Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has issued a sharp rebuke to a group of US lawmakers, led by Senator Ted Cruz, over their characterisation of violence in Nigeria as “Christian genocide”.
In a lengthy post on X, Fani-Kayode described Cruz as “the joker of the century” and accused him and his allies of peddling a false, dangerous narrative about Nigeria’s security crisis.
He said the allegation of “Christian genocide” was “hardly sustainable” in a country where key security and intelligence positions are held by Christians, and where the president’s wife is a pastor.
“Who in our Armed Forces & security and intelligence agencies pulls the trigger on the Christians & who gives the orders for them to be singled out for genocide whilst the Muslims are left unscathed & untouched?” he wrote.
Fani-Kayode acknowledged that Christians had suffered violent attacks in Nigeria, but argued the violence was inflicted by non-state actors against both Christians and Muslims.
He cited past atrocities, including the 2016 Southern Kaduna killings, and said the pattern of attacks demonstrated that terrorists “make no distinction between their victims on religious grounds”.
The former minister accused some US lawmakers of ignorance and malicious intent and warned that their actions could harm American strategic interests in West Africa.
“Stop misrepresenting our situation, leave our country alone and stop trying to provoke chaos and ignite a religious war,” he wrote.
Fani-Kayode said Nigerians must confront the terrorist threat as one people, adding: “Whether Christian or Muslim we are first and foremost Nigerians and there is no division between us on religious lines.”
He welcomed the Christian Association of Nigeria’s rejection of the “Christian genocide” label and urged foreign actors to treat Nigeria’s crisis as a national tragedy affecting all citizens.