It’s Not Genocide’: Akinyemi Slams Claims Over Middle Belt Killings
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has dismissed claims describing the recent violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt as genocide, saying such allegations are misleading and harmful to the country’s image.
Akinyemi, speaking on Friday in reaction to growing international reports portraying the crisis as a “Christian genocide,” acknowledged that while there have been disturbing incidents of violence in the region, they do not amount to genocide.
“The violence in the Middle Belt is real and distressing, but it is not genocide,” Akinyemi stated. “We must be careful not to feed a false narrative that could isolate Nigeria diplomatically or damage our national reputation.”
He cautioned against using language that could heighten ethnic or religious tensions, noting that much of the conflict in the Middle Belt stems from land disputes, weak governance, and environmental pressures, rather than deliberate religious persecution.
Akinyemi also warned that branding Nigeria as a genocidal state could trigger serious diplomatic consequences and invite external interference in the country’s internal affairs.
His comments follow a wave of criticism from international commentators and media outlets that have framed the farmer-herder clashes as targeted attacks against Christians.
Security analysts and conflict experts have similarly stressed that the violence in the region is complex and multi-dimensional involving resource competition, desertification, and historical grievances that cut across ethnic and religious lines.
Akinyemi urged Nigerians and the global community to approach the issue with balance and restraint, focusing on peacebuilding, dialogue, and long-term socio-economic reforms to address the root causes of the conflict.
