The Nigerian government Monday said its recent diplomatic dustup with the United States, in which President Donald Trump threatened military intervention over the alleged killing of Christians, “has been largely resolved”.
Trump unexpectedly tore into the west African nation in October and November, saying that Christians there faced an “existential threat” that amounted to “genocide” amid Nigeria’s myriad armed conflicts.
- Billionaire Ellison offers personal guarantee for son’s bid for Warner Bros
- UK singer Chris Rea dies at 74, days before Christmas
The diplomatic offensive was welcomed by some but interpreted by others as inflaming religious tensions in Africa’s most populous country, which has seen bouts of sectarian violence in the past.
“The recent diplomatic spat with the United States has been largely resolved through a firm, respectful engagement culminating in a strengthened partnership between America and Nigeria,” Nigeria’s information minister, Mohammed Idris, said at a year-end news conference in the capital.
Nigeria’s government and independent analysts reject framing the country’s violence in terms of religious persecution — a narrative long used by the Christian right in the United States and Europe as well as Nigerian separatists, who maintain a lobbying presence in Washington.
Idris’s comments came after Nigeria hosted a US congressional delegation earlier this month.
However, Nigeria remains on Washington’s list of countries of “particular concern” regarding alleged religious freedom violations.
And last week Nigeria was among the countries hit by visa and immigration restrictions laid out by the Trump administration.
But there appear to be signs of increasing security cooperation: analysts have also been tracking and uptick US reconnaissance flights over known jihadist forest strongholds.
The country’s multiple armed conflicts are complex and kill both Muslim and Christian civilians, often without distinction.
Nigeria faces a long-running jihadist conflict in its northeast as well as armed “bandit” gangs which loot villages and conduct kidnappings for ransom in the northwest.
In the centre of the country, predominantly Muslim herders and mostly Christian farmers often clash — though the violence is linked to land and resources rather than religion, experts say.
Speaking to reporters, Idris also defended a recent aid deal which will see Washington contribute $2.1 billion, with what the State Department characterised as “a strong emphasis on promoting Christian faith-based health care providers.”
“Every Nigerian is going to be a beneficiary of this arrangement,” Idris said.