Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has claimed that insecurity in Nigeria has escalated following recent remarks made by US President Donald Trump.

Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Bwala said the country is going through a difficult period.

“There are two theories behind the incessant security problems in Nigeria. The first is that as an election cycle approaches, these incidents tend to occur back-to-back.

“But there is an even stronger theory being discussed lately: after Donald Trump’s initial outburst, we began to witness repeated security incidents. Some people think it may be an attempt to justify talk of a possible military intervention in Nigeria,” he said.

His comments follow President Trump’s move last month to redesignate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” accusing the government of enabling what he described as Christian genocide in the West African nation.

Trump also warned the Nigerian government to act swiftly or risk US military intervention to “fish out” those responsible for unrest in the country.

The US Congress has held two sessions since Trump directed the House Appropriations Committee on October 31 to investigate the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Bwala said the Nigerian government is concerned not only about international perception but also about the actual experiences of citizens and is working to end the security crisis.

According to him, Nigeria’s demographic and geographic complexities have created areas that remain difficult to administer.

“Niger State is larger than some European countries. In northern Nigeria, which is different from the south, the cities are far apart. In the south, cities are close to each other, but in the north, travelling from one city to another feels like travelling to another country,” he said.

“Large expanses of land have little or no population and no government presence. These are the areas where these elements hide and operate from,” he added. (Channels TV)