Pastor pleads for international support to combat deadly persecution

Editorial introduction: Jesus said that in the times of the end, Christians “will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matt 24:9). This prophecy seems to be coming to pass around the world today. This report sheds fresh light on the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, for your information and prayers.

In the latest of seemingly never-ending reports of deadly violence in Nigeria comes news that suspected Boko Haram terrorists killed at least 65 people at a funeral in a village in the north-east of the country.¹

In the past decade, tens of thousands of people — mainly Christians — in the north and middle-belt regions of Nigeria have been killed by Islamist Boko Haram terrorists and armed Fulani herdsmen, while millions more have been displaced.

The facts about exactly what or who is driving the violence are hard to nail down in an environment where different interest groups advance vastly divergent narratives, and in which rumours and allegations abound.

But some of the hard facts are that the death and destruction is continuing, the tragedy which some human rights groups are calling ‘genocidal’ is not getting the global media attention it deserves, and there has been no constructive international engagement with the crisis in Africa’s most populous nation.

Fears of Government Complicity

I spoke to a Nigerian pastor who contacted Gateway News in the hopes of reaching the international community with the concerns of “many Christians” who feel that their government is not only failing to protect them but is complicit in their suffering.

Pastor Emmanuel² in Nigeria’s middle-belt Plateau state, who has spent years reaching out to Nigerian Fulani people with the love of Christ, said that many Christians now believe that most of the Fulani herdsmen currently involved in terror were brought into the country from other African countries by President Muhammudu Buhari to destabilise the government, in the event of him losing the presidential election which took place earlier this year.

Pastor Emmanuel said many Christians are also starting to believe allegations made in public in 2014 by a former national anti-corruption chief, Nuhu Ribadu, that Buhari brought in thousands of Fulani herdsmen for the same reason before the 2015 election, but abandoned them when he won at the polls, resulting in them turning to “banditry”.

Pastor Emmanuel believes that if Ribadu’s 2014 allegations against Buhari were false, he would have been arrested, but nothing happened to him and the President never denied his claims. Emmanuel believes Buhari may have found a way to co-opt Ribadu.³ Both Buhari and Ribadu are Fulanis.

Many Nigerian Christians believe that the Fulani herdsmen currently involved in terror were brought into the country by their President for political reasons.

Islamising Nigeria

Pastor Emmanuel continued that the belief that both Boko Haram and the Fulani attackers were ‘created’ by President Buhari is gaining ground in Christian circles. Likewise, many Christians are convinced that the President is pursuing an agenda to Islamise Nigeria, whose population is roughly half Christian and half Muslim (with a small percentage of traditional religionists and people of no faith). The Muslim population is mainly in the north.

Emmanuel said that Christians in Nigeria were also baffled recently by the President’s proposed ‘Ruga’ programme to resettle Fulanis on land in every state of the country and to build houses and community infrastructure for them. He said the plan, purportedly to stop clashes between farmers and nomadic Fulani herders which Buhari maintains are about grazing land, was suspended after Nigerians (especially Christians) opposed it, asking why one would build houses for foreigners all over the country. According to media reports on the failed Ruga plan,⁴ critics also said it would send out a message that violence pays.

Pastor Emmanuel said the Ruga project is another indication of Buhari’s Islamisation agenda. While it is good that the plan has been suspended, he said Nigerian Christians need to remain alert. For instance, the Government is talking about carrying out a census of Fulanis and disarming people who legally own firearms, which would leave them vulnerable to armed Fulani attackers.

He also highlighted a development in which a High Court branded the country’s main Shia Islamic group a terrorist organisation,⁵ after it staged a protest in the capital, Abuja, in which a policeman and about six members of the group died. He said the group was protesting against the detention of its leader who has been held by the Government since 2015 despite court orders to release him.

“We Nigerians are asking why the Shiites were branded as terrorists when they have done nothing that compares with the killing, kidnapping and ransacking of villages by the Fulani herdsmen, who have never been branded as terrorists,” Pastor Emmanuel said.

