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Why US Must Not Re-designate Nigeria As Country of Particular Concern – Bishop Kukah
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The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has urged the United States not to re-designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over religious freedom, arguing that the decision would “hurt ongoing efforts” to promote dialogue, national healing, and interfaith understanding under the Bola Tinubu administration.
Speaking at the launch of the Aid to the Church in Need (ACIN) 2025 World Report on Religious Freedom in the World at the Augustinianum Hall in Vatican City, Bishop Kukah said although Nigeria remains deeply troubled by violence, discrimination, and insecurity, there are encouraging signs of progress that should be strengthened, not punished.
“Re-designating Nigeria a Country of Concern will only make our work in the area of dialogue among religious leaders even harder,” Kukah said.
“It will increase tensions, sow doubt, open windows of suspicion and fear, and simply allow the criminals and perpetrators of violence to exploit. What Nigeria needs now is vigilance and partnership, not punishment.”
Nigeria has sinned and fallen short, but progress is visible
The cleric, long recognised as one of Nigeria’s leading voices on human rights and interfaith relations, acknowledged that the country had failed in many respects to protect citizens’ rights to worship freely.
He said that under former President Muhammadu Buhari, religious persecution, particularly against Christians, “was visible and egregious,” marked by exclusionary policies and the capture of federal power by northern Muslims.
“The Buhari administration marked the worst phase in the history of interfaith relations in Nigeria,” Kukah said.
“That government gave oxygen to jihadists through policies that overtly favoured Islam and northern Nigeria.”
However, he said the Tinubu administration has so far shown “a willingness to listen and to act inclusively.”
He cited the appointment of Christians to strategic national positions — including the Chief of Defence Staff, the Director of the State Security Service, the INEC Chairman, and the National Chairman of the ruling party — as “confidence-building measures that inspire a sense of belonging.”
Kukah also commended President Tinubu for visiting Benue State after the recent Yelwata killings, describing the visit and his empathy for victims as “a departure from Buhari’s silence and indifference.”
Religious persecution remains real, but not total
While acknowledging that Christian minorities in northern Nigeria still face discrimination — including denial of land for church buildings, refusal to rebuild destroyed places of worship, and restricted access to religious education — the bishop said Nigeria’s reality cannot be simplified as state-backed religious oppression.
“We are not dealing with people going around wielding machetes to kill me because I am a Christian,” he said.
“I live in Sokoto, in the womb of Islam, and I move freely in my regalia. The Sultan of Sokoto himself attended our events and provided support for our work. This is not to say there are no problems, but the daily realities of interfaith life in Nigeria are far more complex.”
He said while terrorists and extremist groups have targeted Christians, they have also attacked Muslims who reject their ideology, turning large parts of Nigeria into “a tragic killing field.”
The bishop warned against the simplistic labelling of Nigeria as a country of religious oppression, arguing that such narratives overlook the multifaceted nature of its crisis — one driven by weak governance, poverty, ethnicity, and organized crime as much as by religion.
Kukah urged global institutions to recognise the complexity of Nigeria’s struggle and assist in rebuilding trust among its diverse communities.
He recalled that the United States had previously placed Nigeria on the “Countries of Particular Concern” list under the Donald Trump administration but later removed it under President Joe Biden. While acknowledging the role of international watchdogs, he said another designation now would only “undermine fragile interfaith efforts.”
“Nigeria must stand before the mirror and decide how to create a country of common citizenship,” he said. “The goal should be to help us reform, not to stigmatize. We need encouragement to build peace, not labels that isolate us.”
The bishop appealed for constructive international engagement, including support for Nigeria’s military to combat jihadists and bandits. He accused the Barack Obama administration of having “blocked Nigeria’s access to weapons” under President Goodluck Jonathan, saying that decision “pushed back” the fight against Boko Haram.
“I appeal to President Donald Trump, who is already working hard for peace in the Middle East, to lift the restrictions and help Nigeria access the tools it needs to defeat terror,” he said.
A window of hope under Tinubu
Despite Nigeria’s concerning human rights record, Kukah expressed optimism that the current government’s inclusiveness and the symbolic interfaith makeup of the First Family — with the President as a Muslim and the First Lady a Pentecostal pastor — offer “a window of hope.”
