In the wake of the dramatic U.S. military operation that saw Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife captured by American forces, a former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Lai Olurode, has issued a stark warning to Nigerians.
In a statement released in Osogbo on Sunday, the academic heavyweight cautioned those calling for Donald Trump to intervene in Nigeria’s security crisis, arguing that the fall of Caracas should serve as a chilling lesson in modern geopolitics.
Prof. Olurode suggested that the “rescue” many Nigerians are praying for might come with a price that erases national sovereignty. He asserted that the invasion of Venezuela exposes the true motive behind the Trump administration’s aggressive foreign policy: energy dominance.
“With the invasion of Venezuela and the seizure of its President together with its oil fields, the very notions of sovereignty, tolerance of diversity, and democracy have been reduced to a balderdash,” Olurode stated.
He further clarified that the U.S. interest in African affairs is rarely about humanitarian protection: “It is now evident that America is neither after weapons of mass destruction nor interested in the claim of Christian genocide in Nigeria. America’s primary concern and motivation is the control of global energy resources. Unlike most of its predecessors in office, President Trump does not respect the right of nations to be themselves.”
The former INEC boss painted a grim picture of a world under the current U.S. administration, describing Trump’s approach as a return to “the survival of the fittest.” He argued that the capture of a sitting president is a signal that no small nation is safe from American hegemony.
“The notion of sovereignty of nations isn’t in his dictionary. He is desperate to return the world to the era of Darwinism, indeed, the survival of the fittest. The rights of small and weak nations are vulnerable to being trampled upon at will under Trump. Ostensibly, Trump’s target energy resources, but it’s obvious that this is even a smokescreen for global hegemony in knowledge production, communication and culture,” the statement read.
Olurode warned that Trump’s “philosophical conviction as a realist cannot help but be an impediment to global peaceful coexistence,” adding that “with Trump’s aggressive behaviour, no country, even in Europe, will ultimately be safe.”
Addressing specific segments of the Nigerian population—particularly those seeking protection for the Christian community or resistance against what they term “internal colonialism”—Olurode urged a radical “rethink.”
“Nigerians who are calling on America to come to Nigeria and rescue its Christian population and protect Nigeria from internal colonialism, should have a rethink. America and its cronies in and outside Nigeria are narrowly for America’s Caucasian population and not the generality of even Americans,” he insisted.
Prof. Olurode concluded his intervention by calling on the international community to unite against what he views as a breakdown of international law. He maintained that the recent events in Venezuela set a dangerous precedent that cannot be justified by any democratic standard.
“I thereby call on all civilised nations to join hands in the promotion of civilisation, global peace and the right of nations to govern themselves, and thus the commitment to popular empowerment,” Olurode said, stressing that “America’s attack on Venezuela and the seizure of Maduro remain indefensible on any rational ground.”
As debates over the legality of the U.S. strike on Caracas continue to rage globally, Olurode’s message serves as a sobering reminder for Nigerians to look inward for solutions rather than toward Washington.
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