The Spiritual Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Babatunde Elijah Ayodele, has cautioned the Nigerian government over what he described as a “dangerous” security partnership with the United States.
Speaking during a recent media session, the cleric warned that the growing collaboration between Nigeria and the U.S. in security matters could have negative consequences for the country if not carefully managed.
According to him, foreign intervention will not provide lasting solutions to Nigeria’s internal security challenges. He urged the government to be vigilant and prioritize strengthening local capacity rather than relying heavily on external forces.
Primate Ayodele expressed concern that the presence of U.S. military personnel in Nigeria may not translate into the expected benefits in the fight against terrorism and insecurity.
“The U.S. Army is in Nigeria now. People are celebrating their presence, but this is a bad partnership. Sincerely, it is not a good relationship for the country,” he said.
He further questioned whether foreign assistance is the right path for addressing Nigeria’s security problems, suggesting that such partnerships could come with unintended consequences.
“America coming to help us to fight terrorist, will Nigeria military go to help America to fight their own problems? Are we not the ones to solve our problems ourselves? Yes, either our military are praising them or not Nigeria will regret having this relationship with America because so many things are going to come in the process. partnership because so many things will come in between” he added.
The cleric emphasized that national security issues require internal solutions driven by local knowledge, strategy, and commitment, rather than dependence on external intervention.
