“No Genocide in Nigeria,” African Union Chief Counters Trump

“No Genocide in Nigeria,” African Union Chief Counters Trump

The African Union has directly countered former US President Donald Trump’s inflammatory claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, with its top diplomat firmly stating that “there is no genocide in northern Nigeria.”

The rejection comes amidst a brewing international crisis triggered by Trump’s threat of a “fast, vicious, and sweet” US military attack on the West African nation.

Trump’s declaration, which asserted that Christianity faced an “existential threat” from radical Islamists, has drawn a sharp and diplomatic rebuke from the Chair of the African Union Commission, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.

Speaking at a press conference in New York, Youssouf urged caution, stating, “The complexity of the situation in northern Nigeria should push us to think twice before making such statements.”

He directly challenged the factual basis of Trump’s allegations, pointing to the nature of the long-running jihadist insurgency.

“The first victims of Boko Haram… are Muslims, not Christians,” Youssouf stated, emphasizing that the conflict’s violence is not sectarian but broadly impacts all communities.

The AU’s intervention provides crucial international backing for the Nigerian government, which has also rejected Trump’s characterization of the security situation.

The dispute highlights a stark divergence in perspective: while Trump framed the conflict as a religious war, the AU and Nigerian authorities describe it as a complex insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people and displaced two million from all faiths, according to UN figures.

Nigeria, with its population of 230 million almost evenly split between a Christian-majority south and a Muslim-majority north, now finds itself at the center of a volatile geopolitical standoff.

The African Union’s firm stance serves to delegitimize the purported justification for military action and calls for a more nuanced understanding of the region’s security challenges.

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