In a scathing statement on his X account, the former Nigerian Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has accused Western powers, including the United States and Canada, of orchestrating a false narrative that Nigeria is perpetrating a “Christian genocide” to destabilize the nation and shift global attention from the Gaza genocide.
Fani-Kayode pointed to recent remarks by American media personalities Bill Maher and Van Jones, who claimed on CNN that Nigeria is engaging in “Christian genocide.” He also highlighted a statement by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a staunch advocate of Christian Zionism, who accused Nigeria of the same and announced plans to introduce a Senate bill to “protect Christians in Nigeria.” Adding to this, Fani-Kayode cited a resolution passed by the Canadian Parliament two days ago, labeling Nigeria as one of the most dangerous places for Christians, alleging daily targeting and slaughter of Christians across the country.
Questioning the motives behind these claims, Fani-Kayode asked, “Since when have the Americans & the West generally cared about anyone but themselves, least of all the Christians in our country?” He suggested that the sudden outcry from Western capitals is not driven by genuine concern but by a calculated agenda to foment a religious war in Nigeria.
“The truth is that the Americans, their allies & their local collaborators are carefully & craftily preparing the ground for a religious war in our country & they want us to tear ourselves apart,” he warned.
Acknowledging the deaths of Christians at the hands of Islamist terrorists like Boko Haram and ISWAP over the past 14 years, Fani-Kayode emphasized that Muslims have also been heavily targeted by the same groups. He argued that framing the violence as exclusively anti-Christian is a deliberate distortion.
“Yes Christian lives matter but do Muslim ones not matter too? If we are counting Christian bodies should we not count Muslim ones too?” he questioned, asserting that the violence is a “genocide against all Nigerians, both Christian and Muslim,” perpetrated by “heinous, evil ISIS-inspired & Al Qaeda-like” terrorists.
Fani-Kayode further alleged that the same Western powers now decrying Nigeria’s situation had previously armed, funded, and protected these terrorist groups while obstructing Nigeria’s efforts to combat them.
“They refused to sell arms to us or allow us to buy arms from anywhere in our attempt to resist the terrorists ourselves,” he claimed, noting that the U.S. delayed designating Boko Haram as a terrorist organization for years.
He suggested that the West’s current rhetoric is a reaction to Nigeria’s stance at the United Nations, where Vice President Kashim Shettima condemned the Israeli genocide in Gaza and advocated for a two-state solution. “This is the reason for their sudden venom, subversion & malice,” Fani-Kayode said, describing Nigeria’s UN position as “our proudest moment & finest hour.”
Urging Nigerians to reject the Western narrative, he warned that accepting it could lead to a “never-ending civil war” by exacerbating religious and ethnic tensions. “We must join hands as Nigerians and re-emphasise our unity, our plurality of faith & our pride in our nation,” he said, calling for a united front against terrorism.
Reflecting on his own past misconceptions, Fani-Kayode recounted how a 2020 tour of Nigeria’s North West and North East revealed that Muslim communities in states like Zamfara, Sokoto, and Borno were as heavily targeted as Christian ones in Benue and Plateau. “The sooner we accept the fact that we are all victims of the same evil and heartless beasts the better it will be for us all,” he said.
In a final plea, Fani-Kayode called for divine guidance and protection for Nigeria, emphasizing that the terrorists “do not represent Muslims but rather satan.” He urged Nigerians to resist division and work together to combat the shared threat, warning that the Western narrative seeks to “divide & destroy us.”
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