Adefarasin Questions US “Sudden Love” For Nigerian Christians

Senior Pastor of the Guiding Light Assembly, Wale Adefarasin, has questioned the United States’ sudden concern for Christians in Nigeria, suggesting that economic and strategic interests, rather than human rights, may be driving Washington’s position.

Delivering a sermon on Sunday, widely circulated online the following day, Adefarasin told his congregation that while attacks on Christians in northern Nigeria have persisted for decades, they do not constitute genocide as some Western commentators claim.

“For 40 years that I have been a Christian, there have been killings in southern Kaduna, killings on the plateau, there have been riots,” he said.

“Sometimes, I think it was in France, an image of Prophet Muhammad was defaced. Who remembers that? And as a result of that, there were killings of Christians in Nigeria.

“And so, it’s nothing new. It doesn’t amount to genocide. The way the West are talking about it, it’s as if if a Christian steps on the street, his head will be blown off,” he added.

Adefarasin’s remarks came in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent classification of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom violations, and his accompanying threat of military intervention should the Nigerian government fail to protect its Christian population.

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The cleric questioned whether this sudden interest in Nigeria’s internal affairs was linked to shifting U.S. economic priorities and resource needs.

“I’m trying to understand this sudden love for Christians,” he said. “Is it because we now have one of the largest refineries in the world, and no longer have to ship raw materials abroad and bring the finished products?

“Or is it because of the 21st century minerals that we now have in our earth, that are used to generate nuclear power for electric vehicles? Are those the reasons that our friends are threatening to invade our country to defend and protect Nigerian Christians?” he asked.

The Nigerian government has since dismissed Trump’s assertions, with President Bola Tinubu reiterating that the nation’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion and that his administration remains committed to promoting interfaith harmony across the country.