Olu Allen
Let’s talk honestly.
I’m a Christian. I’ve seen the pain, the funerals, the burnt churches, the widows who still keep a chair empty at family prayers. Nobody can tell us Christians haven’t suffered. We have, deeply. And it’s a wound Nigeria still bleeds from.
But when I hear voices abroad suddenly shouting “Christian genocide in Nigeria!” I can’t help but ask, where were they all these years?
Where were they when bombs went off in our villages?
When churches were attacked on Christmas mornings?
When President Jonathan begged for weapons to fight terrorists and the West said no?
Where were the cameras, the headlines, the empathy then?
Now the same people who turned their backs have found their tongues, not because they care more, but because it suits them now. It fits a new global storyline.
Let’s be clear: Christians have been killed. Churches have been destroyed. Families have been scattered. But this is not genocide.
It is the long shadow of insecurity, bad governance, and a system that has failed to protect Nigerians, whether Christian or Muslim. Religion, in this tragedy, is only the mask the devil borrows.
And if we’re being honest, we Christians have also been too quiet for too long, quiet when faith was used as a campaign strategy, quiet when pulpits became podiums, quiet when truth was inconvenient for our tribe.
Now that pain has come knocking, we suddenly remember we are one Body again.
So yes, mourn. Cry if you must. Pray for Nigeria, please do. But also be wise. Don’t let foreign commentators make you props in their political drama.
Nigeria doesn’t need pity from abroad; she needs sincerity at home.
She needs leadership that values every life, Christian, Muslim, anyone.
She needs believers who will speak truth with love, not rage in echo chambers.
The Bible tells us persecution will come, but it also reminds us that grace abounds even there. Our faith should not make us victims of propaganda; it should make us witnesses of hope.
So, the next time someone says “genocide,” pause. Remember the truth. Remember history. Remember that the same world once turned away when we needed them most.
And whisper, not in anger, but in faith:
“Lord, heal our land… and open their eyes too.”
Allen is a writer and educator based in Kano. He writes on public affairs and advocates for faith, truth, and national unity.
