Christian genocide narrative oversimplifies Nigeria’s security crisis - Moghalu

Christian genocide narrative oversimplifies Nigeria’s security crisis - Moghalu

Kingsley Moghalu, former deputy governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN), says the growing narrative of a “Christian genocide” in
Nigeria fails to capture the full complexity of the country’s security
challenges.

 

US President Donald Trump had, in a post shared on his Truth
Social account and the White House’s X handle on Friday, claimed that
Christians are being massacred in Nigeria, describing the situation as a
genocide.

 

In a post on X, Moghalu, a former presidential candidate,
said while extremist groups like Boko Haram operate with fanatic religious
motivations, their victims include Muslims and Christians.

 

“The bald fact is that Boko Haram is a terrorist group with
avowedly fanatic religious motivations,” he said.

 

 

“The victims of its terror include Muslims who don’t share
their extreme interpretations of Islam, and Christians.”

 

He noted that while most killings in the Middle Belt involve
predominantly Christian victims, the violence has gone beyond resource
conflicts.

 

“The narratives of a struggle for resources of land and
water and farmlands are not valid when whole communities are being massacred
and evicted from their ancestral dwellings,” he said.

 

 

“Nothing justifies this, not even a felt need for grazing
lands.”

 

Moghalu said the ongoing attacks amount to a gross violation
of human rights, underscoring that the Nigerian government has a duty to
protect all citizens and the country’s territorial integrity.

 

“The right to life and other fundamental rights are being
shredded both by Boko Haram and extremist herdsmen. This invokes the
responsibility of the Nigerian government to protect Nigerians and Nigerian
territory. Period. No excuses,” he said.

 

He urged the federal government to strengthen its security
strategy and engage foreign powers constructively, noting that international
concern over Nigeria’s insecurity stems from a perceived failure of the state
to safeguard its citizens.

 

 

“With a security strategy made evident by its effectiveness,
Nigeria should then engage the influential foreign countries expressing
interest in this matter,” he said.

 

“But we should not overlook the fact that activists and
interest groups are seeking foreign intervention because they believe their own
country has not been able to secure their lives.”

 

Moghalu added that the existence of ungoverned spaces in
Nigeria signals a breakdown in effective governance.

 

“There should be no ‘ungoverned spaces’ in any country,
because such a phenomenon is directly opposed to the concept of effective
government and governance,” he said.

 

“The existence of such spaces is evidence of state failure.”

 

Meanwhile, the federal government has rejected Trump’s move
to tag Nigeria a “country of particular concern” over Christian genocide
claims.

 

In a statement on Saturday, Nigeria’s ministry of foreign
affairs said the claims do not reflect the realities on the ground.

Source: Christian genocide narrative oversimplifies Nigeria’s security crisis - Moghalu

 - NigerianEye

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