Trump Warns: ‘Nigerian Govt Not Taking Situation Seriously,’ Says US Congressman
A United States Congressman, Bill Huizinga, has criticised the Nigerian government over what he described as its lack of seriousness in addressing the ongoing attacks on Christian communities across the country.
Naija News reports that Huizinga expressed his concerns in an interview with Arise Television, where he faulted Abuja’s official response to the crisis, saying it had been “dismissive.”
The lawmaker said the pattern of attacks showed signs of organised and targeted assaults on Christian populations in Nigeria.
According to him, the United States must act swiftly to avert another large-scale atrocity in Africa, drawing parallels with past global failures in Rwanda and South Sudan.
Huizinga revealed that he had personally spoken with survivors and religious leaders who said they felt targeted in repeated attacks on their homes and communities.
He urged the Nigerian government to take stronger and more proactive measures to protect its citizens.
The Congressman advised the Federal Government to outline specific strategies to curb the rising wave of violence, insisting that vague assurances were no longer sufficient.
Huizinga also underscored Nigeria’s strategic relevance to West Africa’s stability and economic growth, warning that continued insecurity could undermine the entire region. He urged Abuja to act decisively to prevent further bloodshed.
He said, “I’m glad that we’re able to do this. This is something that’s been very, very important, and as I’ve been saying to some of my colleagues, we were too late on Rwanda. We were too late on South Sudan and a number of other atrocities that have happened in Africa and other places around the world. So let’s not be too late again on this one.
“What I’m concerned about in particular is, you look at the Fulani and the radicalized Islamists, how they are attacking both moderate Muslims as well as the Christians. And I think it’s hard to deny, when you see 200 Christians slaughtered on Christmas eve a few years ago. Clearly it was a coordinated attack. And I’ve talked to people that were in the village. I’ve talked to religious leaders who have been experiencing this for years. They feel targeted.
“They know that when their homes are being entered or they’re being attacked in the middle of the night, this is not just some sort of oh, people are in conflict. They feel very much targeted. Because of that, the US response has been swift.
“So I want to get serious about it, because, again, I’m not convinced that the Nigerian government has taken the situation seriously. They need to demonstrate what they are doing to protect not just Christians, but certainly Christians, and what they are doing and proposing to lower that violence threshold.
“And you know, earlier you’re asking, have I been satisfied with the response? No, because I think their response has been “no, there’s really not a problem”.
“Well, I think there is a problem, and I’d like for them to demonstrate either very clearly why they think there is no problem, which, again, as I had said in the meeting with the Foreign Minister, that I don’t think that was adequately addressed at all, and more satisfactorily, what is their plan to deal with the violence in Nigeria, and both against Christians.
“But I think in general, much of the other, the many of the other situations that are violent, you know, and we talked earlier a little bit about the importance of Nigeria in in not just West Africa, but the whole African continent, and the economic success and potential that is there they have.”