No, Bill Maher, there is no ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria

In caller days, coordinated attacks connected Nigeria’s nationhood person swept crossed societal media, blogs and tv outlets, alleging a alleged “Christian genocide”. These attacks, driven by overseas actors, mischaracterise Nigeria’s home conflicts, disregard its complexities and manipulate longstanding taste and resource-based tensions to beforehand sectarian agendas.

One of the figures driving this propaganda is American comedian and tv big Bill Maher, who utilized his amusement to present a sensationalised relationship alleging the systematic slaughter of Christians successful Nigeria. “I’m not a Christian, but they are systematically sidesplitting the Christians successful Nigeria. They’ve killed implicit 100,000 since 2009. They’ve burned 18,000 churches. These are the Islamists, Boko Haram,” helium said. “This is truthful overmuch much of a genocide effort than what is going connected successful Gaza. They are virtually attempting to hitch retired the Christian colonisation of an full country.” His sources are mostly fabricated claims and manipulated images from unverified outlets. These distorted narratives drew applause from his audience, portion Fox News, existent to form, amplified them.

This misinformation – aimed astatine maligning Nigeria arsenic overmuch arsenic undermining the gravity of the concern successful Gaza – is linked to Nigeria’s presumption astatine the 2025 United Nations General Assembly. By reaffirming enactment for a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict, Nigeria challenged almighty interests invested successful one-sided narratives. Delivering the connection connected behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu connected September 24, Vice President Kashim Shettima stressed Nigeria spoke for peace, not partisanship. He framed Nigeria’s stance done its past arsenic a federation that survived civilian warfare and heavy tensions, observing that “such bitter acquisition has taught america that specified unit ne'er ends wherever it begins”. He besides drew connected Nigeria’s conflict with convulsive extremism to reason that “military tactics whitethorn triumph battles measured successful months oregon years, but successful wars that span generations, it is values and ideas that present the eventual victory”.

The mischief-makers who assertion Nigeria ignored its ain pressing challenges simply due to the fact that Palestine was mentioned successful lone 1 of the 25 paragraphs could not person built their lawsuit connected a shakier foundation. Nigeria’s connection was structured astir 4 wide priorities: a request for a imperishable Nigerian spot connected the UN Security Council arsenic portion of broader organization reform; a telephone for urgent enactment connected sovereign indebtedness alleviation and expanded entree to commercialized and finance; an insistence that big countries of captious minerals should payment fairly; and an entreaty to adjacent the integer divide, echoing the secretary-general’s reminder that “AI” indispensable basal for “Africa Included”.

These points, on with the cautionary lessons shared, were twisted by those urging Nigeria to disregard the unit successful Gaza and elsewhere. This is blackmail and trivialises the genocide successful Gaza. Citizens of afflicted nations whitethorn take to disregard conflicts abroad, but authorities actors cannot. Nigeria, arsenic a UN subordinate state, bears the outgo of unit successful different regions, having participated successful 51 retired of 60 UN peacekeeping operations since its independency successful 1960. Every state astatine the UN faces home challenges, yet galore stood firmly with the radical of Palestine. In acknowledging this, Nigeria offered 1 of the assembly’s deepest truths, declaring that “None of america is harmless until each of america are safe,” and reminding the satellite that “None of america tin execute a peaceful satellite successful isolation”.

Claims of a spiritual warfare betwixt Muslims and Christians successful Nigeria are simplistic and betray ignorance of the country’s interior dynamics. Over the decades, some Muslim and Christian communities person astatine times alleged “genocide” during crises. For instance, Muslim leaders claimed genocide successful clashes astir Jos successful Plateau State, portion immoderate Christian leaders accused Muslims of campaigns against Christians successful the North Central region, often called the Middle Belt, to defy being categorised arsenic portion of the Muslim-majority North. These communal accusations amusement however the word “genocide” has often been invoked without credible evidence, inflaming tensions.

In reality, Nigeria’s conflicts are multi-faceted, driven by taste rivalries, onshore disputes and criminality, with religion often secondary. Boko Haram, which emerged successful Maiduguri, Borno State, successful 2009, positioned itself against the Nigerian authorities arsenic an apostate entity, not against immoderate azygous spiritual group. Most of its victims person been Muslims. Similarly, banditry successful bluish Nigeria often pits Fulani herders against Hausa communities, some predominantly Muslim, a stark illustration of Muslim-on-Muslim violence.

This broader discourse is important to dismantling the oversimplified communicative of one-sided persecution. Every portion of Nigeria has some Christians and Muslims surviving broadside by side, and conflicts typically unfold on assemblage oregon determination lines alternatively than strictly spiritual ones. Even during terrible unrest, specified arsenic the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–1970, the unit did not magnitude to an organised genocide of 1 religion by the different but was rooted successful governmental and socioeconomic grievances. Nigeria was past led by General Yakubu Gowon, a Christian, with Vice Admiral Joseph Edet Akinwale Wey, besides a Christian, arsenic deputy, making it intolerable to framework the warfare arsenic a run of the Muslim northbound against the Christian southeast. The aforesaid holds existent successful aboriginal communal unrest, specified arsenic the Plateau riots, driven by competing identities and resources alternatively than spiritual extermination. To contiguous these conflicts, arsenic Bill Maher does, arsenic grounds of a Christian genocide erases these realities and distorts Nigeria’s history.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a state that has faced brutal Islamist insurgencies led by Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP), for much than a decade. While Western media often item attacks connected churches and Christian communities, the world is that these terrorists are indiscriminate successful their violence. Most of Boko Haram’s victims person been Muslims, contempt the group’s hostility to Christians. Operating chiefly successful the predominantly Muslim northeast, Boko Haram has slaughtered thousands of Muslims, including clerics, colony heads and civilians it deems apostates oregon opponents.

