The Wrath of America

The Wrath of America

By: Deji Yesufu

The day is the 2nd of May, 2011. American Navy Seals flew into Pakistan on the order of the United States of America’s president, Barack Obama. Their target? Osama Bin Laden. For ten years, Bin Laden had been America’s most wanted criminal for being the mastermind of the September 11th, 2001, bombing of the World Trade Center in the United States, the bombing of the Pentagon, and the simultaneous killing of no less than three thousand American lives on that infamous day, now known worldwide as September 11. The person who authorized the invasion of Pakistan that day was Barack Obama, a Democrat leader, and one who was not too open to using the full force of American might. In this case, he had no choice but to employ it. For months, American secret services had been tracking Bin Laden, and their investigations had led them to a building a few hundred meters from a prominent military establishment in Pakistan. Obama, then Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, and a host of other American leading government officials and military men, sat in Washington, as they watched in real time the invasion of a sovereign state – Pakistan. The Navy Seals entered Bin Laden’s building unnoticed in the dead of the night and quietly killed all his guards. Then a few of them headed to the section of the house where Bin Laden was supposed to be living. They find him. Immediately, they radioed Washington. “Kill or capture alive?” The reply was decisive: kill him. All this was done in a matter of seconds. The soldier opened fire on Bin Laden, shooting him directly in the forehead. His body was gathered up, and he was buried in the Mediterranean Sea, where no one could turn his burial site into some holy place. That is an example of America exacting its full wrath on a nation.

A few days ago, the United States of America, through POTUS, Donald Trump, announced that Nigeria has been redesignated a country of particular concern, especially with regard to religious freedom. The Trump administration, since coming to office, has been uncomfortable with reports of widespread systematic killing of Nigerian Christians by Islamic insurgents in the country. The Nigerian government has denied this report. They have continually stated that Islamic insurgency in the land has affected both Muslim and Christian communities, and that Christians are not particular targets for these insurgents. Unfortunately, a different report has been emerging from within the country. There are tens of confirmed reports that these Islamic insurgents target Christian communities in Northern Nigeria for extermination. There are videos of mass burials; large-scale destruction of houses and churches; and these insurgents making incursions into communities that are secluded and undefended. The killings have continued unabated, particularly under the administration of Muhammadu Buhari. And it appears that either the law enforcement is aware of these killings and is looking away, or they are actively supporting the activities of these insurgents. It is these reports that Donald Trump and his men received, and have now announced that the United States will be forced to move into Nigeria and engage these insurgents head-on. As I write this, Leah Sharibu is still within the den of Boko Haram. In spite of the cries for help by the family of this dear girl, the Nigerian government has been totally unable to rescue her from the den of those animals. It is these situations that make the announcement by Trump music to the ears of many Christians in Nigeria.

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As we examine the subject of the wrath of the United States of America, we also want to examine the situation on the ground in Nigeria. Why does it appear that the Nigerian military is unable to defeat Islamic insurgency in northern Nigeria? Why do the same Nigerian military personnel go to Darfur, or Senegal, or even Liberia, and restore peace to those places, but are totally ill-equipped to shut down an insurgency by a few rag-tag individuals in the north of the country? The answer lies in the worldview of the average Nigerian northerner. An average Northerner is first of all Muslim before he is Nigerian. Islam for Northerners is not what many in southern Nigeria practice. Islam, for a Northerner, is fundamentally a political system. It is the reason the Sharia Law is central to the way Northern states operate. The people in Northern Nigeria consider this country an afterthought. The only reason they are still in Nigeria is that they receive monthly derivations from the Federal Government. The day this stops, northern states will “araba” from Nigeria. Within this worldview is also the relation of the average Muslim to a Christian in the north. Christians are “Kufaar” – infidels, and they are as good as nothing. The average northerner is still a human being and will usually not kill an infidel if unprovoked. But when occasions warrant it, they have no qualms doing it. Many times, these killings are the product of inflammatory preaching from some Islamic scholar. At other times, it might be a mob action that was occasioned by somebody claiming that a Christian had blasphemed the Prophet. At such times, northerners do not wait to hear the other side of the story. They simply step out and kill the person alleged. In recent times, however, these killings have increased more and more because certain Islamic insurgents have been coming into the country, taking advantage of our porous borders, and waging wars on Christian communities. It is these killings that have caught the attention of the international community and have also occasioned the wrath of the United States of America.

The question that has arisen since Donald Trump made his announcement yesterday has been: Does the United States of America have the right to invade a sovereign nation to kill terrorists? The answer is simple: no. But the reality is that the USA has done this over and over again in the past, and no country can stop it from doing it. This is how Osama Bin Laden was killed, and despite Pakistan’s protestation to the international world, nothing happened. The situation is a matter of interest: America is concerned about protecting Christian communities in northern Nigeria. If the Nigerian government will not do it, Donald Trump is saying they will do it on our behalf. One will think that a country like Nigeria will rejoice at such an announcement. One would think that after 26 years of failing to put down Islamic insurgency in the country, Nigeria would be rejoicing that it has found the help it needs. Rather, the Nigerian government is protesting that its sovereignty must not be invaded. Islamic clerics like Gumi are saying that America must not be allowed within the Nigerian borders. Etc. They are saying all these things because on paper, many in government talk about fighting insurgency in Northern Nigeria, but in reality, they allow this thing to fester.

Recently, the United States of America renamed its military the “Department of War” from the initial “The Department of Defense”. Trump’s presidency explained that “defense” connotes waiting for the enemy’s aggression, but war means “peace through strength”. Too many times, all the United States needs to do to bring order to societies around the world is to simply issue a threat, and peace is restored in those places. It is not likely that the United States will invade Nigeria and kill terrorists. But Trump means what he said: if the Nigerian government is unable to quell Islamic insurgency within the borders of the country, they will come and help us. And they will do it with or without our permission. America’s interest is not in Nigeria’s oil, lithium, or any natural resource we have. Trump’s presidency wishes that all men have the liberty to practice their religion unhindered. This is also what the constitution of our country guarantees for every citizen of this country. This is the reality on paper, and we should be thankful that we have people who will not only say things on paper will also follow those things with action.

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at [email protected]