United States of America (USA) President, Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) has the capacity to do major damage to the country, especially in terms of the dampening of investor confidence, depletion of tourism and erosion of diplomatic capital, unless urgent steps are taken to transparently stop further killing of Christians in parts of the country.
President Trump not only designated Nigeria as a CPC but has also threatened economic sanctions, and, indeed, has activated action, through the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, towards possible military action against the Islamic terrorists that are responsible for the killing of Christians and destruction of their property in parts of the country.
‘Pivot Nigeria: Reframing the Lens,’ a national thought-leadership platform, created to reset the country’s reputation agenda, in a release endorsed by its founder, Victoria Uwadoka-Anyianuka, insisted that Nigeria can walk back from the reputational damage already done by President Trump’s warning “if we consider it a wakeup call and choose to do what needs to be done to end the violence whatever the reasons behind it.”
The organization, which noted that the country “has what it takes to fix what is broken and the voice to tell the story with clarity and compassion,” called for “a coordinated national effort to unite government, faith communities, and diaspora voices around tangible and visible efforts to combat terrorism and violent killings,” offering to support three key actions that it recommends.
The actions are, the launch of a weekly ‘citizen briefing’ on efforts being made to end violence nationwide, the convening of ‘multi-stakeholder roundtables’ on actions needed to protect lives and property in the most affected communities and “creation of a ‘public data-access’ initiative to provide transparent, evidence-based updates on violence, victims, and government action.”
Below is the full text of the statement:
Statement by the Founder of Pivot Nigeria on the Reputational Impact of Nigeria’s Classification as a CPC by President Trump.
“Nigeria must tell its own story with truth, action and transparency.”
November 3, 2025:
I am deeply concerned by the recent designating of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern by U.S. President, Donald Trump due to the unchecked killing of Christians.
This statement represents a serious reputational risk which can damage investor confidence, deplete tourism, and erode diplomatic capital no matter how much we contest those labels later.
For many years, Nigeria has faced painful repeated violence in some regions. Accusations of complicity by those who should protect and insinuations of state sponsored or religiously motivated killings have been going on for years. Between Nov 2022 and today, analysts and NGOs have reported an increase in deadly attacks and forced displacement across the Middle Belt, parts of the North West and North Central. There have also been reports of renewed Boko Haram/ISWAP activity in parts of the North East from 2023 till date. According to the reports, many of these attacks have targeted rural Christian communities, churches, pastors, and markets.
And here is where we must take responsibility for the statement by Donald Trump for every action or inaction is a story in itself. Did we take the various reports seriously? Did we investigate? What actions did we take to end the violence? Who knows what we have done? Our lack of action, our watered-down messaging fuels mistrust at home and damages Nigeria’s credibility abroad. This crisis we are now managing could have been prevented through timely, transparent action to protect lives and properties, as well as proactive engagement with all affected interest groups.
So now we have a diplomatic dispute, and 3 key statements from the Nigerian government in 3 days:
• President Bola Tinubu publicly rejected claims of a religious genocide and said the characterisation “does not reflect our national reality”; affirmed Nigeria “protects citizens of all faiths” and that his government engages across religious lines.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued press releases pushing back on the claims and asking foreign actors not to make unilateral characterisations; the minister and presidential advisers said they welcome assistance only if it respects Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
• Special Advisers, Bayo Onanuga, and Mohammed Idris publicly labelled some of the claims as “gross exaggeration” and argued that violence is not religiously targeted alone, pointing to attacks on both Christians and Muslims.
A reactive statement to the claims is good, but better is a proactive approach leading with truth, appropriate action alongside transparent and consistent engagement with all concerned parties.
Today we can walk back from the reputational damage already done if we consider it a wakeup call and choose to do what needs to be done to end the violence whatever the reasons behind it. Our positions are made clear not just by our statements but more by our actions or the lack thereof.
My team and I at Pivot Nigeria call for a coordinated national effort to unite government, faith communities, and diaspora voices around tangible and visible efforts to combat terrorism and violent killings. We will be happy to support three key actions we recommend:
1. Launch a weekly ‘citizen briefing’ on the efforts to end violence across Nigeria.
2. Convening of ‘multi-stakeholder roundtables’ involving government, religious leaders, civil society, and community representatives on actions needed to protect lives and properties within the most affected communities.
3. Creation of a ‘public data-access’ initiative to provide transparent, evidence-based updates on violence, victims, and government action.
Nigeria has what it takes to fix what is broken and the voice to tell the story with clarity and compassion. No one can misrepresent who we are if we own and tell our own story.
By Victoria Uwadoka-Anyianuka
Founder, Pivot Nigeria: Reframing the Lens
Source: https://globalpatriotnews.com/what-to-do-to-reverse-negative-impact-of-trumps-designation-of-nigeria-as-cpc-group
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