Foreign policy expert Richard Grenell has warned the Obama administration to “wake up” to the growing threat of Nigeria turning into an Islamic state, leading to other African nations also capitulating to Muslim extremists.

In an opinion column for The Washington Times, Grenell revealed that a leading candidate in the Nigerian general election later this month is a sympathiser of the Boko Haram terror group and plans to install strict Sharia Law if he’s elected.

General Mohammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress is facing off against incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan on March 28 in the African continent’s most populous country.

Buhari has spoken defensively about Boko Haram, even though the evil group has kidnapped and enslaved hundreds of young girls. And he has been personally been selected by the terrorists to lead its negotiations with the government.

“Western foreign policy observers pre-occupied with the rise of ISIS in the Middle East should wake up to the reality unfolding in Nigeria,” wrote Grenell, a former spokesman for four United States Ambassadors to the United Nations, most recently Ambassador Zal Khalilzad.

“Buhari’s election as head of state would be a disaster for Africa. It would also signal trouble for the West’s fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and terrorism throughout the Middle East. The decision by the 73 million registered Nigerian voters could have a profound impact on the future of Africa.”

Buhari even appears to be advocating violence while pushing for the moral and religious code of Sharia Law, according to Grenell.

“I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria,” Buhari said. “God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country.”

But Grenell wrote, “Agitation? Is this an indication that Mr. Buhari supports violence because the end goal of the terrorist attacks throughout Nigeria and Africa is an Islamic state? It is a legitimate question that should be asked by leaders of the Obama administration.”

Boko Haram, which has pledged its support to ISIS, is based in northern Nigerian and hopes to rule the country with Sharia Law.

The group, which recently killed 54 people in Nigeria by using four suicide bombers, is also taking terrorist actions in neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon to force them to adopt an Islamic state as well.

Grenell warned that Nigeria could become “a tipping point” in Africa in the same way that Tunisia kicked off the Arab Spring in the Middle East.

“The West, and specifically the Obama Administration, needs to wake up to the growing problem,” wrote Grenell. “The Nigerian economy has been growing faster than South Africa’s. Imagine what Nigeria could do for Africa if it was also free of Boko Haram’s violence.

“The Obama administration should be doing more to ensure Africa's most populous country doesn’t slip away.”

•Text courtesy of Newsmax.com. Photo shows Buhari.