurity. THEWILL believes it is a matter of urgency.
The government must end the weird and unwholesome policy of recruiting “repentant” terrorists into the Nigerian military. It must also summon the political will to go after suspected sponsors of terrorism and prosecute them, no matter whose ox is gore.
We believe Nigeria is undergoing a critical phase in its development and country will eventually survive its predicament. But, for now, all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe or creed, must join hands to save the country from sinking under the burden of insecurity. All hands must be on deck.