The existent information lies successful media outlets portraying Boko Haram, a radical despised by some Muslims and Christians, arsenic typical of Islam. Boko Haram, on with ISWAP and bandit groups, dainty anyone who opposes them arsenic an enemy, careless of faith. They person bombed mosques, assassinated Muslim leaders and killed Christians, demonstrating their indiscriminate violence. To characterise this arsenic a strictly anti-Christian run is propaganda.

While Christians person undeniably suffered horrific attacks, incidents of explicitly spiritual unit represent lone a fraction of Nigeria’s homicides, and nonstop interfaith confrontations are comparatively rare. Framing Nigeria’s unit arsenic Muslims sidesplitting Christians grossly misrepresents the situation. Worse still, immoderate extracurricular groups person published inflated statistic of Christian deaths without credible methodology, often counting each unfortunate successful definite regions arsenic Christian by default oregon conflating deaths careless of motive. Such dubious claims, pushed by the likes of Bill Maher, obscure the information and trivialise the complexity of Nigeria’s conflicts.

A important information of the unit mischaracterised arsenic spiritual persecution stems from longstanding herder–farmer clashes successful the Middle Belt, driven by contention implicit onshore and water, colonisation pressures and clime change. The Fulani herders are mostly Muslim, portion the farmers travel from divers groups, galore Christian. This demographic disagreement tin make the illusion of a spiritual war, but astatine its basal are disputes implicit resources. Both sides person been perpetrators and victims.

Since 2023, President Tinubu’s medication has prioritised tackling overlapping crises, from Boko Haram successful the northeast to banditry successful the northwest, farmer–herder clashes nationwide and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) unit successful the southeast. Through operations specified arsenic Hadin Kai, Forest Sanity and Delta Safe, Nigeria has recorded large gains: implicit 13,500 terrorists neutralised, 124,000 fighters and household members surrendered, and 11,000 weapons with 252,000 rounds of ammunition destroyed successful the northeast; networks including Ali Kachalla, Halilu Sububu and Isuhu Yellow dismantled successful the northwest; and a instrumentality to mean beingness successful the southeast arsenic “sit-at-home” orders fade, attacks connected information forces diminution and much than 50 constabulary stations rebuilt. National Security Adviser Malam Nuhu Ribadu confirmed these advances, noting terrorism-related deaths person fallen from 2,600 a period earlier May 2023 to less than 200 today.

Another origin that undermines the assertion of Christian genocide is the spiritual diverseness of Nigeria’s information leadership. The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, is simply a Christian from Southern Kaduna. The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede, is besides a Christian. The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, is Christian. The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General Emmanuel Undiandeye, is Christian. The Director-General of the State Security Service, Adeola Ajayi, is Christian. The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, is Christian. The Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, is Christian. The Comptroller General of Immigration, Kemi Nandap, is Christian. This rotation telephone makes wide the absurdity of portraying Nigeria’s information constitution arsenic complicit successful a alleged Christian genocide.

The facts dismantle the mendacious communicative of a Christian genocide successful Nigeria. Christians person suffered tragic losses, but truthful person Muslims, and often connected an adjacent greater scale. This is the communicative President Tinubu is rewriting. Nowhere is determination an authoritative argumentation oregon program to eradicate Christians. Nigeria’s conflicts are grim and complex, but they centre connected terrorism, transgression and communal disputes, not religion. Terror groups termination opportunistically, striking churches, mosques, markets and villages alike. As the Tinubu-led authorities has stressed, nary Nigerian is targeted by the authorities due to the fact that of their faith. In fact, the precise conception of a state-sanctioned “Christian genocide” collapses erstwhile 1 recalls that Nigeria’s First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu is herself a Christian, an ordained pastor and a lifelong advocator of interfaith causes. These are the nuances of Nigeria’s realities that overseas media mercenaries, anxious to stoke ethno-religious divisions, neglect to grasp oregon deliberately ignore.

Propaganda to the contrary is not lone mendacious but dangerous. It risks deepening divisions erstwhile unity is astir needed. The truth, affirmed by data, is that religiously motivated killings relationship for lone a tiny fraction of Nigeria’s violence, and galore alleged spiritual attacks are entangled with taste and resource-based conflicts. Understanding this nuance is essential. It enables Nigerians and the planetary assemblage to enactment holistic solutions that fortify security, beforehand dialog and thrust development, alternatively than being misled by simplistic framings of Muslims versus Christians. Nigeria’s equipped forces, led by some Christians and Muslims, basal agreed successful defence of each Nigerians against terror.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.