3.3.3 Between propaganda and silence Because of the huge number and the dimension of conflicts that people of Fulani ethnicity are involved in, the Global Terrorism Index portrays the Fulani as an ethnic terrorist group. The complexity of this problem makes it crucial to communicate this very serious conflict, the worst in Nigeria in our days, in an adequate way and as realistically as possible. On the one hand, some organizations have complained that re- ports tend to ignore violence against Fulani communities, which has been frequent across the center and north of Nigeria, and in other parts of the region 10 . According to these organizations the violence has been portrayed as being one-way, rather than as a dynamic which often involves many different armed actors and causes high numbers of civilian casualties across ethnic lines. However, most of the media and NGO reports speak about “vio- lence between herders and farming communities” and describe the problem as clashes between two equal parties. As described
before, this may have been the case originally, but the problem has escalated, and the victims today are mostly farmers. The ca- sualties and damage cannot be compared. Many houses – entire villages – have been destroyed, land burned, and many people had to flee. Benue State alone has 2 million IDP’s, mostly farmers. From 2017 until the beginning of May 2020, there were 654 attac- ks against Christian farmers: Fulani extremists killed 2,539 indi- viduals, wounded over 393, kidnapped more than 253 persons, raped 16 women and girls, and destroyed 7,582 homes and 24 churches 11 . On the other hand, it is also wrong to stigmatize an entire ethnic group as criminals or terrorist. Animosity has increased against Fulanis in Nigeria, and it is easy to mark out criminal gangs of bandits in north-west Nigeria, who are often Fulani in compo- sition, as “Fulani extremists” and not as “criminals”, “bandits” or “cattle rustlers”, whereas when the violence is carried out by criminals from other ethnic groups they are not labeled by the ethnicity.
STORY
Nigerian bishop calls for end of “conspiracy of silence” on persecution of Christians
Original article: https://acninternational.org/recent-attac- ks-in-nigeria/ https://acninternational.org/church-in-ni- geria-under-attack/
Makurdi Diocese is located in the Middle Belt, in Benue state, where “according to records from the State government, over 5,000 of our people have been killed between 2011 and June, 2022” , explains Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe. “Figures from the Benue State government again reveal that as of June 2022, Benue State has suffered over 200 attacks with property destroyed and close to two million people displaced and living in camps across the State. Many children have had their education cut short as their parents, unable to go to their farms, cannot cater for their school needs. There is a palpable food insecurity and there is the complete loss of human dignity as men, women and children often resort to unsafe coping mechanisms for survival.” Besides the immediate tragedy which is the loss of lives, there are the permanent scars borne by those who are left behind. Makurdi currently houses 80% of the displaced in Benue State, and despite financial difficulties, the local Church has done its best to relieve suffering and need. “It is impossible to maintain
one’s equilibrium after witnessing the massacre of innocent and defenseless people in the face of harsh economic conditions, notwithstanding our role as God’s ministers. The pain is much and the wounds not likely to heal any time soon.” Bishop Wilfred rejected the idea that religion has nothing to do with the conflict, saying he believes “the attacks, particularly in Benue State, increasingly look like a jihad against Christians ”, adding that “Benue is targeted because the majority of its people have steadfastly declared their will not to surrender their Ju- deo-Christian faith, identity and cultural values to Islam” . Faced with this crisis, the Catholic leader asks for outspoken su- pport from the West. “I call on all who listen to me today to come to the aid of the Christian community in Benue and indeed in Nigeria as a whole before it becomes too late.” Abandoned by local authorities, the Church is grateful for the support it has received from Aid to the Church in Need, which Bishop Anagbe described as “a source of light in a valley of darkness”.
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