Many Christians are convinced that the President is pursuing an agenda to Islamise Nigeria, whose population is roughly half Christian and half Muslim.

Calling on Christians

According to the pastor, Christians feel helpless about the security situation that threatens to destroy the country and it is vital that the international community take note of the situation, including the Government’s Islamisation campaign and complicity in the security crisis. He said they are looking to Christians around the world for prayer support and to help mobilise appropriate action.

He also said that Nigerian Christians lack a strong national voice, as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which used to be that voice, has been politicised and some of its members have been bribed.⁶

A Christian political observer in Nigeria told Gateway News that while there are Christians in the country who share Pastor Emmanuel’s views, there is no formal Christian position on the security situation or allegations that Buhari has birthed terror groups.

She agreed that the Fulanis responsible for “kidnapping, raping and maiming” are mainly foreigners, but said there are many complex underlying issues around the ongoing and escalating violence in the country.

“The challenge is, talk is cheap and so you have rumours and allegations flying in all directions but no-one is coming forth with concrete evidence to support their claims.

“Having said that, in order to understand why some things defy logic in Nigeria, you need to understand that the president is Fulani. They are a minority with a super-race mentality who believe they are born to rule. So the president is first and foremost Fulani and then he is a [Sunni] Muslim and finally he is Nigerian. His loyalty is in that order. He makes no apologies about that, neither does he hide it.”

Hope for Action

Amid fresh concerns that Boko Haram terrorists may have killed kidnapped Christian schoolgirl Leah Sharibu,⁷ Open Doors USA chief David Curry accused the Nigerian Government of lacking the resources to protect terror victims and not having the will to fight the terrorist agenda of ISIS-affiliated groups in the country.

Indications that the United States and Britain are committing themselves to prioritise combating Christian persecution and religious freedom issues around the world⁸ will hopefully translate into meaningful action as far as the suffering Christian community in affected parts of Nigeria is concerned.

When one part of the Body suffers, “every part suffers with it” (1 Cor 12:26). If you would like to do more to stand with the persecuted Church in Nigeria, we recommend Open Doors UK and the Barnabas Fund. If you know of other reliable ministries working in this area, do post them below.

Notes

1 See Fox News, 30 July 2019

2 Not his real name.

3 At the time Ribadu made his explosive allegations, he was on the team of Buhari’s election opponent Goodluck Jonathan. But ironically, Ribadu was a key member of Buhari’s 2019 election campaign and described his win at the polls as a victory for Nigerians.

4 E.g. see Ruga: High-level settlement for herdsmen shot down by suspicion. Punch NG, 7 July 2019.

5 Nigeria bans local Shi'ite group after protests. Reuters, 28 July 2019

6 Having said this, CAN has accused Buhari of pursuing an Islamisation agenda. Read more here.

7 See Nigerian government admonished amidst fresh concerns about Leah Sharibu. Gateway News, 26 July 2019.

8 E.g. U.S. and Britain putting a new emphasis on religious freedom abroad. Crux, 12 July 2019.

Paul Luckraft reviews 'Islam: Threat or Truth?' by Andrew Baguley (RoperPenberthy, 2015)

This is a slim volume whose main value resides in the attempt to answer the question posed in the title. The author is issuing a call to Christians to consider what is happening around the world as Islam increases its influence.

The book is described as a teaching manual for those who want to know how to cope with Islam in the modern world and how to witness to those who follow its teachings. However, it is rather too brief and bitty for that. It may indeed stir some to action but they will need to consult other more substantial books if they are to succeed.

Chapters and Coverage

There is a chapter called 'An introduction to Islam', but it merely talks about the different strands of the religion (Shia, Sunni, etc). A later chapter on the growth of Islam is mainly concerned with what has happened in the UK and Europe in recent times.

All of this is important, but it creates the impression that the whole book is slanted towards the idea of the threat of Islam.

Two other chapters worthy of note are those on Sharia Law and the Islamic view of Jesus. This will be very informative to those who know little about these topics.

The author calls to Christians to consider what is happening around the world as Islam increases its influence.