He called on the Tinubu government to deepen reforms, enforce constitutional secularism, and challenge the adoption of Sharia law by 12 northern states, which he described as unconstitutional and dangerous.
“The President should go to court to have the adoption of Sharia law declared unconstitutional,” Kukah said.
“This is the only way to end mob justice and restore confidence in Nigeria’s secular State.”
Concluding his address, Kukah urged religious and political leaders to seize the moment to restore national harmony.
“Despite our challenges, Nigeria can still make a great contribution to world peace if we rid our country of religious extremism,” he said.
“We should be supported and encouraged, not punished.”
He described the ACIN report, which shows that 5.4 billion people globally live without full religious freedom, as “a wake-up call,” not a verdict of condemnation.
“Let Nigeria be judged not only by its wounds, but by its willingness to heal,” Kukah said.
The trigger for Kukah’s remarks
In recent months, US Senator Ted Cruz and a group of Republican lawmakers have renewed pressure on the US State Department to redesignate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act.
They argue that Nigerian authorities have tolerated or failed to stop widespread persecution of Christians by extremist groups and that officials who enable such violence should face sanctions.
Senator Cruz’s proposed Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 seeks to make the CPC status mandatory and impose penalties on officials complicit in religiously motivated killings or the enforcement of blasphemy and Sharia laws.
Nigeria was first placed on the CPC list in 2020 under the Trump administration but removed in 2021 by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The new congressional campaign follows inaccurate of ongoing attacks on churches and faith-based communities, with Cruz claiming, without evidence, that more than 50,000 Christians have been killed since 2009. Supporters of the move say it would compel Nigeria to uphold religious freedoms, while critics, including rights monitors, note that much of the country’s violence stems from terrorism, banditry, and communal conflict rather than state-sponsored persecution.
The Nigerian government has strongly rejected the accusations, insisting that it does not persecute any religious group and that the crisis is rooted in insecurity and governance failures, not faith-based repression.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, and the House of Representatives have dismissed the American lawmakers’ proposal as an “unfair and misleading” depiction of Nigeria’s situation, warning that it undermines national sovereignty and ongoing efforts at interfaith dialogue. Nigerian officials say both Christians and Muslims have been victims of extremist violence.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has fired his most direct warning yet to Nigeria’s political class: the country will not survive another generation of leadership failure.
Speaking during the 2026 Leadership Empowerment International Conference in Abeokuta at the weekend, Obasanjo declared that Nigeria’s crisis is no longer about identifying bad leadership — it is about the danger of tolerating it.
The two-day conference, themed “The Gravity of Leadership Failure & Correction Methodologies”, was organized by the Perspective Leadership Development Institute in collaboration with the Olusegun Obasanjo Leadership Institute. It holds in over 50 countries and is the brainchild of PLDI Founder, Prof. Olusesi Obateye.
But in Nigeria, Obasanjo turned it into a national diagnosis.
Without mentioning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by name, the former President’s remarks landed squarely in the present. His target: an administration pushing controversial economic reforms amid widespread hardship, rising insecurity, and collapsing public trust.
Obasanjo’s core argument was blunt: Nigerians can no longer be sold promises while they pay with pain.
“A government may present itself as reformist, transformational or determined to rescue the country,” he said. “But if its decisions ultimately deepen hardship, weaken institutions, erode trust or leave citizens more vulnerable, the consequences become the more important measure of leadership.”
He took a swipe at governments that measure success by policies announced, projects commissioned, or reforms introduced— without accounting for what ordinary Nigerians feel in their pockets.
“Leadership failure in the ongoing circumstance should be judged by its consequences rather than by the intentions proclaimed at the beginning of tenure,” he stated.
The ex-President zeroed in on the human cost of current policies.
“The immediate effects of reforms and policies introduced by government have imposed considerable pressure on households and businesses,” Obasanjo noted, in an apparent reference to fuel subsidy removal, floating of the naira, and inflation.
He added: “And when the leader continues to say that hunger and hardship has been there before he was born, then that tells you clearly that there is leadership failure.”
For Obasanjo, that line is not an excuse. It is evidence.
He reminded current leaders that they will be judged not by what they inherited, but by what they leave behind.
“While it is admissible that governments frequently inherit serious problems from their predecessors, they also leave behind new consequences of their own decisions,” he said.
