By Our Correspondent <\/p>\n
The Senate Thursday countered the Christian Genocide narrative on Nigeria being pushed into the international domain by some serving Senators in the United States of America ( USA) .<\/p>\n
It specifically declared that insecurity in Nigeria is not driven by religious sentiment but multifaceted factors which are critically being addressed by relevant authorities in the country .<\/p>\n
Senate’s reaction to the narrative described as misconception by those pushing it , followed a motion sponsored by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume ( Borno South) and 20 other Senators on ” urgent need to correct misconceptions regarding the purported ‘ Christian Genocide ‘ narrative in Nigeria and in the International Community “.<\/p>\n
Ndume in his presentation on the motion which was later stood down by the Senate to Tuesday next week , argued that the narrative was fueled by misinformation and should be corrected .<\/p>\n
He accordingly amongst others , urged the Senate to engage constructively with the US Congress , International partners and Nigerian diaspora organisations to clarify the misconceptions .<\/p>\n
Further debate on the motion was however stood down to Tuesday next week on the strength of submission made by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim ( Ondo South) who said the issue should be deliberated upon in closed door , so as to avoid the strategy of the terrorists .<\/p>\n
Based on Senator Jimoh Ibrahim’s suggestion , the President of the Senate , Godswill Akpabio in his remarks , said the issues about the narrative are too complex , requiring exhaustive deliberation .<\/p>\n
He said : “My personal opinion is that this has been brought to the fore of the Senate, and then we must have exhaustive deliberations in close session on this, and then we must also come up with a strategy to correct the misinterpretation, the misinformation, and at the same time educate the international community. <\/p>\n
“So, we may not need to go into item by item in these prayers. I therefore call on the Leader to summarize all the prayers in the motion into one .<\/p>\n
Accordingly , the Senate Leader , Senator Opeyemi Bamidele ( Ekiti Central) in summarizing the prayers , said the resolution of the Senate on the motion is that ” Insecurity in Nigeria is not driven by religion .<\/p>\n
” In view of the sensitivity of the issues involved, I would just say that let our resolution here today on the basis of this motion be that as a Senate, it is our conviction that the insecurity problem, the security challenge in Nigeria is not religion driven. <\/p>\n
“Having said that, as a resolution on the basis of our discussion here, that we now step down for that consideration of this motion, especially the prayers, you know, till the next legislative day, which is Tuesday next week, when we can have our executive session”, he said .<\/p>\n
Recall that the US had penultimate week, received report from some of its Senators for re – classification of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern as done in December 2020 before lifting the tag in October 2021. <\/p>\n
Specifically five United States Republican Senators, Ted Budd, Josh Hawley, Pete Ricketts, Ted Cruz, and James Lankford, have written to the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week, urging him to consider a re-classification of Nigeria as a \u201cCountry of Particular Concern\u201d (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), over continued acts of \u201cviolence and terrorism against religious minorities in the Northern part of the country .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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