Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has dismissed claims that Nigeria’s security crisis amounts to a religious war, insisting that the nation’s unrest stems from extremist violence rather than a clash between Christians and Muslims.
Gatekeepers News reports that Soyinka’s comments came in response to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently directed the Department of Defense to prepare for possible action in Nigeria, accusing the government of failing to prevent the alleged killing of Christians.
Speaking in an interview with Democracy Now, Soyinka criticized Trump’s statement, arguing that it misrepresents Nigeria’s complex situation and risks deepening sectarian divisions.
According to him, the ongoing violence should be understood as a campaign by extremist groups exploiting religion for political and economic gains, not as a battle between two faiths.
“We must separate Nigeria’s long-standing internal problems from President Trump’s recent response,” Soyinka stated.
“The Christian–Islam, or Islam-versus-the-rest kind of dichotomy has existed for decades. It became truly horrendous when politics got mixed up with religious differences.”
The Nobel laureate accused Nigeria’s political class of manipulating religion for power and allowing extremists to operate with impunity. Citing the case of a student lynched for alleged blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad, he lamented that the perpetrators faced no consequences despite clear video evidence.
“When perpetrators of such horrors go free, it reinforces the perception that a brutal war is going on between Christians and Muslims,” he said.
“In truth, we are dealing with extremists — political Islamists, sometimes known as ISWAP or Boko Haram — not with Muslims as a people.”
Soyinka further warned that these extremist groups have forged alliances with international terrorist organizations, acquiring sophisticated weaponry that often outmatches Nigeria’s security forces.
He also blamed successive administrations for their failure to curb the spread of violent fundamentalism, noting that divisive rhetoric from world leaders only worsens the situation.
“When we have sweeping statements like Trump’s, it doesn’t make things easier,” Soyinka noted. “It widens the zones of hostility and makes peaceful resolution even more difficult.”
Touching on his revoked U.S. visa, Soyinka quipped that Trump should be “flattered” by his past comparison of the American president to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
“I have a feeling I haven’t been flattering Donald Trump — and I see no reason to do that,” he said.
“Trump has said he likes war — I’m quoting him. Idi Amin was a man of war and brutality. He even called himself the last king of Scotland and claimed he would liberate Scotland from the British.”
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