Bill Maher highlighted the crisis of Christian persecution in Nigeria on his show

When noted religious skeptic and TV host Bill Maher In a conversation with Nancy Mays, a South Carolina Republican, in September that shed light on the plight of Christians in Nigeria, he brought up a conversation that is constantly pressing for many of us in the humanitarian space: The conflicts that cause the greatest suffering are not always the ones with the greatest attention.

Reflecting on the atrocities taking place in Nigeria, Mayer lamented on the show: “It’s more of an attempted genocide than what’s going on in Gaza. They’re literally trying to wipe out the Christian population of the entire country. Where are the children protesting?”

Here’s the thing: Ghazan’s grief is legitimate. Israel’s woes on October 7, 2023 and beyond are just as valid. And so is Sudan and Yemen and Syria and Nigeria. The attention we give and our willingness to sit through the complexity and discomfort required for lasting solutions is different.

I grew up in Niger. I spent my childhood in Sahel region At a time when Christians in Muslim-majority regions can expect relative peace and optimism. Growing up, I knew many mixed-faith Nigerian families who lived in harmony. We had hope as a nation and as a region. The Green Revolution, trade and promises of the West African Economic Community gave us a predictable path to growth.

The European Union and the West have lost their last security partner in the Sahel as Niger announced a new alliance with Russia. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Since 2009, 50,000 Christians have been killed in religious violence

The Nigeria of today looks nothing like my youth. Climate change, capitalism, debt, corruption, the Covid-19 crisis and changing donor trends have created more poverty, less hope and more conflict. It is sad to see my home region turned into a dangerous zone where extremism has replaced tolerance and religion has become a weapon to fill the void as hope is shattered and hunger grows.

When people are desperate, we see extremism rise and religious persecution. Nigeria is divided almost along cardinal lines into Muslim-majority regions and Christian and Catholic regions. Factors interspersed with climate change since colonial days make nomadic lifestyles unsustainable, leading to intolerable animosity that undermines religious ties.

Liam Currer, who leads the Critical Threats Africa team with the American Enterprise Institute, rightly breaks down that conflict arises when you put existing ethnic divisions and religious underpinnings on feared resources.

White House Responds to Crisis of Christian Persecution in Sub-Saharan Africa

Being a Christian in Nigeria is no longer a simple matter. Including Jihadi organizations Boko HaramIn the last 16 years it has resorted to religiously motivated killings, killing 125,009 Christians and more than 60,000 “liberal” Muslims who do not share the extremist views of the prevailing groups. 19,100 churches have been disbanded during that time. Now, according to Open Doors, more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world, even though Nigeria ranks 7th out of the top 50 countries known for persecuting Christians.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 16.2 million Christians have been forced to flee their homes, including a large number of Nigerians. For Nigerians, it often means survival Displaced persons in Chad.

To change this, we must marry hope with solutions to the root causes of instability. At World Relief, we work in partnership with churches to meet both the physical needs and the spiritual needs of the population. This is the only solution in a multi-trust space. To build social cohesion, trust, shared responsibility and sustainable peace, you cannot ignore the tangible or the intangible.

I was kidnapped by Boko Haram and survived. No thanks to the peace of the West

Unfortunately for an international audience that wants clean lines and quick fixes, this kind of work doesn’t happen overnight. Our sisters and brothers in Christ deserve our continued attention and support, whether they are in the Gaza Strip or Syria or the Sahel.

In the short term, we must provide access to additional humanitarian resources on the ground to mitigate some of the drivers of conflict. Higher level conversations will be easier to resolve religious tension when the elements lower down Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are addressed first.

Jihadist organizations, including Boko Haram, have carried out religiously motivated killings over the past 16 years, killing 125,009 Christians and more than 60,000 “liberal” Muslims who do not share the extremist views of the prevailing groups.

I am grateful that US policymakers have addressed the situation in recent months; During House resolutions in March, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s legislation and West Virginia Republican Rep. Riley Moore to Secretary of State Marco Rubio this fall. All three are advocating for the re-designation of Nigeria as a country of special concern, and we are beginning to see a much-needed groundswell.

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Additionally, the US offers a unique venue for refugees with a credible fear of persecution to seek relief in the US refugee resettlement program. In President Donald TrumpDuring his first term, he was the first president to explicitly name religious persecution for individuals served by the program.

Due to the government shutdown, we are still awaiting the President’s determination for refugee resettlement for FY2026 and I urge the President to consider the Christian population in Nigeria that can be secured through the resettlement quota of at least 50,000 that he set as a ceiling in 2017.

Chibok school girls, freed from captivity by Boko Haram, are seen in Abuja, Nigeria, Sunday, May 7, 2017. (AP Photo/ Olamikan Gbemiga)

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This is up to us as US consumers Media and Information To find news of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. Newsrooms respond to demand; As we look overseas, coverage will improve. Now more than ever we need transparent eyes and ears in situations where evil is working in the dark, and the US church is uniquely poised to leverage its significant influence to bring light to the darkness.

Finally, we must not stop mourning and pleading with Christ on behalf of our sisters and brothers around the world. As the global church, we Share in Christ’s suffering As we share in the suffering of others. He is with sorrows and is not distracted.