Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno South, says US President Donald Trump is “ignorant” about the insecurity challenge in Nigeria.
Trump had, in a post shared on his Truth Social account and
the White House’s X handle, claimed that Christians are being massacred in
Nigeria.
He said he had redesignated Nigeria a “country of particular
concern (CPC)” over claims of Christian genocide, and threatened to unleash the
department of war on the country to fight the terrorists “that attack our
cherished Christians”.
Speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday, Ndume said Trump’s
statement reflects a lack of understanding of Nigeria’s complex security
realities.
He said the killings that have plagued the country since the
Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009 have affected both Christians and Muslims.
The senator said attacks are largely determined by geography
and demographics, not religion.
“This is not to say that Christians are not being killed.
What we have been saying is it’s not only the Christians that are being killed,
but Muslims are also being killed too,” he said.
“This has been confirmed by both religion, there’s a lot of
killings going on in Nigeria for the past 16 years and more from the Boko Haram
insurgence in 2009. Nobody can deny that.
“But to say exclusively that the Christians are being
targeted depends on where the event happens. If it happens in Plateau or a
Christian dominated area, naturally it is the Christians that will be the
victims as it is now in Benue and Plateau.
“If you go to other areas that are Muslim dominated,
depending on the type of criminality that is going on there, the victims are
naturally going to be the Muslims.
“If a church is attacked, the victims will be Christians,
and if it’s a mosque the Muslims will be the victims. This is what’s going on
in Nigeria right now.
“The Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists and ISIS are the
bandits in the north-west that are killing Muslims in mosques because there are
few churches there.
“And in Plateau, churches are being attacked by herdsmen who
are Fulanis and the farmers who are predominantly Christians. It’s a matter
that affects all Nigerians.
“For Trump to have come out is out of ignorance. I’ve been
to America and an average American is innocently ignorant. Donald Trump himself
is ignorant about what is happening in Nigeria and that is where the problem
is.”
Ndume said he recently moved a motion in the senate to
correct what he described as “misconceptions” about Nigeria’s religious crisis.
“I brought a motion titled the urgent need to correct the
misconception going on where America wants Nigeria to be reclassified again as
CPC because we’ve been on that list when Obama was in power,” he said.
“We were lifted when we were struggling, the attack of the
insurgents was at its peak, and we desperately needed support.
“Buhari had to meet with Donald Trump then and convince him.
I remember that Nigerian top government officials had to go before ICC to
defend Nigeria against those allegations.
“But surprisingly when I brought this motion, this
government was really more of indifferent about it and treated it with levity.
Look at what is going on now.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com