President Donald Trump (left) and President Bola Tinubu .
By Anietie Akpan
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, representing Ondo South Senatorial District, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may deploy a liberalism strategy anchored on cooperation, corporations, and collaboration to end insecurity and strengthen ties with global partners, including the United States.
Ibrahim, who chairs the Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, dismissed reports of tension between President Tinubu and former U.S. President Donald Trump, saying both leaders share liberal democratic values that favour dialogue over dispute.
In a statement personally signed and released on Sunday to newsmen, the lawmaker urged Nigerians to “calm down,” noting that “democratic liberal states don’t go to war with one another.”
“In cooperation and collaboration, we engage and determine a new international order in a geocentric system,” he said.
Blending humour with intellect, Ibrahim described himself as a close associate of both leaders.“Tinubu and Trump will not fight one another. What is more, T vs T or T plus T is usually T², no further mathematics is required,” he noted.
The senator revealed that he once lived in Trump Tower, describing Trump as his former landlord and Tinubu as his political father.“I know them, their praxis, and their taxonomies,” he added, echoing Winston Churchill’s line that “they simply jaw-jaw, not war-war.”
His remarks follow controversy over Trump’s recent comments alleging a “genocide” against Christians in Nigeria, a claim that has sparked global reactions and diplomatic concern.
The Federal Government has since dismissed Trump’s comments as “misleading and unreflective of reality,” stressing that insecurity in Nigeria affects both Christians and Muslims and is driven largely by terrorism, banditry, and resource conflicts.
Analysts say President Trump’s remarks could strain Nigeria-U.S. relations. But Senator Ibrahim’s intervention, they note, underscores the need for calm diplomacy, constructive dialogue, and international cooperation in addressing security challenges.
