The Coming of Trump and the Rising Genocides -By Abdulkadir Salaudeen

Since the United States President Donald Trump threatened to invade Nigeria and the US Department of War signaled its readiness, things have been topsy-turvy. Cases of kidnappings, killings, and general insecurity have ballooned to an alarming rate, which could be said to be unprecedented since Tinubu took over the mantle of rulership more than two years ago.

The frequency of attacks and kidnappings calls for an urgent response from the government. The only response from the government so far is denial. While killings are ongoing, the Nigerian government keeps denying ‘genocide’ against Christians in Nigeria.

Like the Nigerian government, the Reverend-father-turned-Governor in Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, also openly made a denial. Governor Alia, by implication, calls Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, who reported Christian genocide, a blatant and pathological liar—considering the fact that Anagbe’s emphasis on genocide against Christians was majorly on Benue State. I cannot just understand why a prominent Bishop in Benue State and the State Governor (also a reverend father) would be on a different page on a serious matter of life and death.

Alia said, “We do not have any jihad in Nigeria. I’m speaking to you as a reverend father and as a governor. If anything like that were happening in Benue or any part of Nigeria, I would be the first to raise the alarm.” Governor Alia reiteratedly dismissed claims that religious genocide is taking place in the state. He admitted that, though the state, like many other states, faces serious security challenges, the situation does not amount to genocide.

On Tuesday, while speaking on Piers Morgan’s show, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, did well to dispute figures by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), which claimed that over 50,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2009, with 18,000 churches destroyed.

However, Tuggar spoiled the show when he was pestered for the exact figure. He said, “In the last five years, I can categorically tell you that 177 Christians have been killed. The number of those injured are 98, while seven were abducted.”

177 Christians in five years? In a single attack in Benue State less than six months ago, those reportedly killed were around two hundred people. This is not how to prevaricate with statistics. This is not being diplomatic with figures; it is a lack of tactics in defending government failure. Can’t Tuggar avoid citing figures and just explain that the country’s violence affects all and sundry, including Christians, Muslims, and other groups?

This is exactly how Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church, disputed the claims of Christian genocide while addressing journalists on Tuesday without offending the Christians. The Pope admitted that Christians have been killed but pushed aside the Christian genocide narrative. In his words, “I think in Nigeria, in certain areas, there is certainly a danger for Christians, but for all people. Christians and Muslims have been slaughtered.”

Tuggar again contradicted himself, saying, “We are not hiding any facts, but, as I said, we don’t go about trying to identify a Nigerian’s faith when they have lost their lives.” So, how did Tuggar arrive at that ridiculous figure since the government he represents doesn’t go around identifying the faith of Nigerians kidnapped or massacred by bandits?

At this critical juncture of Nigeria’s existence, we should be very careful about how these issues of killings and kidnappings are framed. The kidnapped schoolgirls in Kebbi were immediately framed as Christians. The Satanic errand guys, at home and abroad, are eager to throw Nigeria into a religious inferno while they watch. Before the list of the kidnapped schoolgirls was out, they argued they were Christians because northern Muslim females don’t go to school, not to talk of boarding school. However, these Satanic agents were disappointed when the list revealed entirely Muslim names.

So, what exactly is genocide? I checked my dictionary; you can check yours too. It tells me that genocide is “the systematic and deliberate destruction of a group of people, typically by killing substantial numbers of them, on the basis of their ethnicity, religion, or nationality.” In this literal sense, I find it difficult to believe or conclude there is ethnic or religious genocide in Nigeria. If there is, since killings and kidnappings started many years ago, no single Christian, except if he or she disguises, should be seen in states like Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, or Sokoto by now. No Yoruba or Igbo should be seen still breathing in the aforementioned states.

Let’s turn the binoculars to the South. If there had been ethnic or religious genocide in the South, no single Muslim, Hausa, Kanuri, or Fulani should be found working or trading, except he or she disguises, in states like Bayelsa, Imo, Rivers, and Ondo.

I checked my dictionary again. It says, by extension, genocide is also defined as “the systematic killing of substantial numbers of people on other grounds.” This gives me a clearer picture. The last time I can recall genocide taking place somewhere in Nigeria was when the Boko Haram group first declared war against the Nigerian State. Even then, the genocide was limited to the North East, the capital of Borno (Maiduguri), and Yobe (Damaturu), to be specific. Yet, the genocide was not against any ethnic or religious group. It was against men in uniform (military and police officers) and Yan Boko (the educated class). These two classes of people were then systematically and deliberately killed.

But if genocide is used metaphorically as a reference to large-scale destruction of lives and property, I think ‘genocide’ perfectly describes what is going on presently in Nigeria. In that case, just as there is genocide against Muslims and Christians, so is ‘genocide’ against travelers and students. There is ‘genocide’ against Nigerian farmers and against all Nigerians who do not belong to the ruling class. There is ‘genocide’ against Nigerian resident doctors, Nigerian lecturers, Nigerian teachers, Nigerian civil servants, and all Nigerians who could not live a decent life and are vulnerable to attacks by bandits and terrorists.

Due to the general insecurity in Nigeria and widespread government-induced democratized poverty in the country that discriminates against no one, Nigerians have developed a lot of phobias. We have developed phobia to travel, phobia to go to houses of worship, phobia to eat three square meals, phobia to marry as a single, phobia to add more…, and in fact, phobia to close our eyes while asleep. The ‘genocide’, as I wrote two weeks ago, isn’t only against Christians but against Nigerians.

Reportedly pained by the kidnappings of schoolgirls in Kebbi State and worshippers in Kwara State (my state), President Tinubu decided to stay back, having finalized a scheduled trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, to attend the 20th G20 Summit and 7th AU-EU Summit, respectively. The President’s decision to stay back is commendable, but that would not stop the new current of attacks.

Also, the reiterated directive of President Tinubu to the security agencies to do everything possible to rescue the 24 schoolgirls abducted by the bandits is the very rhetoric Nigerians are used to. It will not stop the move to empty Nigerians by the agents of death. What the President should do is address the problem of insecurity from its root. Sponsors of terror are known to the government. Taking drastic action on the findings of Danjuma Ali-Keffi, a major general (rtd), which exposed how top officials, a top banker, and top military brass were involved in terror financing would be a good starting point.

Tinubu should put 2027 aside. The fact that our batified judges have finally and unpretentiously ‘decamped’ to APC and now sing “on your mandate we shall stand” only depicts us as unserious people who really need Trump’s vicious and sweet intervention. But would Trump’s intervention herald any good? I join other commentators who think engaging mercenaries, like former President Jonathan did, would be better. With mercenaries, Nigeria would not need to trade its sovereignty.

Lastly, I plead to all Nigerian Christians and Muslims, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, and others to live in peace. We should not allow agents of death to stoke the ember of enmity among us. We are too wise and sufficiently educated to be manipulated. Let’s not be fooled and divided in the name of religion and ethnicity. May the Almighty restore peace to our country.

Abdulkadir Salaudeen 

salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com