The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a press statement issued on Tuesday, said that diplomatic efforts between Nigeria and the United States are yielding positive results despite recent tensions between both governments.
The statement comes following US President Donald Trump’s remarks last month, where he alleged that Christianity in Nigeria was facing an “existential threat” from radical Islamist groups.
It can be recalled in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that “thousands of Christians are being killed” and said he had designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern.”
Later, after the post, Trump also directed the Pentagon to draw up “options for possible military measures” against terrorist groups in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu, however, dismissed the allegations, insisting that Nigeria guarantees freedom of religion and protects the rights of all faiths, while China and Russia urged Washington to respect Nigeria’s sovereignty.
This was contained in a statement signed by the minister’s media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, on Tuesday.
“Channels of communication have been opened, I can confirm that; we are talking to them, and I think they are understanding the situation better.
“We believe that most of the information is a result of a lack of a proper understanding of the diversity and complexity of the problem we have at hand,” he said.
The minister alleged that certain lobby groups in the US are linked to a proscribed separatist organisation in Nigeria and are working to misinform American authorities.
“Let me also put it out there that we are seeing a direct connection between (US) lobbyists and (a) proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria, and we have seen how they have set up this lobby in the US, contacting high-up people in the United States to help them to lobby,” he said.
Idris noted that Nigeria still values its long-standing security partnership with Washington and called for continued collaboration in combating terrorism.
“What we are saying is that, yes, indeed, the situation is there, we have conflict in Nigeria, we have a security situation in Nigeria, but in the past the United States government has helped Nigerian authorities to deal with this situation; so, we are calling on them to partner with us once again, to help push this, and then we have peace once and for all in our country,” he said.
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The minister expressed surprise at some figures and positions from the US government regarding Nigeria’s internal challenges, urging a better understanding of the country’s realities.
“We want to tell the world that this is not the case, and to appeal to them (that) we share the concern of people from our country, and we also share the concern of the international community, including the United States, about some of these killings going on.
“But what we want at this point is an understanding of the diversity and the complexity of the situation,” he said.
Idris also questioned the credibility of the data being used to support allegations of religious intolerance in Nigeria.
“Some of the assumptions are based on data that largely cannot stand any scientific scrutiny,” he said.
He also maintained that the Nigerian constitution enshrines religious freedom and that the country remains a multi-faith nation, despite the conflict, which he said was not based on religious persecution.
