“Africa is in grave danger,” the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the South African party of Pan-Africanist Julius Malema, has raised an alarm following a US airstrike in Nigeria.
In a four-page document, EFF strongly condemned both the actions of the US and Nigeria. He said Trump linked Nigeria to Islamic terrorism in order to have moral ground to strike, basing that on the fact that innocent Christians were being killed.
“Instead of asserting sovereignty and challenging this dangerous precedent, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a submissive press release praising “security cooperation” with the United States and describing the airstrikes as lawful and precise. This response does not reflect a confident or independent state but reflects a form of capitulation. It endorses the narrative imposed by the United States and signals to the world that African governments can be pressured, persuaded, or politically cornered into legitimising foreign military action on their own soil.”
For Malema’s party, what happened to Nigeria is a wake-up call for the entire continent, as he said the US has an interest in protecting civilians but also in accessing minerals.
“This framing is dishonest, and it is deeply reckless. Violence in northern Nigeria has affected Christians, Muslims, and traditional communities alike and has been driven by banditry, criminal networks, insurgent factions, and socio-economic collapse. By selectively amplifying a religious narrative, the United States manufactured moral justification for military intervention, turning Nigerian suffering into propaganda for imperial violence. This mirrors a familiar pattern: the deliberate isolation and branding of enemies as Muslim terrorists in order to strip entire regions of context, dehumanise local populations, and legitimise foreign bombs.”
The US President on Christmas Night said he authorised a precise and deadly strike into Nigeria’s Northwest state of Sokoto targeting ISIL.
“The EFF takes this opportunity to caution the government of Nigeria, which has, either through desperation or ignorance, allowed the United States to conduct military
operations in their territory. We warn the government of Nigeria that the USA has no history of making any military, economic or diplomatic interventions in any nation which are mutually beneficial; rather, it is always to further its own imperialist and selfish ends, including but not limited to regime change and the theft of natural resources. In the instance of Nigeria, these interests are undoubtedly related to oil.”