By Onwuasoanya FCC Jones
If the theory of Christian genocide as propounded and promoted by the very charismatic and courageous Reverend Dachomo is to be taken seriously for what it means, then, there is no group of terrorists that is more guilty of committing Christian genocide than the IPOB, through its terrorist militia wing, the ESN and other splinters.
For context, Christian genocide can be defined as the targeted extermination of Christians for the purpose of destroying or at least discouraging more people from joining or participating in the Christian faith and worship.
Boko Haram, Iswap, Lakaruwa and other Northern based terrorist groups have been blamed for massive extermination of Christians in the North, hence, the campaign by Reverend Dachomo and other people and groups calling the attention of the world to the atrocities against Christians. Without meaning to discredit Dachomo’s campaign or to trivialise the tragedies suffered by Christians in the North over the last decade, the reality is that if we have to determine the truth of this situation by the ratio of Christians affected to Muslims and people of other religions, then, Southeast qualifies far ahead of the North for intervention over the abhorrent persecution and extermination of Christians.
According to HumAngle which describes itself as; “A non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation established in 2022 to address the human fallout of insecurity and conflict, both of which have been documented for half a decade by its progenitor, HumAngle Media”; for every Christian affected by the insecurity in the North, at least, eight Muslims suffered the same or worse fate. This might not explicitly make the claim of Christian genocide in the North completely irrelevant, but it definitely provides an alternative perspective that helps for objective conclusion.
In the Southeast, 99% of those who lost their lives or have been adversely affected by the IPOB orchestrated insecurity, are Christians. One may argue that this is so because a good majority of Southeast residents are Christians. While this is true, we must not fail to take cognisance of the declared intention of the perpetrators of these atrocities against Southeast Christians.
Nnamdi Kanu, the founder and leader of the proscribed and terrorist IPOB did not make any pretences about his revulsion at Christians, from the onset of his criminal enterprise. He started off by trying to introduce and even impose a queer version of Judaism as the official religion of the Southeast. He poured all manner of invectives against Christianity and invited hatred against Christian laity and the clergy in the Southeast. He even banned Christian gatherings, including a planned crusade by members of the Deeper Life Church and other Pentecostal churches. Some of the initial casualties of his violent campaign were Christian clergy.
When people seem alarmed at the violent encroachment on an Anglican Church in Anambra yesterday, which led to the unfortunate killing of the Pastor’s wife and burning of the parish house, I feel that we might have forgotten certain things. This incident in Anambra isn’t an exception, rather it is a furtherance of IPOB’s pattern of attacking Christians. In fact, if we take accurate census of attacks on religious buildings in the Southeast, we might find it difficult locating a single mosque that had been attacked by the IPOB and its affiliates, but more than 300 churches and Christian places of worship and institutions have definitely borne the brunt of Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB persecution.
The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu should not forget to bring this to the notice of his USA guests on Fact-finding mission, so that whatever security or intelligence assistance that may be offered would also be extended to the Southeast. We need to flush out whatever might be left of IPOB terrorism in the Southeast, for peace and prosperity of the zone to be guaranteed.
May Alaigbo Heal!
Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, PhD. is a former Deputy Youth Leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.