Fulani

The mass murder of praying congregants in a Nigerian church was horrific enough. But even worse was the daft conclusion of Irish President Michael Higgins that it was another grim consequence of climate change.

On Easter weekend Christians the world over prayed; some went to church. In Nigeria’s Plateau State, a Fulani pastor was martyred.

Human rights advocates, when looking at Nigeria’s north and central regions, fear an accelerating disintegration of Nigeria’s society and institutions. We all should be concerned that, if current trends are not arrested, Nigeria may implode, with global economic ramifications. A new wave of Nigerian displacement and emigration would rival those associated with Libya, Syria, and Iraq.

One important theme of the pontificate of Pope Francis has been a message of hope to Christians in the Middle East and Africa that they are not forgotten.

Failure to recognize the religious dimensions in the present conflicts of Nigeria’s Middle Belt divorces us from the complex realities of concrete human life.

It is important to view Nigeria’s Middle Belt conflict in the context of Islamic extremism across the Sahel.

The violence against Nigerian Christians has recently entered a new, deadlier phase. Unless conditions on the ground change, Nigeria’s Middle Belt Christians face death or expulsion in many areas.

At this moment, another genocide against Christians is silently unfolding in Nigeria.

A wave of gruesome mass killings in North Central Nigeria on Sunday, March 10, has prompted more calls for a special envoy to Nigeria and reconsideration of the Trump administration’s policy to West Africa.