The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has told President Donald Trump that the claim by his government that there is a Christian genocide in Nigeria as untrue.
Keyamo in a post on his verified X handle said being a Christian, it would have been most unconscionable for him to associate with – let alone accept to serve or continue to serve – a government if truly there is any iota of truth in the assertion that Christians are specifically targeted in Nigeria for persecution, killings or harassment on account of their faith, saying “it is simply not true.”
He added that just like the U.S and many countries in the world, Nigeria has faced her own fair share of societal violence; been perpetrated by deadly groups known as Boko Haram, herdsmen, and cattle rustlers.
Keyamo noted: “These decades-old problems were inherited by our President who has made great progress in the fight against these insurgents.
“In fact, most of the security Chiefs appointed by him are Christians, so it would be unthinkable to imagine them being complicit in the killing of fellow Christians in Nigeria.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, though a Muslim, is a known ‘moderate’, whose wife is a Pastor of one of the biggest Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria and most of his children are practising Christians.
When he was Governor of Lagos State, he regularly invited Christian Pastors for prayers and worship sessions at the Government House. He will be the last person to either adopt the killing of Christians as a State Policy, or condone such acts or be complicit in them.
“Nigeria is a secular State and our Constitution explicitly provides for freedom of religion and prohibits the adoption of a State religion, reflecting its status as a multi-faith nation.
“This legal framework underpins the country’s diverse religious landscape, which includes significant populations of Muslims, Christians, and adherents of traditional African religions, coexisting within a nation’s space.
“In all honesty, the insecurity in some parts of the country over the years has impacted adherents of all religions and this government has not sought to protect one set of adherents and ignore the others.
‘‘Ordinarily, opposition politicians will oppose the government of the day. But on this matter, President Trump, you would have observed that leaders of the opposition parties in Nigeria are united on one point: there is no targetted killing of Christians in Nigeria.
“President Trump, the Nigerian people ask for deep and sincere understanding from your government at this point; the Nigerian people ask for support and cooperation from your government at this point to confront this decades-old menace of terrorism.
“We ask for collaboration; we ask for frank and open dialogue at this time with your government; we ask that you broaden your sources of information at this time so as to get a balanced view of the happenings in Nigeria.”