A former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, has called on President Bola Tinubu to shun confrontation and embrace dialogue to resolve the growing tension with President Donald Trump of the United States of America.

Bafarawa made the appeal on Tuesday in a statement made available to PUNCH Online, following a military invasion threat issued by Trump over allegations that Christians in Nigeria are facing genocide.

Bafarawa called on Tinubu to shun any confrontation with Trump and rather embrace other channels to resolve the issue, saying it is in the best interest of Nigeria to foster and strengthen its long-standing relationship.

The former governor said, “I advise President Tinubu to shun confrontation and reach out to the American government to hear Nigeria’s version of the story.

“America and Nigeria are strategic partners in international politics and diplomacy. It will, therefore, be in the best interest of Nigeria to foster and strengthen this long-standing relationship.”

Bafarawa also called on Tinubu to take the concerns of the international community on the security situation in Nigeria seriously and redouble his effort to address insurgency and other forms of criminality in the country.

He asked the President to work harder in the area of security across the country to avoid situations which triggered the threat from the US.

The former governor appealed to Nigerians to support Tinubu in his efforts to reposition the country for good.

Bafarawa said all Nigerians need to support Tinubu to succeed, considering the enormous challenges that the country is facing.

He said everyone, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, region, and even political affiliations, needs to support the President, adding that Tinubu’s success or failure is a collective one.

Bafarawa added, “I call on all Nigerians to join hands together with President Tinubu to succeed because his failure is our failure, and his success is our success. He needs our collective support.”

Recall that Trump had designated Nigeria as ‘a country of particular concern’ and threatened military action against it if the trend was not addressed. (The PUNCH)