YAOUNDÈ, Cameroon – As Nigerians sound the alarm over what some describe as a growing “genocide” against Christians in Africa’s most populous country, some observers are also expressing disappointment that the Department of American state has failed to single out Nigeria as a country particularly concerned about religious issues. attacks on freedom.
During the New Year holidays, reports from Nigeria suggested that predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen launched a series of attacks on Christian targets in Plateau State, leaving at least 300 people dead.
These attacks continued into the new year. On January 4, Boko Haram insurgents killed a pastor and at least 13 members of his church, according to the local news site “Sahara Reporters.” Pastor Ayuba was the leader of a congregation of the Church of Christ in the Nations.
Fifty more Christian lives have been lost in attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen in Borno and Kaduna states, according to Release International partners.
In his New Year message, Plateau State Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang compared what is happening to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it is a distortion of the facts to describe these unnecessary and unprovoked attacks on our people as a clash between farmers and herders, as has always been the traditional narrative. Let’s call a spade a spade, it’s simple genocide,” Mutfwang said.
On January 9, the governors of Nigeria’s six north-central states paid a condolence visit to Mutfwang, during which they too spoke of genocide.
Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum and Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, said during the visit: “We saw a similar situation in Rwanda, (so) I will not call what is happening passes into the crisis of the farmers and breeders of the Plateau. . It’s not.”
“We saw what happened in Rwanda and fortunately the four of us governors were there and we listened to the President of Rwanda when he told us about the courage he took to invite everyone involved and look at the root causes,” says Sule.
At least 52,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2009, according to the International Society for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (“Intersociety”), an international monitoring group that tracks the genocide in Nigeria.
Last year, Fulani herdsmen were responsible for the deaths of at least 3,500 Christians, the group said.
The director of the Christian-based human rights organization said the genocide of Christians in Nigeria was being carried out with the complicity of the government.
“The Tinubu government is part of the butchery machinery,” Emeka Umeagbalasi said. Nodereferring to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who took office at the end of March.
“Fulani jihadists came to power under the Buhari administration and were able to take control of everything,” he said, asserting that Tinubu is determined to continue this legacy. The reference was Nigeria’s previous government led by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“People like us do not expect any policy change unless the Tinubu government is forced to do so internationally,” Emeka said.
In terms of international pressure, some observers have been frustrated that the US State Department has not designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” regarding religious freedom violations.
In a statement, the independent US Commission on International Religious Freedom objected that neither Nigeria nor India had been flagged by the State Department, calling the omissions “inexplicable.”
On January 4, the State Department designated the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, the DPRK, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern (CRC) for engaging in or tolerating particularly serious violations of religious freedom.
Emeka said international pressure should be brought to bear on the Tinubu administration if Nigerian Christians are to be put on the path to freedom.
“The destiny of Nigerian Christians is in the hands of international state actors and non-state actors to exert enough pressure on the government of Nigeria and compel the government of Nigeria to do the needful,” Emeka said. Node.
He said one way to compel government action is to tie foreign aid to religious freedom. Otherwise, he added, “the massacres will continue and have catastrophic consequences, including the total Islamization of the Middle Belt.”
Despite continued attacks, the Christian Association of Nigeria, an ecumenical body that includes the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, called for calm.
“In the face of these adversities, it is imperative that we, as a people, refuse to become discouraged. Instead, we must come together and remain resolute in our commitment to building a united, peaceful and prosperous nation,” said the president of the association, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, a member of Christ Holy Church International.
“As we look to the year ahead, let us do so with a renewed sense of purpose and an unwavering commitment to fostering a better future for our beloved Nigeria. Let us draw strength from our faith, our shared values and our collective determination to overcome the obstacles we face,” Okoh said.
