A former Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has asserted that allegations of a deliberate genocide targeting Christians in Nigeria are unfounded.
Speaking in the United Kingdom to students at Abbey College, Cambridge, on Wednesday, April 21, Mohammed addressed concerns about religious persecution, particularly against Christians.
He argued that Nigeria's security issues are multifaceted and not the result of a systematic campaign to eradicate any particular faith. "There should be more understanding on the part of the developed world. Now, people say that there is religious persecution in Nigeria and that there is genocide against Christians. It’s not true. It is fake news," Mohammed stated.
Mohammed elaborated that the insurgency, initially led by Boko Haram, began as a movement that opposed Muslims who embraced Western education. He noted that early victims of the group were predominantly Muslims. "At the beginning, the victims of Boko Haram were largely Muslims, not Christians. Boko Haram started as a revolt by extreme Muslims against conventional Muslims like me. Look at the meaning of Boko Haram — ‘haram’ means forbidden or illicit, ‘boko’ means Western education. So for Boko Haram, I, Lai Mohammed, having gone to school, I am an enemy," he explained.
According to the former minister, Boko Haram later broadened its attacks to include Christians, a strategic move to garner greater international notice. "They realised that Muslims killing one another doesn’t gain traction. When Muslims start killing Christians, it causes an uproar. That is the honest truth," he remarked.
Furthermore, Mohammed dismissed the notion that banditry in Nigeria is religiously driven. "The bandits are Muslims, they are Hausa-Fulanis. Their victims are Muslims; they are Hausa-Fulanis. So how can you now talk about religion? It has nothing to do with religion," he said.
Mohammed highlighted that available data indicates Muslims constitute the majority of casualties in Nigeria's insurgent-related violence. "We have a spirit of religious tolerance in Nigeria and I challenge anyone to say that it is not true. People can hide under anything to commit crime but one, it is not a policy. Number two, the average Nigerian is not bothered about your religion or ethnicity.
In Nigeria, the average Muslim and Christian, they only disagree over money. They won’t disagree over theology. They are more concerned about the economy and ways of life. That is why you have many Christians marrying Muslims and vice versa.
Look at our president, Bola Tinubu. He is a Muslim while the wife is a leader of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). That is the Nigeria I know and I am very proud of.
So, this narrative about Christian genocide, it is not true and we must vigorously use public communication to challenge it," he concluded.
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