The EFF has slammed the US airstrikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day as imperialist aggression that should be viewed as a sign that the whole continent is in danger.
The red berets brigade called out US President Donald Trump’ classification of the attacks as an offensive against Islamic State as opportunistic and dishonest.
According to the EFF, the US has been on a coordinated drive to use clandestine means to steal oil from oil-rich third-world countries such as Nigeria and Venezuela.
Any other political characterisation of the airstrikes in Nigeria, said the EFF, should be viewed as a distraction. And it should be rejected with contempt.
Self-appointed saviour
“What occurred is clear: the United States launched airstrikes in the northwest of
Nigeria, particularly in Sokoto State. It is claiming to target militants linked to the Islamic
State. Trump framed the attack using highly inflammatory and religiously charged
language. He is …alleging that Christians were being ‘viciously killed’. And he is positioning the United States as a self-appointed saviour,” said EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
“This narrative did not emerge in a vacuum. For weeks leading up to these strikes,
Western political figures and media outlets have deliberately overhyped and distorted
reports of violence in northern Nigeria. They reduce a complex crisis rooted in poverty,
state failure, land dispossession, and decades of instability into a simplistic and
dangerous story of ‘Christian killings by Muslims’.
“This framing is dishonest, and it is deeply reckless. Violence in northern Nigeria has
affected Christians, Muslims, and traditional communities alike. And it has been driven
by banditry, criminal networks, insurgent factions, and socio-economic collapse.”
Moral justification for undue intervention
The EFF believes invoking the religious language, especially against Muslims who are viewed with suspicion, was a tactical move on their part. This was to manufacture moral
justification for the undue military intervention.
“This mirrors a familiar pattern: the deliberate isolation and branding of enemies as Muslim terrorists. In order to strip entire regions of context, dehumanise local populations, and legitimise foreign bombs. The invocation of ‘ISIS Islamic State’ is particularly cynical. Even the Western news reports are rarely referring to it as Nigeria, and deliberately so,” said Thambo.
The EFF is of the view that the posture of the Nigerian authorities following the airstrikes is one that can be viewed as that of a country that has surrendered its sovereignty to imperialist forces.
Caution to Nigeria
“The EFF takes this opportunity to caution the government of Nigeria. It has… either through desperation or ignorance, allowed the US to conduct military operations in their territory.
“We warn the government of Nigeria that the USA has no history of making any military, economic or diplomatic interventions in any nation which are mutually beneficial. Rather, it is always to further its own imperialist and selfish ends. Including but not limited to regime change and the theft of natural resources. In the instance of Nigeria, these interests are undoubtedly in relation to oil.”
