Senior Pastor of the Guiding Light Assembly Church, Wale Adefarasin has cautioned against what he described as the sudden surge of international attention on the plight of Christians in Nigeria, urging a more balanced understanding of the country’s long-standing insecurity challenges.
Speaking during a Sunday sermon at his church, Pastor Adefarasin said that while attacks on Christians were of great concern, violence in Nigeria was not new and should not be framed as affecting only one religious or regional group.
He recalled the history of violence in parts of Southern Kaduna and Plateau State, where both Christians and Muslims had suffered heavy losses.
The pastor also referenced international incidents, such as the defacing of an image of the Prophet Muhammad in France, which he said sparked retaliatory attacks on Christians in Nigeria at the time.
“It’s nothing new. It doesn’t amount to genocide,” Pastor Adefarasin said, warning that Western narratives often exaggerate or misrepresent Nigeria’s complex realities by portraying Christians as being under constant threat of extinction.
He questioned the motives behind renewed global focus on Nigeria’s religious violence, suggesting that geopolitical and economic interests might be influencing the attention.
“Is it because we now have one of the largest refineries in the world, or because of the 21st-century minerals in our land used for nuclear power and electric vehicles? Are these the reasons our friends are threatening to invade our country to defend Nigerian Christians?” he asked.
Pastor Adefarasin urged Nigerians to be cautious about external interventions, warning that such actions could have unintended consequences.
He emphasized that insecurity affects all Nigerians, Christians, Muslims, and others alike, and called for unity, deeper understanding, and collective responsibility in addressing the root causes of violence.
“We must look at the bigger picture and understand that peace and justice for all are the true solutions to insecurity,” he concluded, adding a brief prayerful note: “Selam.”
