Godswill Akpabio
Senate President Godswill Akpabio says US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Nigeria are based on an “outdated report” and do not reflect the current realities in the country.
On Friday, Trump tagged Nigeria a “country of particular concern”, and accused the Nigerian government of turning a blind eye to attacks on Christians.
Speaking during plenary on Tuesday, Akpabio said the senate had yet to deliberate on the issue but would do so in collaboration with the executive arm of government.
“We have not discussed the issue of President Trump yet in chambers. We shall do so with the executive because we believe it is a matter of foreign policy and diplomatic relations, he said.
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”I have refrained from taking any motion on that yet until we know the direction of government and what government intends to do.”
Akpabio said Trump’s position was derived from a 2010 report by a US congressional fact-finding team that visited only a few parts of Nigeria.
“The position that President Trump is taking is not based on the current realities,” he said.
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“The position is based on a purported 2010 report — 15 years ago — that they said some people came on fact-finding from the US Congress and they went to only Plateau and Benue; they did not go to Zamfara and other areas.”
He said the US must understand the complexity of Nigeria’s security challenges and avoid framing them through a religious lens.
“If you go to a predominantly Muslim community, terrorists and bandits cause you to kill people — the majority of those who die there will be Muslims,” he said.
“When you enter a predominantly Christian community like Benue and Plateau and then you cause mayhem, the majority of those who will die there will be Christians.”
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Akpabio said Nigeria’s insecurity should be viewed holistically, stressing that citizens of all faiths desire peace and unity.
“Nigeria’s problem needs to be weighed from all sides, and all we are looking for is peace,” he said.
“There is no Nigerian that doesn’t want to sleep with his two eyes closed, and there is no Nigerian that does not live with a Muslim or Christian in his house. Nigeria is multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and we live with one another.”
He added that attempts to portray Nigeria as divided along religious lines were misleading and dangerous.
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“When people take issues out of Nigeria and misrepresent them to create the impression that Christians and Muslims are fighting, it is totally untrue,” Akpabio said.
On October 14, the senate set up a 12-member ad hoc committee to develop a comprehensive position paper in response to growing international concerns over alleged state-backed persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
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