By Emmanuel Ogebe, ESQ
Last weekend, when I was trapped in Mexico during the military operation that took out the top warlord, Nigeria didn’t say anything while the U.S., Canada and others engaged to secure their citizens evening opening a WhatsApp channel for us.
To my surprise, days later, after the military action that took out Iran’s Supreme Leader, Nigeria has made pronouncements. Why is our foreign policy so religiously-driven?
I have safely returned from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, the epicenter of the cartel violence. People there commiserated with us on the global misery unleashed by the current US leadership but grudgingly admitted that El Mencho’s take down by their government was part of the “Trump effect.”
That was interesting for me as I was in Nigeria last month – the deadliest place in the world for Christians with more deaths than the rest of the world combined for 13 out of 14 years –
where the Trump effect of the Christmas airstrikes was joyous amongst Christians and furious amongst Muslims even though a failed operation.
Similarly Iran would have been the greatest mid East country, beside Israel, due to a combination of its oil resource and rich human capital (which other oil-rich countries lack), so the question is whether this Trump “effect” which saw Iranians dancing on the streets will result in national rebirth.
Iran’s currency, the rial, has crashed significantly, losing almost 90% of its value since 2018. In 2025 alone, it suffered a devaluation of approximately 45%.
In comparison, Nigeria’s naira has also struggled, losing about 70% of its value against the dollar since June 2023. As of January 2026, the naira saw a depreciation of 40% in 2024. Since APC’s 2015 takeover at $1/197 rate, Naira has lost 590% buying power. Iran’s was caused by global sanctions for terrorism and nuclear arms and Nigeria’s caused by the opposition’s ascension and corruption.
Nigeria’s islamic extremism has devastated the north and not the whole country like Iran but Nigerians are still suffering like a country under sanctions. Nigeria and Venezuela (like Iran) are oil producing countries but account for the poorest performing national oil companies in the world. Venezuela and Nigeria had the lowest oil output in OPEC (unable to even meet production quotas) but them because of sanctions and we because of sabotage.
But apart from the fact that Nigeria is economically in the same class as Venezuela and Iran – both of whose leaders were toppled since last month – and is part of the three countries that experienced direct US military action in less than three months, Nigeria has other reasons not to throw stones from its glass house.
Iran abused diplomatic cover and used its embassy in Abuja to smuggle 10 container loads of sophisticated weapons including RPGs into Nigeria in violation of UN Sanctions in 2010.
Per media,
“ LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) — Iran’s foreign minister flew to Nigeria on Thursday to discuss an arms shipment that was seized by Nigerian officials last month and that diplomats have said could put Iran in breach of United Nations sanctions.
The foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, has pledged his government’s cooperation with an investigation into the shipment of weapons, said the Nigerian foreign minister, Odein Ajumogobia. Nigeria’s secret service intercepted the shipment two weeks ago and found that it contained rockets and other explosives. The weapons were in containers that were labeled as construction materials and had been loaded in Iran by a local trader who did not appear on any sanctions list, a shipping group based in France, CMA CGM, has said.
“I had a productive meeting with the Iranian foreign minister this evening, and he has assured us of his government’s cooperation in our ongoing investigation regarding the arms shipment,” Mr. Ajumogobia said in a telephone interview.
Nigerian officials had said earlier that Iran’s ambassador had been summoned to discuss the weapons shipment.
Diplomats in New York said Iran would appear to be in breach of the sanctions approved by the United Nations Security Council, which forbids Iran from exporting any weapons directly or indirectly that were originally loaded on its territory. But the diplomats said it was difficult to assess the specifics about the shipment seized in Nigeria, because that country had not yet notified the Security Council’s Iran sanctions committee about the seizure.
A diplomat with access to intelligence on Iran said in New York that Mr. Mottaki had gone to Abuja, the Nigerian capital, to discuss the shipment and to secure permission to bring back to Tehran two Iranians connected with the shipment. The diplomat, who spoke anonymously under the rules of diplomacy, said the Iranians were at the Iranian Embassy in Abuja and that Tehran appeared reluctant to have them questioned by the Nigerian authorities.
Nigeria’s secret service said Wednesday that it had been monitoring the movement of the cargo before it entered Lagos in July and that there was no question that Nigeria had been the intended destination.
The weapons, which were shown to journalists in Lagos after the seizure, included 107-millimeter rockets, designed to attack static targets and used by armies to support infantry units. Security experts said the heavy rockets could have been intended for the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”I documented the gravity in my report on a U.S. congressional hearing on Nigeria some years later,
“ When Carson tried to tug at heart-strings with tear-jerker stats about poverty in northern Nigeria as an apologetic for the extremist Islamism that has claimed thousands of lives in the last few years, Rep Smith said, “Poor people don’t necessarily become terrorist and killers. That’s an insult, frankly, to poor people.”
However what was by far Carson’s most insidious contribution to the hearing went largely unnoticed. Asked by Rep Smith if there was any Iranian arms connection to Nigeria, Carson said, “I’m not aware of any weapon coming into northern Nigeria from Iran.” Now this was either a bold-faced lie or inconceivable incompetence. Here’s why.
In 2010 a shipment of arms from Iran was confiscated by authorities in Nigeria. It comprised sophisticated weapons including rocket-propelled grenades etc.
The weapons were reportedly linked to staff of the Iranian embassy in Abuja, Nigeria. The Iranian foreign minister flew into Nigeria and, invoking diplomatic immunity, rescued a suspected Iranian official from hiding in the embassy and flew him home.
Now here is where it gets interesting. The Nigerian government, embarrassed and miffed by this total violation of diplomatic norms, reported this arms shipment to the United Nation’s Security Council as a violation of resolutions and sanctions sought for and obtained by the US against Iran.
When ambassador Carson denied knowledge of arms shipments from Iran to Nigeria, he was either being economical with the truth or he was being inexcusably negligent. The top diplomat for Africa cannot claim not to know of a serious international incident rising to the level of the UN Security Council on an issue driven by the US.
The question therefore arises that if ambassador Carson could be so wrong on Iran arms given his background in intelligence what else has he been wrong on and why isn’t anyone catching it?” https://justiceforjos.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/when-hilary-came-calling-2/
In light of Iran as the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism sending its Foreign Minister to personally come and rescue a wanted arms smuggler hiding in its embassy from Abuja to Teheran, it is shocking that Nigeria has recently signed cooperation agreements with Iran.
Worse still Iran trained and armed Nigeria’s Shiite illegal paramilitary forces who have been in numerous conflicts with the government. When Nigerian troops killed dozens of them, Iran led protests against Nigeria despite Iran itself killing its own citizens in thousands.
Then there is the issue with Turkey. After we exposed Turkish Airlines illegal arms smuggling into Nigeria, more recently N13 Billion worth of arms was again confiscated by Nigerian customs in shipping containers. Yet the current administration has similarly signed a security agreement with them. https://justiceforjos.wordpress.com/2020/11/26/foreign-terror-financiers-trumps-nigeria-scorecard/
Meanwhile Sheikh Gumi who advised President Tinubu to align with Turkey and others instead of the USA is himself banned from Saudi just like Osama Bin Laden was though a citizen.
America has sent six high level delegations to Nigeria in three months. This shows a willingness to partner and assist that Nigeria should neither misuse or miss. Nigeria is better poised to manage the bilateral relationship and regional security than Iran or Venezuela could. It is the only one of the three countries in which the US directly intervened in three months in which the leadership was not decapitated. A word is enough for the wise.
Emmanuel Ogebe, ESQ
