Ex-Minister Bolaji Akinyemi Warns: Trump’s Venezuela Invasion Risks World War III, Threatens Nigeria
…..Will Trump’s gambit stabilise or shatter the global order?
By Our Correspondent
Renowned Nigerian diplomat and former Minister of External Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has issued a stark warning that the United States’ reported special forces invasion of Venezuela under President Donald Trump could ignite World War III, violating international law and exposing nations like Nigeria to grave dangers.
In an exclusive interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Prof. Akinyemi lambasted the operation as a “blatant disregard” for Venezuela’s sovereignty. He accused Trump of hypocrisy, noting the US leader’s earlier admonitions to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy against escalating the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a global war.
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“It is Trump who is now playing with the third world war, and that is frightening,” Akinyemi declared, urging Nigeria to fortify its strategic defences amid rising global volatility.
Our investigations reveal the invasion unfolded in the early hours of last week at Caracas’ Miraflores Palace, where US special forces reportedly captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Trump confirmed the operation on social media, releasing images of Maduro in custody and hailing it as a blow against “socialist tyranny.”
Sources close to the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicate the raid involved elite Delta Force units, bypassing Venezuelan air defences through advanced stealth technology
The move has ignited international fury. An emergency United Nations Security Council session saw Secretary-General António Guterres condemn the breach of territorial integrity, demanding an immediate probe.
Neighbours Mexico and Colombia issued joint statements decrying US “interventionism,” with Colombian President Gustavo Petro warning of a “new era of hemispheric instability.”Venezuela’s Power Vacuum: Oil at the Venezuela
Post-raid, Venezuela teeters on the brink of chaos. Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s sister and a key ally, has signalled willingness to negotiate with Washington, potentially unlocking access to the country’s vast oil reserves, estimated at 300 billion barrels by OPEC data.
Trump explicitly cited oil as a US priority, stating: “Venezuela’s resources belong to the free world now.”However, divisions run deep.
Pro-Maduro factions in Venezuela’s military have vowed resistance, with unconfirmed reports of skirmishes in oil-rich Maracaibo.
Analysts tracked by our team warn of refugee surges into Nigeria-friendly West African states, straining regional security.
Nigeria’s Stake in the Fray, Prof. Akinyemi, drawing from his tenure under military president Ibrahim Babangida, reiterated his decades-old advocacy for Nigeria’s “strategic power base.”
He dismissed past criticisms of his views as misguided, emphasizing that global flashpoints like Venezuela could disrupt oil markets, hike fuel prices, and embolden insurgencies in the Sahel. “Nigeria must not be a spectator,” he stressed.
Foreign Affairs Ministry sources confirmed Abuja’s cautious stance, with no official comment yet.
Diplomatic cables obtained by our reporters show Nigeria quietly backing UN calls for de-escalation, fearing echoes of US actions in Iraq and Libya.
As world powers convene, Akinyemi’s prophecy hangs heavy:
Will Trump’s gambit stabilise or shatter the global order?
