A fierce online debate has erupted between American political commentator Elias Gerasoulis, a known Loyalist of President Donald Trump, and Bashir Ahmed, a former aide to Nigerian ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. The fiery exchange on X (formerly Twitter) monitored by IgbereTV centered on a call for the United States Congress to intervene in Nigeria’s legal system regarding Islamic law.
The clash began after Ahmed reacted to a Channels TV report titled, “US Congress Urged To Pressure Nigerian Govt To Declare Sharia Law Unconstitutional, Disband Hisbah Commissions.”
The Channels TV report detailed appeals and moves for the US legislative body to pressure the Nigerian government into declaring Sharia law—practiced in several northern states—unconstitutional and to dismantle state-run Hisbah commissions, which enforce Sharia-based moral codes.
This report served as the immediate catalyst for a heated transnational debate over sovereignty, colonialism, and the nature of Nigerian democracy.
Bashir Ahmed, leading with a defense of national sovereignty, posted:
“In as much as I don’t want to continue talking about this, but I must say this what a blatant intrusion into our internal affairs! The United States has absolutely no right to dictate to us how we should live, govern ourselves or practice our faith as Nigeria is a sovereign nation with our own Constitution, democratic institutions, cultural values and legal frameworks.”
In a sharp and dismissive rebuttal, Elias Gerasoulis responded:
“Nigeria doesn’t warrant the respect of a sovereign nation. The US should approach Nigeria in the same way it approaches Venezuela.”
Ahmed, insulted by the comparison, fired back:
“It is an insult to more than 232 million people, to our Constitution and to our democratic institutions. But anyway, who do you think you are to look down on our country?”
Gerasoulis then escalated the argument with a historically charged critique:
“Nigeria is not a true country, but an artificial neo-colonial construct of the British, to empower Northern Nigerian islamists (who the British viewed as easier to control) to dominate over everyone else. But I guess you like that, considering you worked for the former despot of Nigeria Buhari (or shall I call him Jubril of Sudan). Your so-called democracy is not real democracy, but a bad joke!”
This exchange, captured in screenshots by IgbereTV, now circulating online, transcends a mere social media argument. It highlights several critical geopolitical tensions
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