The Price Tag on Patriotism: America’s “Rescue Missions” and Nigeria’s New Drama By Olaitan Adesina

The Price Tag on Patriotism: America’s “Rescue Missions” and Nigeria’s New Drama
By Olaitan Adesina

If there’s one thing Americans never do, it’s charity without a receipt. Every “rescue mission,” every “democracy promotion,” and every “humanitarian intervention” usually comes wrapped in a bill. And no one understands that better than Donald J. Trump, the self-proclaimed master of the deal. To him, countries aren’t partners; they’re business ventures. You either pay up, sign up, or get smashed up.

So, when Trump suddenly discovered his compassion for Nigerian Christians, it was hard not to chuckle. The man who once suggested “bombing the hell” out of nations now wants to “save souls.” How touching. But Nigerians have seen this film before, and we know how it ends. The so-called American saviour always arrives with a camera crew, a cross, and a contract. By the time the credits roll, the oil fields are gone, the country is in ruins, and the same people who “came to help” are now bidding for reconstruction contracts.

Let’s not pretend the United States acts out of kindness. Washington never moves a muscle unless it smells profit or power. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria… the pattern is as predictable as a Nollywood plot. America enters to “protect freedom,” drops bombs that “promote democracy,” then leaves chaos behind as a “gift.” In Afghanistan, two trillion dollars later, the Taliban got the tanks and the Americans got the photo ops. That’s not foreign policy; it’s a bad investment with good publicity.

Now, Nigeria has become the latest prize on the geopolitical auction block. The reason? We dared to think independently. We said no to a U.S. military base. We refused to be a dumping ground for deported prisoners and relocated Venezuelans. We chose to build roads with Chinese loans instead of begging for Western “aid” that comes with ten pages of small print. That’s enough to bruise Washington’s ego.

Trump, of course, takes such things personally. The man doesn’t like being ignored. He still believes the world revolves around his Truth Social account. And since Nigeria refused to dance to his tune, he’s now humming a new song about “Christian genocide” and “military action.” Very convenient. When Israel bombs Gaza, he looks the other way. When Christians kill Muslims in South Sudan, he develops selective blindness. But when Nigeria’s complex violence can be twisted into a Christian-versus-Muslim narrative, suddenly, it’s headline material.

And speaking of headlines, there’s growing suspicion that the recently foiled alleged coup attempt in Nigeria had invisible fingerprints from across the Atlantic. It wouldn’t be the first time America “encouraged democracy” through the back door. The sudden spike in anti-government propaganda, the whisper campaign about a “failing state,” and the oddly timed outcry over religious violence all fit a pattern. If you can’t control a country with trade deals, you destabilize it until it begs for control.

Let’s be honest: the Trump doctrine is not about saving Nigeria. It’s about punishing disobedience. The man sees nations the way he sees real estate, assets to be flipped, tenants to be evicted, and deals to be milked. Nigeria is simply a big property with oil in the ground and leaders who occasionally forget who’s supposed to be the landlord. So now he’s rattling sabres, threatening intervention, and talking tough. It’s the international version of a debt collector banging on your gate.

Unfortunately, President Tinubu’s foreign policy hasn’t helped matters. Two years in power, and Nigeria still has no ambassador in Washington. It’s like trying to play chess without showing up to the board. While our Ministry of Foreign Affairs fumbles with protocol and press statements, Washington is scripting the next episode of “Saving Nigeria from Itself.” You can already hear the sales pitch: “Operation Liberty Shield – Coming Soon to a Failing State Near You.”

But Nigerians must resist this dangerous seduction. American intervention has never brought peace anywhere. Ask Libya, where they promised democracy but delivered dismemberment. Ask Iraq, where “freedom” came riding on tanks and ended in mass graves. Ask Syria, where they armed rebels, bombed the government, and left behind a jigsaw puzzle of militias and misery.

Nigeria’s problem is not religion. Bandits in Benue are not preaching sermons. Terrorists in Plateau are not defending doctrine. They are criminals seeking power, land, and ransom. To label this madness a “Christian persecution” is to miss the point and invite the wrong kind of attention. Bullets don’t check baptismal certificates before they fly.

If Trump and his cheerleaders truly care about Nigeria, they should start by minding their own chaos. There’s enough violence in American schools to keep them busy. Instead, they’re turning our pain into political theatre and testing how far they can push before we crack. And when we do, the same people will arrive with humanitarian aid and CNN coverage, smiling for the cameras while the country burns.

The truth is simple: no one is coming to save us. Not the Americans, not the Chinese, not the BRICS, not even our own politicians, unless we force them to. Nigeria must fix Nigeria. That means strengthening intelligence, rebuilding trust, exposing the financiers of terror, and treating insecurity as a national emergency instead of a press-release opportunity.

As for Trump, he should remember that Nigeria is not one of his golf courses. We don’t need another “deal.” We just need to survive our own leaders without importing someone else’s wars.

So, to our friends in Washington: thank you for your concern, but we’ll handle our mess in-house. We’ve seen what happens when America comes to “help.” The only thing they rescue is their own interests, and even that, they usually bill by the hour.

Olaitan Adesina is a writer, poet, and social commentator. He writes from Akure, Ondo State