…Says We Must Never Allow Outsiders To Tell Us Who We Are
Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, has debunked the claims of mass killings of Christian in Nigeria made by United States senator, Ted Cruz, television host, Bill Maher, and political commentator, Van Jones.
In a post on his X handle on Friday, Cruz alleged that Christians were facing systematic persecution in Nigeria, adding that Nigerian officials were ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.
The senator for Texas went further to say that he had introduced a piece of legislation named, “Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act” to hold Nigerian government officials accountable for failing to act to protect Christians in the West African nation.
Dare in an X post, debunked the claims, saying Cruz, Maher and Jones were “piling on false narratives.
“Orchestrating wild allegations about unproven ongoing ‘Genocide’ in Nigeria. We disagree. Nigeria must reject this attempt to robe it with a garment that is not hers,” the presidential aide noted.
He said that President Bola Tinubu was “forged in the crucible of religious tolerance and understanding, that of democracy and respect for individual rights and of course modern politics” and his words and testimony ring out about Nigeria and religious tolerance.
Quoting the president, Dare said, “Let me also say this clearly, Nigeria is a proud, sovereign nation built on the faith and resilience of its people. Here, no faith is under siege, no community is excluded. Our churches, mosques, and traditional shrines stand side by side – not as rivals, but as symbols of the unity that binds us.
“We must never allow outsiders to tell us who we are or sow division among us. We are Nigerians, and we will stand together. Nigeria will not accept lectures from those who seek to profit from our divisions. No one loves this country more than Nigerians themselves, and no one will define us except us.”
Dare insisted that recent comments by Maher and Cruz alleging a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria are both misguided and deeply troubling coming from these ones who should know better.
“Such narratives, if left unchecked, distort the reality on the ground and risk inflaming tensions in an already fragile region.
“Nigeria is a multi-religious nation founded on principles of freedom of worship, mutual respect, and coexistence.
“Its Constitution guarantees religious liberty for all — Christian, Muslim, or adherent of any other faith — and successive governments have consistently upheld this right,” the presidential aide stressed.
He added that what Maher and Cruz have labeled as a “Christian genocide” is, in fact, the brutal wave of terrorism and banditry that Nigeria, like many other nations, continues to battle.
According to him, these acts are carried out by non-state actors — violent extremists and criminal elements — whose objectives have nothing to do with faith or theology but with chaos, profit, and destabilization.
He explained that these terrorists target soft civilian populations, attacking churches, mosques, markets, motor parks, schools, and villages indiscriminately.
He stated, “Their victims are Nigerians of every religion, ethnicity, and creed.”