Trump pushes for change

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday, the 6th of November.

This is WORLD Radio and we’re so glad you’ve joined us today! Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

First up on The World and Everything in It: hard steps against persecution in Nigeria.

Last weekend, President Donald Trump said he ordered the Pentagon to prepare for a possible military intervention there. That’s if authorities fail to quell Islamist persecution against Christians.

REICHARD: Trump’s threat came with a warning that he could also suspend aid flow to the country.

His move has spurred mixed reactions in Nigeria, where many can at least agree they are tired of the violence.

WORLD’s Africa reporter Onize Oduah has our report.

ONIZE ODUAH: President Donald Trump’s statement came one day after he designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern, or CPC.

He blamed radical Islamists for making Christianity an existential threat in the West African nation.

TRUMP: They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria and they have other countries very bad, also. You know that. That part of the world, very bad. They're killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen.

Nigeria is battling a mix of different Islamist groups. Boko Haram and an Islamic State affiliate operate in the northeast. Meanwhile, armed bandits and radicalized Fulani herders have targeted parts of the north and other areas of the country.

The Nigeria-based nonprofit InterSociety said insurgents have killed more than 185,000 Christians since 2009. Between January and August this year alone, fighters kidnapped 7,800 Christians and killed an average of 30 Christians each day.

Maureen Ferguson is a commissioner with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

MAUREEN FERGUSON: We have been recommending Nigeria as a country of particular concern since 2009 and in the first Trump administration, they agreed with us, and the Nigeria was designated as a CPC country. President Biden took that designation off. So since that time, we've been pushing for it to get back on.

Trump’s announcement sparked mixed reactions among Nigerians.

Azu Donatus is a business consultant in Abuja. He believes Trump’s offer comes with ulterior motives.

DONATUS: It's not to our own advantage. There are more to it. So if you ask me, I advise Mr President, our President Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, to find a political solution to it

In north-western Kaduna state, the majority-Christian, Adara community has suffered multiple attacks for years at the hands of armed herdsmen.

Alheri Magaji says the designation makes communities like hers finally feel seen and heard.

MAGAJI: Even if it’s one life gone, like I always say, it means a lot. Not to talk of whole villages being wiped out, people not being able to go back to their villages.

Nigerian authorities have so far rejected the United States’ move. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the country opposes religious persecution and has constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.

Nigerian presidential adviser Daniel Bwala told Reuters that Trump is making a decision based on outdated information.

BWALA: The report or notion that there is a Christian persecution or genocide in Nigeria is false.

Alex Adekunle James is an Abuja-based analyst who also campaigns to stop the Christian killings. He says authorities have been passive and complicit in quelling the violence.

ADEKUNLE-JAMES: We see unseriousness, gross unseriousness on the part of our government, and it's of course an embarrassment that another country has to be threatening us and be and be putting so much effort for our government to do what is right by its people and to abide by the oath of office that they’ve sworn.

InterSociety has said the killings since 2009 have also included some 60,000 moderate Muslims.

Here’s USCIRF Commissioner Ferguson once again.

FERGUSON: Is there also killing of Muslims? Yes, yes. Is there persecution of Christians? Yes, on a massive scale.

She says the designation intends to push for change in Nigeria.

FERGUSON: It puts these countries on notice that the eyes of the world are watching them, and it gives the presidential administration a toolbox, we'll say, of various things that they can do to pressure or work with the country to increase freedom of religion for people on the ground there.

The military has started to share more details of its operations in conflict areas. And a report from a security analysis group said authorities in neighboring Chad have closed their border with Nigeria, fearing that fleeing terrorists could cross over.

Beyond ending the conflict, James says he wants to see more effort go towards the people displaced by the violence.

ADEKUNLE-JAMES: Most of these people, they're so traumatized because they've witnessed their loved ones slaughtered and all of these things. So …attention to be brought to them. We need to take care of them.

For now, Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris has said the government is responding to the designation with intensified talks with religious leaders, regional blocs, and international partners.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Oduah.

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