It must be the death of Rev. Fr Sylvester Okechukwu of the Catholic diocese of Kafanchan in Kaduna State that has again restarted conversations about insecurity in Nigeria’s rural areas, where the poor are especially vulnerable.
With the administration of US president, Donald Trump stepping in and showing that it is not shy about rolling out a string of sanctions for the killings, the federal government has been forced to step in.
While the United States has been forced to step in and brand the killings as targeted at Christians, the Federal Government has been at pains to clarify that the killings are not targeted at Christians alone. However, there are compelling arguments that the crisis of insecurity in Nigeria’s rural areas is as much a direct attack on Christians and the Christian faith as anything else. Even if this is not exactly the case, there have been strenuous and arguably, successful efforts by the perpetrators over the years to make it appear so.
When Boko Haram launched a full-scale assault against the Nigerian state in 2009, it was unmistakable in putting forth its Islamic identity. While the group immediately defined its target as Western education and Western civilization, it said nothing about the Christian faith. But the spate and spread of the attacks soon proved that it was as much about Christianity as anything else. Christians and Christian places of worship have all been caught in the relentless attacks of the terrorist group and others it emboldened to contend for space. With the group since spreading from Borno State to neighboring states and regions, the attacks have been relentless.
Southern Kaduna in Kaduna State which covers Kafanchan where Fr. Okechukwu was killed is another factor which makes a compelling argument that the crisis of insecurity in Nigeria has a forcefully anti-Christian angle. The area has always been restive but between 2015 and 2023, when Muhammadu Buhari was president of the country and Nasir El-rufai was governor of the state, the area, which is predominantly Christian, witnessed an unprecedented surge of killings, burnings, and abductions. The killings have since subsided, but the stamp has remained. Fr. Okechukwu’s gruesome murder has only served up a jarring reminder.
But, all things considered, terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria have not spared any religion. The Muslim community in Nigeria has also suffered devastating losses at the hands of terrorists and terrorism.
What Nigeria needs is all-round security. This is because insecurity, no matter the precision put into it, does not discriminate. When communities are attacked and terror unleashed, it is often impossible to determine who will be caught down or spared.
There is no doubting the validity or efficacy of international pressure and opinion, but Nigerians’ insecurity challenges go beyond annihilating a particular religion or ethnic group.
The Nigerian government must do better to root out and rout the agents of insecurity in Nigeria. It is the only way the situation here will improve while putting a definitive end to a crisis that has successfully ruined Nigeria’s image according to the international community.
Ike Willie-Nwobu,
