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The designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the United States President, Donald Trump, has drawn a lot of concern in Nigeria. Trump is angry at the reported severe violations of religious freedom and persecution of Christians in the country. Some 3,100 Nigerian Christians out of the global 4,476 are said to have been killed. Trump threatened to attack Nigeria if the government failed to address the killings.
CPC designation is an official classification under the US International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and its amendment of 1999. A nation is so designated if it is found to be engaging in severe systematic violations of religious freedom such as torture or inhuman treatment based on religion, prolonged detention without charges, and severe denials of rights to life, liberty or security because of one’s faith.
Trump first designated Nigeria as a CPC in December 2020 during his first term in office. The Joe Biden administration delisted the country in 2021 on the grounds that progress had been made. The latest designation was occasioned by intense lobbying by some members of the US Congress and advocacy groups. Senator Ted Cruz was in the forefront of it all. They alleged targeted attacks against Christians by extremist groups and government’s inability to stop them. Beyond the threat to attack Nigeria, there could be other measures such as economic sanctions and withdrawal of military aid to Nigeria. Some other countries on the CPC list include Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Eritrea, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia.
It is true that terrorists have killed thousands of Christians in different parts of Nigeria, especially in Benue and Plateau States. An Igbo trader, Gideon Akaluka, was beheaded in 1994 in Kano for alleged blasphemy. Another trader, Bridget Agbahime, 74, was beaten to death in Kano in June 2016 for purported blasphemy. In May 2022, Islamic fundamentalists stoned and burned a student, Deborah Yakubu, alive in Sokoto. They also accused her of blasphemy. Nevertheless, it is pertinent to note that what is at play is not genocide against Christians but a high rate of insecurity which does not have any religious colouration. It affects people of all faiths including Christians, Muslims, animists and atheists.
President Bola Tinubu rightly dismissed the designation of Nigeria as a CPC, saying the country has constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths. “Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it,” the President said. He has continued to make consultations with global leaders on the way forward. He had recently met with the President of Sierra Leone and Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Julius Maada Bio, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He also met with the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; and the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama.
What the US should do is to assist Nigeria in combating the evil of terrorism in the country. It should collaborate with Nigeria in strengthening its intelligence network. The Muhammadu Buhari administration bought Tucano Fighter jets from the US to help fight the insurgents. The Trump administration should supply the country more sophisticated weapons that could help wipe out the terrorists in the country.
On its part, President Bola Tinubu should fast-track the appointment of ambassadors to some key countries. Since 2023 when the President withdrew these ambassadors, he has not replaced them. This does not augur well for Nigeria’s diplomatic relations with other countries. In bad situations like this, ambassadors are the ones who intervene to explain the plans and programmes of the government and help douse rising tension.
Nigerian government should also get more serious in tackling the spate of insecurity in the country. The concern of some foreign powers is the existence of fifth columnists in Nigeria’s security circles. This fuels mistrust and lack of confidence in the country’s security agencies. Government should endeavour to fish out these saboteurs and deal with them decisively. The Nigerian government should interface with the US government at the highest diplomatic level. It should also engage some other countries to help us defeat terrorism. It is obvious that the US is misinformed about the security crisis in Nigeria.
The Trump administration should realize that intervening unnecessarily in other countries’ affairs will only escalate things. Its intervention in Libya, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere has only left those countries more polarized and fragmented. It should focus on its domestic affairs, as no country is without crisis. It will be foolhardy and counterproductive to attack Nigeria on the false premise of genocide against Christians.
Trump’s threat should serve as a wake-up call on Abuja to address the rising security challenges in the country. The 1999 Constitution states that the primary function of government is the security and welfare of the people. On no account should this duty be abdicated. Irrespective of the faith of the victims, government should crush the terrorists and protect the people. It should engage religious leaders and socio-cultural groups on the way forward.
