CPC label distorts Nigeria’s true identity – Tinubu

CPC label distorts Nigeria’s true identity – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu. Photo: State House

President Bola Tinubu has rejected Nigeria’s re-designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” by U.S. President Donald Trump, insisting that the label misrepresents Nigeria’s religious reality.

In a statement posted on his official X handle on Saturday, the President said Nigeria “stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” and that the description of the country as religiously intolerant “does not reflect our national reality.”

“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.

“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it,” Tinubu said.

The post was in response to Trump’s declaration of Nigeria as a County of Particular Concern.

In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote: “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.

“I am hereby making Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN” — But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!

“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me.

“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”

Under U.S. law, the CPC designation is reserved for countries where governments engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

Nigeria was first placed on the list in December 2020 during Trump’s first term, following years of lobbying by religious freedom advocates who cited attacks on Christians in the Middle Belt and North-East.

However, the Biden administration controversially removed Nigeria from the list in November 2021, leading to outcry from U.S. conservatives and advocacy groups.

President Tinubu said that since taking office in 2023, his administration had maintained “an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions.”

He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to collaborate with the U.S. and international partners to foster understanding, saying, “Our administration is committed to working with the United States government and the international community to deepen understanding and cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths.”

Although Nigeria is constitutionally secular, religious tensions, particularly between Christian-majority and Muslim-majority regions, have fueled violence, including deadly clashes between farmers and herders, insurgent attacks in the North-East, and blasphemy-related mob killings.

Successive governments have denied that these conflicts are rooted in religious discrimination.