By Leo Igwe
President Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern comes at a time when this West African nation is grappling with enormous freedom of religion or belief (FORB) issues. Nigeria has clearly demonstrated its unwillingness and limited ability to tackle radical Islam and uphold the freedom of religion or belief of all its citizens. In his post on X, Trump stated that he was blacklisting Nigeria because radical Islamists had been killing and persecuting thousands of Christians in the country, and the government of Nigeria had done little to address the problem. Is this not a fact? A Country of Particular Concern is a designation by the US Secretary of State of a country that has engaged in severe violations of religious freedom. Let’s face it. There have been severe religious freedom violations in Nigeria, and the government has been a perpetrator or an enabler of these violations. So instead of engaging in subterfuge or in the game of distraction, denial, or minimization of the violations, Nigeria should see this designation as an opportunity and face up to its failures to tackle radical Islam in its state and non-state forms in the country. Nigeria should use this designation to confront and address lingering freedom of religion or belief (FORB) infractions. And there are many of them.
Unfortunately, Nigeria might not seize this opportunity as expected for the following reasons. First of all, radical Islam is indistinguishable from mainstream Islamic religion in the country. The distinction between extremist and moderate Islams is academic. It is not clear where Islam stops and radical Islam begins. Some muslims who describe themselves as moderates support that apostates and blasphemers be killed and homosexuals be exterminated. At independence, Nigeria inherited a radical form of Islam, which is a form of Islam that is promoted with force and violence. The post-independence Nigerian history has been marked by widespread religious violence, conflict, and bloodshed. So radical Islam constitutes a way of life, a religious norm in the country. Radical muslim preachers operate freely. They have their mosques and millions of followers in the country. Radical muslim clerics incite and perpetrate violence with impunity as a part of the everyday preaching and practice.