Jonathan Asake: “a Silent Genocide Is Going On Against Christian Communities In Southern Kaduna”

For seven years, Christian communities in the south of Nigeria’s Kaduna State have been under increasing attack by Fulani Muslim militias. Massacres, kidnappings, and forced displacements have taken place on a massive scale.

The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) is a local organization working to draw attention to this hidden crisis. CSI and Nigeria Report are pleased to present this interview with SOKAPU's president, Jonathan Asake.

CSI: Many people describe the attacks in your state as a conflict between “herders” and “farmers”. You instead speak of a genocide of Christians and indigenous minority groups in the region. How would you explain these attacks?

JA: I have stated my views on this very clearly in public. Nigeria’s president is Fulani. Virtually everyone that surrounds him is Fulani. The governor of Kaduna State is also Fulani, and he has not hidden his own agenda. I know why our communities are being attacked. It is to take over the lands of indigenous people and change the demographics of the region.

In 1804, there was a jihad in Nigeria by a Fulani warrior named Osman Dan Fodio. He wanted to drive all the way to Nigeria’s southern coast; it was said that his goal was to dip the Qur’an in the Atlantic Ocean. But he could not conquer the Middle Belt. Later, missionaries brought Christianity here, and Christianity became well-rooted in the region.

The same pattern of jihadist attacks is being repeated today. Defenceless communities are attacked, women and children are killed, other women are raped and enslaved, farmland and food reserves are destroyed, houses are burned, and finally the lands are occupied. In our state, over 108 communities have been taken over, and hundreds of thousands are displaced. Some of these people have been displaced for seven years.

The “farmers and herders” narrative is misleading. We know what a farmer-herder clash looks like; we had them when I was a kid. A nomadic Fulani herder would drive his cattle into farmland, the farmer would confront him, and they would start fighting. Usually, it was settled within the village community. What is happening today is different! These are unprovoked, premeditated attacks, by people who are well-protected, well-armed, and who get away with it. To my knowledge, no one has been prosecuted for these attacks. No one!

Every indicator points to the fact that the government knows what is happening.

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Nigeria Report is a project of Christian Solidarity International. Its goal is to spread awareness of, and promote solutions for, the widespread sectarian violence afflicting Nigeria.

Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is a Christian human rights organization promoting religious liberty and human dignity.