President Donald Trump of the United States has told President Muhammau Buhari that his country will not accept the killing of Christians.
Trump said this Monday while playing host to his Nigerian counterpart at the White House, noted, “We have had very serious problems with Christians who are being murdered in Nigeria, we are going to be working on that problem very, very hard because we cannot allow that to happen,” Trump said.
The US president also asked the Nigerian authorities to “protect innocent civilians of all faiths, including Muslims and including Christians”.
On his part, Buhari said is working hard to address the widespread killings.
He also thanked the US government for approving the sale of military hardware to Nigeria.
“We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military who are training in our institutions and who also go to the front in the northeast to see how they are doing,” he said.
“The commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world, we have first hand experience of that and we are very grateful for it.”
“Chibok girls’ kidnap was before we came. We rescue some of them. The Dapchi girls were 106, we rescued 100 back, four died, one is still in captivity.
We are very grateful to the United Nations organisation that is acting as go-between and is helping out. We have not given up on the Dapchi girl.”
The clash between farmers and herdsmen took a different dimension when gunmen invaded a Catholic church in Benue state last week.
Two priests and 17 worshippers were shot dead.
Condemning the attack the Pope prayed for Christians while conducting a mass in Rome on Sunday.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had staged a nationwide protest against the killings on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has attacked US President, Donald Trump, over comment credited to him that his country would not tolerate the killng of Christians in Nigeria.
Trump was said to have stated this on Monday in a chat with his Nigerian counterpart, President Muhammadu Buhari, in the White House.
MURIC, however, in a statement by Prof. Ishaq Akintola, its Director, on Tuesday questioned the rationale behind Trump’s interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs, saying his statement was not only prejudiced and parochial but also left presidential norms in the dust.
He, therefore, urged Nigerian Christians not to swallow Trump’s bait by allowing themselves to be deceived into confrontations with their Muslim neighbours.
The statement reads: The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) takes Trump’s comment with a pinch of salt. As usual, Trump has misfired again.
“His statement leaves presidential norms in the dust. It is prejudiced, parochial and unpresidential. Trump’s statement makes a mockery of democracy. It is sheer interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.
“Trump has a bully’s instinct. “Trumpism has steadily exhibited a pitiable lack of understanding of US foreign policy. Trump’s reckless approach alienates the American public. It is repugnant to world leaders.
“Even US military analysts have admitted that Trump’s bellicose attitude is making Americans ‘less safe’. If this is the same Trump who called African countries ‘shithole’, the same American president who threatened to wipe out North Korea, the same US leader who banned Muslims from entering his country, the same Republican who said, ‘Torture works, ok folks?’, Nigerians must be wary of America’s involvement in their affairs.
“We should remember that Nigeria did not get the required support from the moderate and cool-headed Barrack Obama in its war against terrorism. We should therefore not expect any from Trump who treats vulnerable nations with contempt and has no respect for African countries.
Unless Nigerians unite, this country will become America’s ‘shithole’.
“Trump’s comment on killings in Nigeria implies that he would prefer that it is Muslims alone who are being killed. We refuse to believe that a whole American president does not know the true situation on ground in this country. He who knows but pretends not to know has his own secret agenda. Nigerian Muslims are not intimidated by Trump’s comment. We only sympathise with those who will be gullible enough to become Trump’s ‘suckers’. Posterity will judge us.
“Nigerian Christians should not allow themselves to be deceived by Trump’s comment. The advanced countries of today will not compromise the secret of their technological advancement. Western countries will not teach us what will benefit our people. They will only teach us what will divide us in order to further render us debilitated, impoverished and helpless.
“Nay, they will give us fish but refuse to teach us how to fish. They will scatter us like wild oats and then give us weapons to kill ourselves. Then, under the guise of rendering humanitarian services, they will take over our land, our oil, our rich culture and force homosexualism and lesbianism down our throats but at that time, it will be too late to resist. Mark our words.
“Trump is only using religion to turn Nigeria into another Iraq. Just as former US President Bush used Sunni-Shiite dichotomy to destroy Iraq just to lay his hands on Iraq’s oil field, Trump is also eyeing Nigeria’s oil. His plan is to use Christian-Muslim divide to set Nigeria ablaze. But Nigerians should remember that decades after the invasion of Iraq, that country is yet to experience stability.”
According to the statement, “Years after the killing of Ghadaffi, Libya is yet to find its feet. The guns are still booming in Syria and the world holds its breadth each time North Korea sneezes. “It is our contention that Trump is luring Nigerian Christians into bolder confrontation with their Muslim neighbours. We warn that the West African sub-region will be shaken to its foundation if Nigerian Christians swallow Trump’s bait.
“The extension to Nigeria of America’s crusade which brought ruins to Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Sudan will have dire consequences on the whole African continent. “What Nigeria has is security challenge but opening our doors to an international bully is not the panacea. We therefore charge the Federal Government (FG) not to rely on US support. What FG needs to do is to recruit more men into its security agencies. We warn against any military alliance with America. We should rather look towards Asia.
“Nonetheless, MURIC rounds up this intervention with a passionate appeal to Nigerians. Let us regard Trump’s comment as the official position of the American ruling class and not necessarily that of the average American people. We plead that Nigerians should nurse no grudge against ordinary Americans who have been taken hostage by Donald Trump. We invite Christian and Muslim leaders to forge more cordial relations. We urge President Donald Trump to liberate himself from his bully’s instinct.”
