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*Says insecurity not driven by religion
By David Odama
Senate, on Thursday, dismissed the claims of the some serving Senators in the United States of America, USA, that there’s ongoing genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
Rather, the Red Chamber declared that insecurity in Nigeria is not driven by religious sentiment, but multifaceted factors which are critically being addressed by relevant authorities in the country.
Senate’s reaction followed a motion by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC Borno South) and co-sponsored by 20 other lawmakers on “Urgent need to correct misconceptions regarding the purported ‘Christian Genocide’ narrative in Nigeria and in the International Community” during plenary.
The Red Chamber resolved to work closely with the Federal Government on more effective counter-terrorism strategies to address insecurity in the country.
Presenting the motion which was later stood down by the Senate to Tuesday next week, Ndume argued that the narrative was fuelled by misinformation and should be corrected.
He, therefore, urged the Red Chamber to engage constructively with the US Congress, international partners and Nigerian diaspora organisations to clarify the misconceptions.
Seconding the motion, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (APC Sokoto North), denounced the genocide narrative as “outright misinformation aimed at destroying our nation.”
“This misinformation cannot continue like this. We must take decisive steps to address this issue,” he said.
Also speaking, Senator Sumaila Kawu (APC Kano South) warned that such unfounded allegations could strain Nigeria’s international relations and fuel sectarian tension.
He said: “It is very common knowledge to us that nobody is supporting any act of terrorism in Nigeria. The government is doing its best to make sure we are living in a conducive atmosphere. Some of the leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria in my own state are members of the security council and traditional institutions.
“If they pass the bill in the US, it will be dangerous to us, both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. I am seriously worried that the US Congress or a ranking US senator will come up with a very uninformed position. As a parliament, we must join hands with our government to inform the US government and the US parliament that the position they are taking is not in tandem with what is going on.”
In his contribution, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC Ondo South) called for a deeper national rethink on terrorism and security, urging the Senate to help redefine the country’s counter-terrorism framework.
“We must come to terms to understand the strategies, tactics, and practices of the terrorists. We must now engage the government on counter-terrorism measures.
“We must engage knowledge. We must go into executive session to define and redefine our counter-terrorism measures,” Ibrahim stated.
Summarizing the positions of lawmakers on the matter, the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central), said the resolution of the Red Chamber on the motion is that “insecurity in Nigeria is not driven by religion.”
“In view of the sensitivity of the issues involved, I would just say that let our resolution here today on the basis of this motion be that as a Senate, it is our conviction that the insecurity problem, the security challenge in Nigeria is not religion driven.
“Having said that, as a resolution on the basis of our discussion here, that we now step down for that consideration of this motion, especially the prayers, you know, till the next legislative day, which is Tuesday next week, when we can have our executive session,” he said.
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, said the issues about the narrative are too complex, requiring exhaustive deliberation.
He said: “My personal opinion is that this has been brought to the fore of the Senate, and then we must have exhaustive deliberations in close session on this, and then we must also come up with a strategy to correct the misinterpretation, the misinformation, and at the same time educate the international community.
“So, we may not need to go into item by item in these prayers. I therefore call on the Leader to summarize all the prayers in the motion into one.
Recall that the US had penultimate week, received report from some of its Senators for re – classification of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern as done in December 2020 before lifting the tag in October 2021.
Specifically five United States Republican Senators, Ted Budd, Josh Hawley, Pete Ricketts, Ted Cruz, and James Lankford, have written to the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week, urging him to consider a re-classification of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), over continued acts of “violence and terrorism against religious minorities in the Northern part of the country.