End Times Position

The penultimate chapter is entitled A Biblical Understanding of Islam in the Last Days and it is here that the author's main purpose in writing the book is stated: "to show how the Bible has clearly set out the role of Islam in the End Times' events that herald the Tribulation period of seven years" (p60). The author subscribes to a pre-tribulation rapture position which fuels his desire to educate the Church before it is too late.

Previously he has commented that "the rise of Islam and its world view is another sign of the impending rapture of the church" (p11). However, his particular eschatological view does not affect the main points he generally makes and those who don't hold to this view can still benefit from the information he provides.

This book may stir some to action but they will also need more substantial books if they are to succeed.

Islam: Threat or Truth (72 pages) is available from the publisher for £5.99.

As this is the last issue this year of Prophecy Today and in a somewhat festive spirit, we thought that we would publish a humorous piece in contrast to our usual comment articles. We hope you find it thought-provoking!

In case you don't know what's happening in the Middle East...

President Assad (who is bad) is a nasty guy who got so nasty his people rebelled and the Rebels (who are good) started winning (Hurrah!). But then some of the rebels turned a bit nasty and are now called Islamic State (who are definitely bad!) but some continued to support democracy (who are still good).

So the Americans (who are good) started bombing Islamic State (who are bad) and giving arms to the Syrian Rebels (who are good) so they could fight Assad (who is still bad) which was good.

By the way, there is a breakaway state in the north run by the Kurds who want to fight IS (which is a good thing) but the Turkish authorities think they are bad, so we have to say they are bad whilst secretly thinking they're good and giving them guns to fight IS (which is good) - but that is another matter.

Getting back to Syria...

So President Putin (who is bad, 'cos he invaded Crimea and the Ukraine and killed lots of folks including that nice Russian man in London with polonium poisoned sushi) has decided to back Assad (who is still bad) by attacking IS (who are also bad) which is sort of a good thing?

But Putin (still bad) thinks the Syrian Rebels (who are good) are also bad, and so he bombs them too, much to the annoyance of the Americans (who are good) who are busy backing and arming the rebels (who are also good).

Now Iran (who used to be bad, but now they have agreed not to build any nuclear weapons and bomb Israel are now good) are going to provide ground troops to support Assad (still bad) as are the Russians (bad) who now have ground troops and aircraft in Syria.

So a Coalition of Assad (still bad), Putin (extra bad!) and the Iranians (good, but in a bad sort of way), are going to attack IS (who are bad) which is a good thing, but also the Syrian Rebels (who are good) which is bad.

Enter Britain...

Now the British (obviously good, except that nice Mr Corbyn in the corduroy jacket, who is probably bad) and the Americans (also good) cannot attack Assad (still bad) for fear of upsetting Putin (bad) and Iran (good / bad) and now they have to accept that Assad might not be that bad after all compared to IS (who are super bad).

So Assad (bad) is now probably good, being better than ISIS. And since Putin and Iran are also fighting IS, that may now make them good. America (still good) will find it hard to arm a group of rebels being attacked by the Russians for fear of upsetting Mr Putin (now good) and that nice mad Ayatollah in Iran (also good) and so they may be forced to say that the Rebels are now bad, or at the very least abandon them to their fate. This will lead most of them to flee to Turkey and on to Europe or join IS (still the only constantly bad group).

Sunnis vs Shias

To Sunni Muslims, an attack by Shia Muslims (Assad and Iran) backed by Russians will be seen as something of a Holy War, and the ranks of IS will now be seen by the Sunnis as the only Jihadis fighting in the Holy War. Hence many Muslims will now see IS as good (doh!). Sunni Muslims will also see the lack of action by Britain and America in support of their Sunni rebel brothers as something of a betrayal (mmm-might have a point) and hence we will be seen as bad.

A Helpful Summary

So now we have America (now bad) and Britain (also bad) providing limited support to Sunni Rebels (bad), many of whom are looking to ISIS (good / bad) for support against Assad (now good) who, along with Iran (also good) and Putin (also, now, unbelievably, good) are attempting to retake the country Assad used to run before all this started.

So now you fully understand everything, all your questions are answered!!