World Tour: Nigerians demand end to violence

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: WORLD Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Oduah.

ONIZE ODUAH: We begin today with expatriate Nigerian Christians and other supporters calling for an end to violence in the country.

AUDIO: Christians chanting/singing

In Madrid, hundreds of protesters chanted and sang outside the Nigerian embassy over the weekend.

Nigeria has faced two separate school abductions in recent weeks. More than 200 children remain in captivity.

Christiana Wariboko is president of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.

CHRISTIANA WARIBOKO: We as Christians, we're standing on behalf of Christians, representing Nigerian Christians. Please save the lives of Christians.

In October, kidnappers abducted a priest, Edwin Achi, along with his wife and daughter in northcentral Kaduna state. Last week, Anglican leaders confirmed that fighters killed Achi, and his wife and daughter are still with the abductors.

Gunmen also abducted nearly 36 people over the weekend in northern Borno and Kano states, and have targeted other parts of the country. The ongoing violence has left Nigerians fearful.

Rasheedat Eniola says her recent journey by road to northern Kano worried her family and friends.

RASHEEDAT ENIOLA: I’m worried each time, each moment, I'm getting closer to my travel time, I'm thinking, I'm asking myself, am I doing the right thing? I mean, am I supposed to be here? Everybody I spoke with about the trip there they are telling me that they don't have money to pay for ransom.

Authorities have closed down several schools in the country over the rising attacks.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also declared a state of emergency for the entire country and authorized the recruitment of more security forces.

In Hong Kong, authorities are still uncovering more details from the city’s deadliest fire in decades, which has left more than 150 people dead.

The flames began last week at the residential complex which housed nearly 5,000 people.

Some of the residents previously raised concerns about the safety of ongoing renovations.

Eric Chan is the chief secretary for administration of Hong Kong.

ERIC CHAN: [CANTONESE] Samples collected from seven locations across high, middle, and low floors did not meet the fire resistance test standards.

He says samples from seven locations across the complex failed to meet fire resistance test requirements.

Officials said some exterior netting used on scaffolding also failed the tests.

Thousands of people queued up to lay flowers near the complex. Authorities also temporarily detained a student over his petitions for the government to prevent similar disasters from happening.

SOUND: [Voting in process]

On Sunday, the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan held snap parliamentary elections. Critics say the vote will solidify President Sadyr Japarov’s hold on power. Allies of the president won all but a handful of seats in an election where no official opposition party was allowed.

Japarov came to power in a 2020 revolution and has since changed the electoral system so that only one party can participate in elections.

Kyrgyzstan was once long considered Central Asia’s most democratic state … but that reputation has eroded under Japarov. His government has cracked down on political opposition and media freedom in the country.

Kyrgyzstan is a close ally of Russia and has stepped into the trade gap created by Western sanctions on the country.

We wrap up in Brussels, where vandals disrupted a Nativity scene at the Christmas market in the main city square.

The thieves stole the figure of Baby Jesus in the nearly life-sized display. Officials say the vandalism happened between Friday night and early Saturday, just days after being set up.

Critics blame pro-Palestinian protesters who crashed the Christmas market on its opening night. The unauthorized protestors set off smoke bombs and chanted pro-Hamas slogans, causing market visitors to flee the area.

SOUND: [Protests and chants]

The Brussels Nativity display was already controversial. This year the city replaced traditional wooden figurines with faceless cloth ones. Flat patchwork panels cover the heads where faces would be.

ORGANIZER: C’est vrai que c’est un choix artistic qui….

An organizer says leaders discussed the artistic choice with local churches, and that the display is meant to allow everyone to project themselves onto the characters of the Christmas story.

But critics are calling the display “woke” and saying city authorities are pandering to Muslims. Authorities say they have replaced the figure of baby Jesus and that they will keep a closer eye on the manger the rest of the season.

That’s this week’s World Tour. I’m Onize Oduah.

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