- Safiu Kehinde
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has faulted claims of genocidal on Christians in Nigeria as purported by the United States Congress.
NPO Reported that a US Congressman, Sen Ted Cruz, had raised a bill from the legislative chamber to add Nigeria under the list of Country of Particular Concern as he alleged that over 50,000 Christians have been killed in what he labelled genocidal attack in the country.
The lawmaker’s allegation had since sparked mixed reactions and concerns which still lingers on.
Speaking in an interview on CNN’s The Exchange on Wednesday, Idris faulted Cruz allegation.
The Minister maintained that Nigeria is a religious tolerant country with all citizens have right to freedom of faith.
“First, let us recognise that the highest duty of any government, Nigerian government especially, is to protect lives and property. This includes millions of Muslims living side by side with their daily activities.
“Constitutionally, every Nigerian is guaranteed the right to freedom of faith, meaning that whether you are Muslim or Chirstian, you free to practice your faith in our country.” He said.
Idris thereafter disclosed the ongoing effort by the government to curtail the spread of the violent attacks by the insurgents which began back in 2009.
“Secondly, you have to know that of course since 2009, Nigeria has been bedeviled with the activities of Boko Haram and other criminal element that you have mentioned earlier.
“You also have to see what government has done, especially in the last two years.
“Of course, successive governments have tried. There has been a renewed focus. A renewed attention has been caught to ensure that Nigeria become safe.
“We have seen massive deployment of resources to improve our military hardware.
“We’ve also seen investment in other sectors in agriculture and social service to ensure that the non-kinetic approach contribute to the stability of the country.” He said.
While admitting to the attacks on Christian communities, Idris noted that Muslims have also been under attacks too.
He refuted the claim that everywhere in the country is not safe, adding that some stronghold of the insurgents in the northern area has been recovered.
“Nigeria is not that bad as said. Yes, we have seen attacks on Christians. It is true. We have also seen attack on Muslims as well.
“It is also wrong to categorise Nigeria as a country that does not tolerate religious freedom. It is also wrong to say everywhere is not safe in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is indeed a safe country, but we do recognise that we have security challenges in the Northeast.
“Once upon a time, some of the territories in the Northeast were taken over by Boko Haram. That is no longer the case. Travelling around the country was problem at some point. But that is not the case.
“The government of the Nigeria is working hard to ensure protection of lives and properties.” He said.
Idris warned against the narratives of Christian genocide as he maintained that the insurgents target both Christians and Muslim.
“Yes, there are Christians that are being attacked. But these criminals will not just target one religion. They target Christians and also target Muslims.
“We have seen that in several parts, especially Northern parts of the country.
“Nigeria is a very tolerant country when it comes to religion. We don’t want these dangerous narratives to go on because some of these criminal elements and extremists are driving these narratives that Christians and Muslims are fighting each other.
“We do have security challenge in the country. We are not denying this.
“But we are saying is that ww need to make Nigeria and world believe that this government is actually working to ensure safety of lives and property of every Nigerian. Christians, Muslims living side-by-side each other.
“When you say only a particular religion is being targeted, that is not true. We know that some of these Boko Haram extremists have target Muslims. They have also targeted Christians in the churches.” The Minister said.
He maintained that categorising the issue as a religious issue is not helpful for the country.
This, according to the Minister, will drive Nigeria towards division as wanted by the insurgents.
“What these criminal elements and extremists want is to make Nigeria and the world to feel that this is actually a fight between Christians and Muslims.
“Our constitution guarantees the right of every citizen of the country, whether you are a Christian or Muslim.
In the hierarchy of our government, there are both Muslims and Christians living in harmony and working together to ensure the return of security of lives and properties.” He added.