"GENOCIDE IN NIGERIA: CALLING IT WHAT IT IS, CALLING FOR IT TO END" - John Stonestreet and Shane Morris, Breakpoint.org, 06/25/20; https://breakpoint.org/genocide-in-nigeria-calling-it-what-it-is-calling-for-it-to-end
In terms of lives lost, families separated, people imprisoned, and churches shut down, the 21st century has, so far, been the worst period of persecution against Christians in recorded history. Among the hottest persecution hot-spots is Nigeria. According to religious freedom watchdog Open Doors USA, Nigeria ranks at #12 worldwide for persecution of Christians.
Islamic terrorist organization Boko Haram is the known villain in Nigeria, and justifiably so. They are among the most brutal Islamist radical terror groups in the world. Just last week, attacks in northeastern Nigeria by a Boko Haram splinter-group left dozens of soldiers and civilians dead. Back in January, the group beheaded Nigerian pastor Lawan Andimi. Kidnapped from his village and forced to negotiate for his release with the government, Andimi wouldn’t break. Instead, he turned his hostage video into a stunning testimony to Christ.
Still, as bad as Boko Haram is, much of the recent bloodshed in Nigeria has been perpetrated by militant Hausa-Fulani herdsmen. This largely Muslim ethnic group specializes in night raids on Christian villages in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. In a statement last June, Nigerian Christian leaders claimed that “over 6,000 persons—mostly children, women and the aged—[have been] maimed and killed in night raids by armed Fulani herdsmen.” They also described the “continuous abduction of under-aged Christian girls by Muslim youths” for forced marriages.
According to Open Doors, these attacks are essentially “religious cleansing,” attempts “to eradicate Christianity” from the region. According to Nigerian Christians, the more appropriate word is genocide. The term fits. As I pointed out last March, genocide has been carefully defined by the International Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, and the word should not be tossed around carelessly. Genocide is action intended to destroy in whole or in part “a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.”
Clearly, genocide is what Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsman are after in Nigeria. Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, however, denies this. In a recently issued statement, he insisted that “false allegations of persecution of Christians” are “a most misleading campaign.” President Buhari, by the way, is the son of a Fulani chief.
Thankfully, there are international voices taking the plight of Nigerian Christians seriously. The U.K. Parliament released a report putting the G-word front and center. Entitled, “Nigeria: Unfolding Genocide?” the report issues a stirring call to Britain and the world “to speak out on behalf of all the survivors and victims of violence,” and “to highlight the seriousness of the situation and the level of injustice that Nigerian Christians face.”
Describing the report in Forbes (and by the way, good for Forbes for covering this story), one human rights activist called for “comprehensive investigations and prosecutions” by bodies like the International Criminal Court. But, she insisted, the first step has to be that the world admits “the nature and severity of the atrocities. The crimes must be recognized for what they are and ‘a most misleading campaign’ is not that name.”
The U.S. must lead the way. Earlier this month, an executive order by President Trump made religious freedom a foreign policy and national security priority. It’s now time to make act on those words. Nigerian Christians can’t afford to wait.
Besides calling this crisis what it is, a genocide, the U.S. could ease the process for asylum-seekers and immigrants from Nigeria. Nigeria was among the six countries President Trump added to the travel and immigration ban in February and, currently, Nigerian refugees hoping to flee to the United States must prove their need by submitting an exhaustive stack of paperwork. Those in danger should not have to go to so much trouble to demonstrate what the world should already know.
Please, consider supporting Open Doors and other organizations that raise awareness, advocate for, and offer support for the persecuted. Even so, as important as political and financial assistance are, Christians in Nigeria need one thing from us above anything else: our prayers.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
RESOURCES:
'World Watch List 2020"- Open Doors - https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/
'Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: UN ‘appalled’ by twin jihadist attacks in Borno" - BBC | June 14, 2020; https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53041886
'Boko Haram Executes Pastor Who Turned Hostage Video into Testimony"- Jayson Casper | Christianity Today | January 21, 2020; https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/january/nigeria-boko-haram-kidnapped-pastor-hostage-video-testimony.html
"CAN Adamawa State president Lawan Andimi was kidnapped by Boko Haram…. ." -
Melodyinter World | YouTube | January 5, 2020; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqed21AT-Qk
"Christians Die, Media Mum" - John Stonestreet | Breakpoint | March 20, 2019; https://www.breakpoint.org/breakpoint-christians-die-media-mum/
"Nigeria: Unfolding Genocide?" - APPG | 2020; https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/media/200615-Nigeria-Unfolding-Genocide-Report-of-the-APPG-for-FoRB.pdf
"Is Genocide Happening In Nigeria As The World Turns A Blind Eye?" - Ewelina U. Ochab | Forbes | June 15, 2020; https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2020/06/15/is-genocide-happening-in-nigeria-as-the-world-turns-a-blind-eye/#c5a58d154052
"Nigerians Shocked By Trump’s New Immigration Restrictions" - NPR | February 5, 2020; https://www.npr.org/2020/02/05/802533815/nigerians-shocked-by-trumps-new-immigration-restrictions
"Nigerian Asylum" - https://www.political-asylumusa.com/nigerian-asylum/
Islamic terrorist organization Boko Haram is the known villain in Nigeria, and justifiably so. They are among the most brutal Islamist radical terror groups in the world. Just last week, attacks in northeastern Nigeria by a Boko Haram splinter-group left dozens of soldiers and civilians dead. Back in January, the group beheaded Nigerian pastor Lawan Andimi. Kidnapped from his village and forced to negotiate for his release with the government, Andimi wouldn’t break. Instead, he turned his hostage video into a stunning testimony to Christ.
