For Nigerians, Trump will symbolize hope until justice restores faith in the system- Laolu Akande

Veteran journalist and former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has said that many Nigerians particularly victims of prolonged violence and injustice will continue to see U.S. President Donald Trump as a symbol of hope until justice and accountability are restored within Nigeria’s own system. Speaking on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television on Thursday, Akande, who is […]

Veteran journalist and former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has said that many Nigerians particularly victims of prolonged violence and injustice will continue to see U.S. President Donald Trump as a symbol of hope until justice and accountability are restored within Nigeria’s own system.

Speaking on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television on Thursday, Akande, who is also the host of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, emphasized that the root cause of the growing sympathy for Trump’s interventions among some Nigerians is the persistent failure of justice at home.

“There are several ways of looking at this issue. But the most important is to look at it from the point of view of justice. The people who have been victims over the years have they had any kind of justice? The answer is no,” he said.
“So how do we expect such people not to embrace the intervention of Mr. Donald Trump? How do you prevent such people from seeing what Mr. Trump is doing as a solution? We have a system where, in most cases, the perpetrators of this evil are not being brought to book at all.”

Akande noted that while Trump’s actions and statements may be controversial, the failure of Nigerian authorities to address deep-seated grievances especially those related to religious killings and targeted attacks has created a moral vacuum that allows foreign figures to be perceived as defenders of the oppressed.

He continued: “I don’t think there is any use for us to deny what is a reality. It’s true that it’s not only Christians that are being killed, but clearly there is a targeted plan that has persisted for over a decade against Christians in specific states such as Plateau and Benue. We shouldn’t deny that.”
Akande recalled how, on his own programme Inside Sources, he once began reading the names of victims of violence to draw public attention to the human cost of the tragedies.

“There was a time on Inside Sources that I started reading the names of the victims so that people can remember that these are also human beings like us who had spouses, children, parents, and whose lives were cut short.”

Akande’s comments highlight a deeper national concern: that impunity and selective justice have eroded public trust in institutions, making it easier for foreign actors to gain moral legitimacy in the eyes of aggrieved citizens.
Analysts have long observed that the ongoing conflicts in states such as Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, and Taraba are not merely religious but are often the result of weak governance, poor security coordination, and political manipulation of identity. Yet, the lack of decisive justice has allowed many Nigerians especially victims to interpret these tragedies as religious persecution.

For Akande, restoring faith in Nigeria’s justice system is the only sustainable way to counter the attraction of foreign “saviours” or external interventions. Until justice is done, he warned, victims will continue to look elsewhere for hope and validation.

“When justice is delayed or denied, people naturally gravitate toward anyone who seems to be standing up for them,” one segment analyst on his programme recently observed, reinforcing Akande’s point.

Akande’s remarks serve as a challenge to Nigerian authorities to confront the root causes of violence and impunity rather than dismissing external criticism outright. He argues that real leadership requires empathy and courage to deliver justice to victims regardless of religion, ethnicity, or region.