Don’t militarise Port Harcourt, Ajadi tells Trump

…Calls for Assistance to Borno, Plateau, Benue, Kwara

Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, a Nigerian advocate of good governance and social reform, has cautioned U.S. President Donald Trump against considering proposals to establish an American military base in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, describing such a move as a threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty and economic stability.

Ajadi’s warning followed comments by U.S. foreign policy expert Dr. Walid Phares, who on Sunday urged Trump to create an “emergency base” in Port Harcourt — which he described as “the main port city of the Biafra region” — to deter Boko Haram and other jihadist groups, while enabling rapid humanitarian support.

Phares, Co-Secretary General of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Group, wrote on his X handle that such a base would allow “rapid deployment of international humanitarian aid, particularly assistance from American churches,” and could even involve “targeted strikes against jihadist forces” if the Nigerian government fails to contain them.

Reacting to the suggestion, Ambassador Ajadi said that while Nigeria welcomes international assistance in combating insecurity, it must reject any arrangement that threatens its sovereignty or exposes its natural resources to foreign control.

“The U.S. government’s support in helping Nigeria fight insecurity is welcome,” Ajadi said. “But Nigeria must not allow any foreign power to establish a military base within our oil-rich regions. They must not tamper with our natural resources or cross the boundaries of our sovereignty.”

Ajadi, who contested the 2023 general elections under the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), stressed that Port Harcourt — a critical economic hub in the Niger Delta — should never host a foreign military installation.

“The Port Harcourt area is one of our key economic lifelines,” he noted. “If assistance is truly humanitarian, it should go to states like Borno, Plateau, Benue, and Kwara, where insurgency and violent attacks are prevalent — not our oil-producing regions.”

Ajadi urged Trump to support Nigeria through peaceful, diplomatic means, rather than strategies that mirror foreign interventions in Libya, Iraq, or Syria — countries still grappling with instability years after external involvement.

“President Trump should help promote peace and stability in Nigeria,” he said. “But he must not repeat interventions that devastated places like Libya and Iraq.”

He also called on the Nigerian government to manage any foreign security collaboration with transparency, ensuring national interest is prioritised over short-term solutions.

“We must learn from history,” he cautioned. “Africa has suffered from interventions that promised peace but left nations divided. Nigeria must not repeat that mistake.”

As terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping persist across several regions, Ajadi emphasised the importance of strengthening internal security capacity through investment in local defence systems, community policing, and inter-state cooperation.

“Foreign support can only complement what we build from within,” he reiterated. “Nigeria’s security must be home-grown, people-driven, and anchored on our national interest.”

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