“The argument, therefore, is not merely about who created Nigeria’s problems. Good leadership is about who is responsible for solving them now.”
He warned that economic hardship, insecurity, institutional decay, and loss of hope are not abstract concepts. They are the direct bill paid by citizens for bad decisions at the top.
“Nigerian citizens cannot be asked indefinitely to endure pain on the promise of a better future,” Obasanjo declared. “This is where good leadership becomes critical.”
Obasanjo has long maintained that Nigeria does not lack resources or potential.
Its problem, he reiterated in Abeokuta, is the failure of those entrusted with power to convert possibilities into development.
“The fundamental danger is not merely that leaders can make mistakes,” he warned. “It is that leadership failure, when left unchecked, can impose consequences on an entire generation.”
Delivered in his hometown and at an institute bearing his name, Obasanjo’s message was both personal and national.
Nigeria’s problem, he said, has moved past diagnosis.
The question now is: Will we correct it before the consequences become irreversible?
As delegates from 50 countries watched, the elder statesman left no doubt where he stands: leadership is not about occupying office. It is about the capacity and willingness to use power responsibly, make difficult decisions in the public interest, and accept the consequences.
Anything less, he warned, and Nigeria may not survive it.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and a former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, have congratulated Governor Ademola Adeleke on his re-election in the Osun State governorship election.
The two opposition figures separately reacted to Adeleke’s victory in posts on their X accounts on Sunday, commending Osun voters and highlighting the significance of the election to Nigeria’s democracy.
Atiku described Adeleke’s victory as a reflection of the choice made by the people of Osun at the ballot box.
“I congratulate Governor Ademola Adeleke, @AAdeleke_01, on his re-election as Governor of Osun State. His victory demonstrates the choice of the people of Osun as expressed at the ballot box,” Atiku said.
He also commended the electorate for what he described as their passion and peaceful participation in the election, while wishing Adeleke success in his second term.
“I commend the people for their passion and peaceful participation. I wish Governor Adeleke continued success as he continues to serve them,” he added.
Obi, in his reaction, titled “Osun: When the People Stand, Democracy Wins,” also congratulated Adeleke and the people of the state.
He said the election had demonstrated the power of citizens to determine their leaders, adding that Adeleke’s performance and commitment to the people had earned him renewed confidence from the electorate.
Obi particularly praised young voters in Osun for what he described as their vigilance in protecting their democratic mandate.
“The lesson from Osun is clear: democracy is strongest when citizens are alert, conscious of their civic responsibility, and determined to ensure that their votes count,” he said.
The former presidential candidate also used the occasion to urge Nigerians to remain actively involved in the democratic process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He called on citizens to register, vote and protect their ballots, arguing that Nigerians experiencing hardship, insecurity and deprivation possess the power to demand change through the ballot box.
Obi further urged political actors to prioritise the interests of Nigerians and embrace peace and the rule of law.
“Elections should never be battles of violence, but contests of ideas, competence, character, and service,” he said.
INEC declared Adeleke the winner of the Osun governorship election after he polled 511, 067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, who secured 444, 815 votes.
By Eric Elezuo
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has won state’s governorship election. The result was announced by the Returning Officer of the Osun State governorship election, Prof Joshua Olalekan Ogunwale.
The governor polled a total of 511, 067 votes to defeat his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who score 444, 815 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC), Salaam Najid (Iwaloye), came a distant third with 17, 180 votes
Adeleke took an early lead as results uploaded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed him establishing a commanding lead over his closest challenger, and sustained the lead till the final counting
As at 2.06 a.m. on Sunday, INEC had uploaded results from 3,612 polling units, representing 95.99 per cent of the 3,763 polling units in the state, to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
With results from only 151 polling units yet to be uploaded, Adeleke, candidate of the Accord Party, had polled 509,057 votes, representing 51.7 per cent of the votes available on IReV.
The emerging outcome came despite a formidable APC campaign effort that drew about 10 governors and leading figures of the ruling party to Osun to canvass support for Oyebamiji.
Eecall that the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas were among senior APC figures who stormed Osun, and campaigned for the party’s candidate.
Governors who joined the campaign included Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, Usman Ododo of Kogi State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State and Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State. Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was represented by his deputy, Monday Onyeme.
By this victory, Adeleke is expected to pilot the affairs of the state for the next four years, till 2031.