Still, as bad as Boko Haram is, much of the recent bloodshed in Nigeria has been perpetrated by militant Hausa-Fulani herdsmen. This largely Muslim ethnic group specializes in night raids on Christian villages in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. In a statement last June, Nigerian Christian leaders claimed that “over 6,000 persons—mostly children, women and the aged—[have been] maimed and killed in night raids by armed Fulani herdsmen.” They also described the “continuous abduction of under-aged Christian girls by Muslim youths” for forced marriages.
According to Open Doors, these attacks are essentially “religious cleansing,” attempts “to eradicate Christianity” from the region. According to Nigerian Christians, the more appropriate word is genocide. The term fits. As I pointed out last March, genocide has been carefully defined by the International Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, and the word should not be tossed around carelessly. Genocide is action intended to destroy in whole or in part “a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.”
Clearly, genocide is what Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsman are after in Nigeria. Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, however, denies this. In a recently issued statement, he insisted that “false allegations of persecution of Christians” are “a most misleading campaign.” President Buhari, by the way, is the son of a Fulani chief.
Thankfully, there are international voices taking the plight of Nigerian Christians seriously. The U.K. Parliament released a report putting the G-word front and center. Entitled, “Nigeria: Unfolding Genocide?” the report issues a stirring call to Britain and the world “to speak out on behalf of all the survivors and victims of violence,” and “to highlight the seriousness of the situation and the level of injustice that Nigerian Christians face.”
Describing the report in Forbes (and by the way, good for Forbes for covering this story), one human rights activist called for “comprehensive investigations and prosecutions” by bodies like the International Criminal Court. But, she insisted, the first step has to be that the world admits “the nature and severity of the atrocities. The crimes must be recognized for what they are and ‘a most misleading campaign’ is not that name.”
The U.S. must lead the way. Earlier this month, an executive order by President Trump made religious freedom a foreign policy and national security priority. It’s now time to make act on those words. Nigerian Christians can’t afford to wait.
Besides calling this crisis what it is, a genocide, the U.S. could ease the process for asylum-seekers and immigrants from Nigeria. Nigeria was among the six countries President Trump added to the travel and immigration ban in February and, currently, Nigerian refugees hoping to flee to the United States must prove their need by submitting an exhaustive stack of paperwork. Those in danger should not have to go to so much trouble to demonstrate what the world should already know.
Please, consider supporting Open Doors and other organizations that raise awareness, advocate for, and offer support for the persecuted. Even so, as important as political and financial assistance are, Christians in Nigeria need one thing from us above anything else: our prayers.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
RESOURCES:
'World Watch List 2020"- Open Doors - https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/
'Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: UN ‘appalled’ by twin jihadist attacks in Borno" - BBC | June 14, 2020; https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53041886
'Boko Haram Executes Pastor Who Turned Hostage Video into Testimony"- Jayson Casper | Christianity Today | January 21, 2020; https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/january/nigeria-boko-haram-kidnapped-pastor-hostage-video-testimony.html
"CAN Adamawa State president Lawan Andimi was kidnapped by Boko Haram…. ." -
Melodyinter World | YouTube | January 5, 2020; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqed21AT-Qk
"Christians Die, Media Mum" - John Stonestreet | Breakpoint | March 20, 2019; https://www.breakpoint.org/breakpoint-christians-die-media-mum/
"Nigeria: Unfolding Genocide?" - APPG | 2020; https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/media/200615-Nigeria-Unfolding-Genocide-Report-of-the-APPG-for-FoRB.pdf
"Is Genocide Happening In Nigeria As The World Turns A Blind Eye?" - Ewelina U. Ochab | Forbes | June 15, 2020; https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2020/06/15/is-genocide-happening-in-nigeria-as-the-world-turns-a-blind-eye/#c5a58d154052
"Nigerians Shocked By Trump’s New Immigration Restrictions" - NPR | February 5, 2020; https://www.npr.org/2020/02/05/802533815/nigerians-shocked-by-trumps-new-immigration-restrictions
"Nigerian Asylum" - https://www.political-asylumusa.com/nigerian-asylum/
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PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against
the disorder of the world. - Karl Barth
the disorder of the world. - Karl Barth
"Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer."- Stan
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World-Wide Prayer Requests:
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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
Hope for the Middle East - Open Doors has a seven-year plan to pray for the church in the Middle East as Christians heal and rebuild in the years after being decimated by war and ISIS. Join our multi-year Hope for the Middle East Prayer Campaign as we lift up requests from believers in Iraq and Syria. You can also visit ODUSA.org/Pray4ME to learn more.
June 28 - “Pray for Christians to stand strong in their faith,” asks Nihad, a Kurdish pastor. “Pray that Christianity in Syria doesn’t lose its identity, that Christians don’t leave Syria and give up, but stay and fight in prayer for Syria.”
*Representative name or photo used to protect identity.
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