Legal practitioner and social critic Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor has accused some Nigerian politicians of prioritizing self-interest over national security, in reaction to US President Donald Trump’s threat of military intervention in Nigeria over alleged Christian genocide.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Ejiofor argued that many politicians are angry because insecurity in Nigeria has become a profitable enterprise for them.

“America sneezes and Nigeria catches a fever. When Donald Trump recently declared his intention to ‘wipe out the monsters committing genocide against Christians in Nigeria,’ you could almost hear the political class jump in unison,” he said.

Ejiofor criticized politicians who suddenly claim to defend Nigeria’s sovereignty, despite failing to protect citizens in past crises, such as the Chibok and Dapchi abductions or attacks on farmers in Benue.

“The noise isn’t about patriotism. It’s about self-preservation. Too many people have turned insecurity into a thriving enterprise: those who negotiate ransoms, supply arms, collect security votes without securing anything, and profit politically from fear,” he added.

He stressed that the prospect of a foreign force dismantling these networks “terrifies them, not because they love Nigeria, but because it would collapse their cash cow.”

Ejiofor also highlighted the human cost of Nigeria’s security failures, recounting a visit to an IDP camp in Abuja, where he saw toddlers who have known only life in displacement.

“Sovereignty over what? Over ungoverned territories? Over mass graves? Or over a nation that negotiates with killers in broad daylight?” he questioned.