While the planned Senate debate on the so-called ‘Christian genocide’ narrative presents an important moment for Nigeria’s lawmakers to set the record straight before the international community, the conversation must go deeper than managing global perceptions.
Development Diaries reports that the Nigerian government had earlier dismissed reports suggesting that terrorists in Nigeria are carrying out a systematic genocide against Christians.
It is understood that the motion titled ‘Urgent Need to Correct Misconceptions Regarding the Purported Christian Genocide Narrative in Nigeria and International Communities’ is being sponsored by some lawmakers and is to be debated on the floor.
However, while correcting false or exaggerated portrayals of the country’s security crisis is necessary, the Senate should be confronting the federal government’s persistent failure to secure the lives of Nigerians.
The Senate’s primary duty is not to defend Nigeria’s image abroad but to ensure that the Nigerian state delivers on its most sacred responsibility, protecting the lives and property of its citizens.
Reframing the narrative without addressing the root causes of insecurity amounts to treating symptoms while the disease festers.
The effort to polish perception without fixing the underlying problem of insecurity only exposes how detached lawmakers have become from the pain and suffering of ordinary Nigerians, a detachment that runs contrary to Section 14(2)(b) of the constitution, which clearly states that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’.
For years, successive administrations have failed to provide sustainable solutions to terrorism, banditry, and communal conflicts that continue to claim lives across Nigeria.
The northeast bleeds from insurgency, the northwest groans under the weight of bandit attacks, while other regions face kidnapping and communal clashes.
These are not just statistics but real people, Christians, Muslims, and others, whose deaths reflect the government’s inability to guarantee safety.
Instead of focusing solely on international misrepresentations, the Senate should question why the executive’s strategies have failed to deliver lasting peace and why security agencies remain reactive rather than proactive.
Moreover, while the Senate seeks to counter claims of religious persecution, it must also demand transparency and accountability from the security agencies.
What are the measurable outcomes of the trillions of naira allocated to defence and internal security over the years? Why are perpetrators of mass killings rarely prosecuted?
Until the legislature insists on answers to these questions and exercises its oversight power fully, all its resolutions and statements will remain empty words with no real impact.
Nigerians also have a duty to hold the Senate accountable. We must demand that our lawmakers go beyond speeches and show real commitment to ending insecurity.
The Senate must demand a comprehensive security reform, ensure accountability for every act of violence, and compel the executive to deliver tangible results, or else every new death is a shared failure of governance.
