Elias Gerasoulis (left) having lunch with Ogechukwu Nkere, finance minister of Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGE), in 2024
Bashir Ahmad, former special assistant on digital communications to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, and Elias Gerasoulis, a United States-based lobbyist, have sparred over Washington’s intervention in the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
On Tuesday, US lawmakers convened a roundtable to discuss the escalating violence in the country and what they say is a targeted persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
During the discussions, Ebenezer Obadare, a Douglas Dillon senior fellow for Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), urged the US to pressure Nigeria to make the Sharia law unconstitutional.
Obadare also proposed pushing Nigeria to disband the Hisbah, a Muslim religious police force.
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The CFR fellow said pressuring the Nigerian government with the incentives would be an effective strategy to combat the terror groups. He spoke as an expert witness.
‘BLATANT INTRUSION’
Reacting to the demand on Wednesday, Ahmad accused the US of meddlesomeness.
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“In as much as I don’t want to continue talking about this, but I must say this is a blatant intrusion into our internal affairs!” he said.
“The United States has absolutely no right to dictate to us how we should live, govern ourselves or practise our faith as Nigeria is a sovereign nation with our own Constitution, democratic institutions, cultural values and legal frameworks.”
Ahmad’s statement drew a response from Gerasoulis who said: “Nigeria doesn’t warrant the respect of a sovereign nation. The US should approach Nigeria in the same way it approaches Venezuela.”
The former presidential aide hit back early Thursday, labelling Gerasoulis’ reply insulting.
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“It is an insult to more than 232 million people, to our Constitution and to our democratic institutions. But anyway, who do you think you are to look down on our country?” he asked.
The US lobbyist doubled down on his characterisation of Nigeria, and referenced old allegations of a cloned Buhari as proof.
“Nigeria is not a true country, but an artificial neo-colonial construct of the British, to empower Northern Nigerian islamists (who the British viewed as easier to control) to dominate over everyone else,” he said.
“But I guess you like that, considering you worked for the former despot of Nigeria Buhari (or shall I call him Jubril of Sudan). Your so-called democracy is not real democracy, but a bad joke!”
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WHO IS GERASOULIS?
Gerasoulis works at Moran Global Strategies, a lobbying firm founded by Jim Moran, a former congressman.
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Among the Greek-American lobbyist’s clients is the Biafra Republic Government In Exile (BRGIE).
This year, Gerasoulis and a coalition of Christian activist groups built a methodical campaign by sending letters of an alleged Christian persecution in Nigeria to US congress, and framing the south-east, where the proposed Biafra nation is located, as a marginalised, energy-rich area.
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The lobbyist pushed this agenda by delivering briefings that gained traction in President Donald Trump’s orbit.
In October, Gerasoulis and Ogechukwu Nkere, Biafra finance minister in exile, met with Ted Cruz, a US senator.
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Shortly afterwards, Cruz introduced his first bill addressing the alleged religious persecution in Nigeria.
“The government-in-exile represents the Christian tribes and continues a struggle that has never ended in the country that is today the most dangerous to be a Christian,” Gerasoulis told Το Vima, a Greek publication, last month.
“It is no coincidence that I have developed a specialty in clients who represent liberation movements in order to try to give them the justice that is often denied them by major geopolitical interests.”
An investigation by TheCable in October found that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) played significant roles in amplifying claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria.
