A Commentary on the Politics of Condemnation and the Hierarchy of Human Suffering
Date and time: Abuja In a world saturated with tragedy, the act of condemnation has become a potent political currency. Our morals, as well as our geopolitical alliances and strategic silences, are reflected in the conflicts we condemn and those we ignore. His Excellency Kashim Shettima, the Vice President of Nigeria, stood at a podium this week and gave a powerful and necessary speech. He condemned the horrific violence and the mounting humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
He talked about the importance of an immediate ceasefire, the principles of international law, and the sanctity of life. His statements were reported, tweeted, and broadcast, putting Nigeria on the right side of a significant global issue. And in the pews of a rural church in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, or in the burnt-out shells of homesteads in Southern Kaduna, a painful, inconvenient question hung in the air: What about us?
While the Vice President’s voice rose in righteous indignation for a people thousands of miles away, a slow, persistent genocide is unfolding with grim regularity within his own nation. The systematic killing of Christians in Nigeria continues, often met with a deafening silence from the highest corridors of power that is as terrifying as the violence itself.
The Unseen War at Home
To be clear, this is not a competition of suffering. The pain of a Palestinian parent in Gaza is no different from the pain of a Nigerian parent in Plateau state. Both are absolute, world-shattering, and deserving of global attention and empathy.
However, it becomes a matter of profound moral and political failure when a government appears more vocal about atrocities abroad than about the ones it is constitutionally mandated to prevent at home.
In communities in Benue, Plateau, and Kaduna states, groups that are frequently referred to as "bandits" and militant Fulani herders have killed hundreds of Christians in the first half of 2024 alone.
Armoured assailants surround villages, typically on market days or during worship services, and unleash hell. The pattern is chillingly familiar. They kill, maim, rape, and burn homes and churches to the ground. The survivors describe a coordinated campaign of religious cleansing and land grabs. These are not mere "clashes."
They are violent attacks that are aimed at a specific community that is defined by its faith and ethnicity. The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) estimates that over 52,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2009. The numbers are staggering, yet they rarely command emergency security meetings or elicit the same passionate, public condemnation from leaders as conflicts in other regions.
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