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By John Ogunsemore
Ace journalist and former presidential aide, Dr. Reuben Abati, said many of those who opposed the deployment of United States troops to Nigeria had expected President Bola Tinubu to be disgraced like immediate-past Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro.
He said this in an opinion piece titled, “Welcoming the American troops” published on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Defence Headquarters confirmed that about 100 US troops plus equipment had arrived in Nigeria.
The DHQ added that their arrival was “planned and deliberate” following a formal request by the Federal Government of Nigeria to the US government to support a clearly defined military training requirement, technical support and intelligence sharing with the members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Abati wrote, “It should come as no surprise to anyone that American troops are now effectively on the ground in Nigeria to assist the country in fighting Boko Haram and Islamic State insurgents and terrorists who have been tormenting the country for about two decades.
“Yet there are certain Nigerians at home and abroad who are indulging in the hypocrisy of accusing the Tinubu administration of handing over Nigerian territory to the Americans to set up military bases, and to turn Nigeria into a theatre for proxy war between the United States and others like China and Russia, who have established presence in the Sahel region and much of Africa.”
Abati argued that Tinubu’s critics wanted him given the Nicolas Maduro treatment by the US government.
On January 3, 2026, the US launched a military strike in Venezuela, capturing the country’s president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an operation codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve.
US President Donald Trump had accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel and “emptying his prisons and insane asylums” and “forcing” its inmates to migrate to the US.
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On October 31, 2025, Trump redesignated Nigeria “a country of particular concern” where Christians are being persecuted by Muslim Jihadists with links to the Islamic State.
Trump, who had promised to come into Nigeria gun-a-blazing, sent Tomahawk missiles into the country to bomb identified camps of terrorists in Sokoto State on December 25, 2025.
Abati lauded the Tinubu government for its diplomatic prowess that turned an apparently angry Trump White House into a military ally.
He flayed Tinubu’s critics for ignoring reality.
Abati wrote, “Some commentators have protested that Nigeria is giving too much away to the United States in a lamentable demonstration of a neo-colonial dependency which compromises Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“They add that it is ironic that the same country where youths opposed the proposed 1963 Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact, is now the same country, 63 years later that cannot defend itself and is now running to other countries: United States, Turkey, and the same old Britain for security assistance and co-operation.
“The naysayers overlook the fact that the times have changed: 1963 is not 2026, the dynamics of international relations have changed. There was no global terrorism in 1963 requiring a multi-pronged approach and the current level of global co-operation.
“Besides, we are in Trump’s world where America is the primary and superior power. Those who criticise the Tinubu administration appear to be disappointed.
“In their mind, they would have wanted the United States to continue to bomb Nigeria, send troops for ground operations, and possibly create a situation where the current talk about Tinubu’s second term would have been impossible. In their mind, they would have wanted Tinubu to be given the Nicolas Maduro treatment and taken to the United States.”
