US-NIGERIA DIPLOMATIC ROW ON RELIGION

The violent outbursts that occur almost on daily basis are mostly not influenced by religion

For the past 65 years, the peaceful coexistence of the world’s two major faiths—Christianity and Islam—has been at the core of Nigeria’s strength and survival. Even when there are challenges of nationhood, Nigerians have confronted them together. For the United States government under President Donald Trump to now invoke a sanction that disfigures our religious diversity and mischaracterises a complex security challenge is an unhelpful act that could jeopardise the cohesiveness and sovereign integrity of our country. Regardless of the faith they profess, most Nigerians understand that at issue is the very survival of our country as a multi-religious and multi-ethnic secular state.

Already there are reports that the US military is drawing up contingency plans for potential airstrikes in Nigeria following a directive from President Trump to Pentagon. The details are still sketchy but the “light option,” which reportedly focuses on intelligence sharing, logistics support, and joint operations with Nigerian forces against Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) that are responsible for the killings and abductions of innocent citizens may seem, at least on the surface, to be pragmatic. But it cannot be based on the false premise that “Thousands of Christians are being killed” which led to the designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern.”

 While we admit that the capacity of the state has been weakened by sundry cartels of criminal gangs operating all over the country (including in religiously and ethnically homogenous communities), there is no evidence to suggest that the multitude of violent outbursts that occur almost on daily basis has any religious colorations or undertones. The main challenge, of course, is that in the resulting weakening of state capacity, the Sahel-wide jihadist insurgency has intruded into parts of the country to conduct violent acts, including abductions and mass murder. In recent years, attacks on schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and other public facilities have been carried out by Boko Haram and ISWAP. But these lawless groups are being confronted by the Nigerian state.

 For more than a decade, the federal government has deployed the military and committed a lot of financial resources to tackle the menace. The federal government has also embarked on strengthening and re-equipping the armed forces with new weapons, including combat aircraft from the US. It is therefore unfortunate that these dangerous narratives are coming from the same country that has been helping Nigeria to tackle the challenge of internal insecurity. But we reiterate that Nigeria values its relationship with the US with whom it shares diversity, multi culturalism and pluralism as sources of national strength and resilience.

Neither the interest of the US nor that of Nigeria will be served by a characterisation that not only lacks nuance but is also potentially inflammatory. While the federal government must do more in tackling the growing insecurity, we call on the US Congress to reconsider the latest categorisation of Nigeria as a place of interest in anti-Christian violations. We urge President Trump to shun the campaign of some Christian lobby groups in Nigeria and their collaborators in the US who do not mean well for our country. We also call on all well-meaning Nigerians across the divide to speak out against this spurious allegation that can only aggravate the security situation and the cohesion of our country.

We must admit that what has given rise to these dangerous narratives is the worsening security situation and the failure of government to protect Nigerians of different faiths against terrorism and banditry. But at such a delicate time as this, the leadership of the religious organisations in the country must also recognise that this is no time to play to the gallery or fan the embers of discord. Making incendiary statements will not in any way advance the cause of peaceful co-existence in a complex and delicately balanced country. They should come together to ward off attempts to divide the country along sectarian line.

Meanwhile, if there is anything that this issue has also exposed, it is the strange statecraft of President Bola Tinubu. More than two years in office, he has refused to appoint ambassadors, not even to critical missions like the United States, China, United Kingdom, and others. How can you engage the world in absence?