…Nigeria Trump’s threat is wake-up call for Nigerians to unite, fight extremism – Olubadan
…Nigeria’s crisis not Christian-Muslim war but battle against extremists — Soyinka
…Support FG to fight terror groups, NHRC begs US govt, others
…Decries coordinated attacks in Niger, Borno, Plateau, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, and the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, have asked Nigerians to unite against extremism in the country.
Their reactions came against the backdrop of threats by the US President, Donald Trump, to take military action on the country, following alleged genocide against Christian in Nigeria.
Oba Ladoja, who spoke while playing host to President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Bishop Wale Oke, in his palace weekend, said the time for Nigerians to jointly fight terrorism to a standstill and placate the aggrieved had come.
In a statement by Adeola Oloko, the media aide to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, the monarch noted that it had been over a decade, specifically, since the twilight of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2014, that Nigeria had been battling with the scourge of terrorism.
“Many people have been killed, and property worth an inestimable amount of money destroyed. Multitudes of families, particularly women and children, have been displaced.
“Kidnappings have taken place. Successive administrations have spent trillions to fight insecurity. When you look at this scenario over the past ten years, people are bound to feel aggrieved and resort to self-help.
“Former President Jonathan has tried. Former President Muhammadu Buhari has tried. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is trying. But I want to caution that terrorists don’t know the difference between Muslims and Christians. They see everybody as prey, while they are the predator.
“This is why, as the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, a constituent part of CAN, we are appealing to you to please help us to placate our Christian brethren who are understandably aggrieved that these times will pass.”
Oba Ladoja stated that in South-Western Nigeria, where he was more familiar, people from different religious backgrounds enjoyed harmonious relationships, wondering why such a display of love was hard to come by in other parts of the country.
He said majority of Nigerians wanted the scourge of terrorism to be fought to a standstill, but was not excited about the prospect of United States’ involvement in the internal affairs of Nigeria, except through collaboration.
Nigeria’s crisis, a battle against extremists — Soyinka
On his part, Prof. Soyinka in an interview with Democracy Now, said Trump’s sweeping statements distorted the true picture of the conflict and risked deepening religious hostilities.
He said the situation should not be seen as a war between Christians and Muslims, but as a struggle against extremist groups that had weaponised religion for political and economic gain.
He said: “We must separate Nigeria’s long-standing internal problems from President Trump’s recent response.”
Soyinka recalled the brutal lynching of a student accused of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad, noting that her killers went unpunished, despite being caught on video bragging about the act.
“When perpetrators of such horrors go free, it strengthens the perception that a brutal war is going on between Christians and Muslims.
“In truth, we are dealing with extremists, political Islamists, known sometimes as ISWAP or Boko Haram, not with Muslims as a people.”
The playwright added that the extremist groups had formed alliances with global terrorist networks, gaining access to sophisticated weapons that sometimes overwhelmed Nigeria’s military.
He also faulted Nigeria’s past leaders for failing to decisively tackle violent fundamentalism.
“When we have sweeping statements like Trump’s, it doesn’t make things easier. It expands the regions of hostility and makes peaceful resolution even more difficult,” Soyinka said.
He noted that his US visa was revoked because of his criticism of Trump’s administration, saying “I have a feeling that I haven’t been flattering Donald Trump — and I see no reason to do that.”
The Nobel laureate said Trump should feel “flattered” that he once compared him to Idi Amin, the former Ugandan head of state.
Soyinka said: “Trump has said he likes war — I’m quoting him. Idi Amin was a man of war and brutality.
“Idi Amin even called himself the last king of Scotland. He claimed he was going to liberate Scotland from the British.”
Support FG to fight terror groups, NHRC begs US govt, others
Similarly, the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, yesterday urged the international community, including the United States of America, USA, to support federal government’s effort to put an end to terrorism and religious extremism in the country.
The commission, which released its human rights situation dashboard for the month of October, decried what it described as coordinated attacks across Niger, Borno, Plateau, Kaduna, Kogi and Kwara states, leading to loss of “hundreds of lives.”
Presenting the statistics to newsmen, the NHRC, through its Executive Secretary, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, said it received a total of 406, 088 complaints and over 160 monitored incidents of human rights violations in October.
“Our Observatory has recorded incidents of communal violence, insurgent attacks, and human rights abuses related to insecurity, which continue to affect communities disproportionately.
“In the month under review, we recorded a general drop in both killings and abductions, compared to the previous month of September, a possible indication of the success of our armed forces and security institutions.
“However, we still recorded alarming violence, killings and abductions reached alarming peaks, with hundreds of lives lost in coordinated attacks across Niger, Borno, Plateau, Kaduna, Kogi and Kwara states.
“Farmers, herders, women, children, and entire communities have suffered attacks and displacements. I must remind us that these are not statistics; they are Nigerian mothers, fathers, and children whose dignity has been violated.”
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