A United States foreign policy expert and former spokesman for four United States Ambassadors to the United Nations, Richard Grenell has written an open letter warning the US government to ‘wake up’ to the threat of Nigeria turning into an Islamic state, leading to other African nations also capitulating to Muslim extremists.
In an opinion column for The Washington Times, Grenell wrote that General Mohammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, is a sympathizer of the Boko Haram terror group and plans to install strict Sharia Law if he’s elected.
Buhari had sometimes spoken defensively about Boko Haram and he had been personally been selected by the terrorists to lead its negotiations with the government sometime ago, Grenell pointed out.
“Western foreign policy observers pre-occupied with the rise of ISIS in the Middle East should wake up to the reality unfolding in Nigeria,” wrote Grenell.
“Buhari’s election as head of state would be a disaster for Africa. It would also signal trouble for the West’s fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and terrorism throughout the Middle East. The decision by the 73 million registered Nigerian voters could have a profound impact on the future of Africa.”
Grenell said Buhari even appears to be advocating violence, while pushing for the moral and religious code of Sharia Law.
“I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria,” he quoted one of Buhari’s statements. “God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country.”
But Grenell wrote, “Agitation? Is this an indication that Mr. Buhari supports violence because the end goal of the terrorist attacks throughout Nigeria and Africa is an Islamic state? It is a legitimate question that should be asked by leaders of the Obama administration.”
Boko Haram, which has pledged its support to ISIS, is based in northern Nigerian and hopes to rule the country with Sharia Law.
The group, which recently killed 54 people in Nigeria by using four suicide bombers, is also taking terrorist actions in neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon to force them to adopt an Islamic state as well.
Grenell warned that Nigeria could become “a tipping point” in Africa in the same way that Tunisia kicked off the Arab Spring in the Middle East.
“The West, and specifically the Obama Administration, needs to wake up to the growing problem,” wrote Grenell. “The Nigerian economy has been growing faster than South Africa’s. Imagine what Nigeria could do for Africa if it was also free of Boko Haram’s violence.
“The Obama administration should be doing more to ensure Africa’s most populous country doesn’t slip away.”
