by James Murphy
Earlier this month, the European Parliament issued an official condemnation of the violent Christmas attacks in Nigeria’s Central Plateau region, which killed nearly 200 Christians in yet another example of religious violence fomented by the Muslim Fulani herdsmen since at least 2009. However, instead of calling for the Nigerian government to crack down on the violent Islamic extremism, the EU instead chose to blame climate change and other factors for the ghastly violence.
As recently as January, Nigerian Catholic priest Father Ambrose Ekereku referred to the ongoing violence as a “genocide.” Ekereku called for Nigeria to classified as a “terroristic government.”
But as far as the EU is concerned, so-called climate change is a much bigger factor in the violence than millennia-long religious hatred.
“Whereas the conflict is increasingly described in religious terms, while the perpetrators are yet to be identified and several factors are to be taken into account such as competition for land fuelled by rapid climate change and the failure of authorities to hold to account those responsible for violence,” the resolution states in part.
While the “failure of authorities” accusation is spot on, since the Nigerian government appears to tacitly approve of the Fulani actions, the whole “competition for land fuelled by rapid climate change” excuse does not ring true.
Some members of the European Parliament see the Nigerian crisis for what it is: targeted violence against Christians motivated not by climate change, but by religious hatred.
“The raids, brutal killings, and attacks on churches on Pentecost and Christmas Eve cannot be interpreted in any other way. This is a persecution of Christians,” said Hungarian MEP György Hölvényi last week.
“We Europeans cannot turn a blind eye to violence against Christians. We cannot ignore the persecution against Christians. This is a human rights issue. It is time for action to replace silence,” Hölvényi urged.
Others complain that blaming the crisis on nebulous things such as climate change is an obvious distraction from the real issue at hand.
“Saying that it is a mere conflict between farmers and herders fails to acknowledge the other causes. It is Muslim extremists causing death and destruction,” said Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen.
“The thousands of victims and families must be able to rely on EU action. As an economic power bloc, we must hold all countries accountable that all believers are free to practice their religion” Ruissen has said.
“The timing of the attacks, brutal killings, and destruction of churches cannot be misinterpreted and can only be understood as the persecution of Christians and we should be able to say so,” Hölvényi added.
Instead, the EU “urges the Nigerian authorities to guarantee respect for human rights in the country, and to protect the civilian population from terrorism, violence and pollution; Recalls that women and children are most vulnerable to the effects of conflict, terrorism and violence in the country; Is extremely concerned at rapidly intensifying climate change in Nigeria and its impact on livelihoods.”
While the EU “strongly condemns all type of murderous attacks across Nigeria,” it utterly fails to even recognize the reason the attacks are occurring — Islamic terrorism.
Despite this rather obvious fact, the EU “[warns] against an instrumentalisation of the farmers-herders conflict for spreading religion-based hatred; calls on the Nigerian authorities to take meaningful steps to identify and address all root causes of the violence in Plateau state, such as competition for scarce resources, environmental degradation and the disappearance of effective mediation schemes.”
In other words, don’t use this as an excuse to hate Muslims and put an end to unchecked immigration into the EU and the western world.
Although the EU’s milquetoast “condemnation” of the apparent genocide of Nigerian Christians is wholly insufficient, at least it’s something. In America, the Biden administration continues to take a “head in the sand” approach to the situation. In fact, in 2023 the Biden administration removed Nigeria from the State Department’s Countries of Particular Concern Special Watch List for violators of religious freedoms.
As the Biden administration’s State Department fails to even acknowledge the genocide of Nigerian Christians, others are asking for the U.S. Congress to take up the mantle.
“Since it is clear that the State Department will not take significant action over the terrible religious freedom conditions in Nigeria, it is vital that Congress makes its voice heard,” said Sean Nelson of the Alliance Defending Freedom International.