WASHINGTON, D.C. (Michigan News Source) – Muslim groups in Nigeria have been slaughtering Christians there for some time, and President Donald Trump said he won’t allow it to continue.
Over the weekend, President Trump made two posts on social media where he authorized the U.S. Department of War to be on standby. Trump said, “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.” In addition, Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One and said he could send troops or conduct air strikes over that region.
Violence hits close to home.
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While the violence is taking place half-a-world away, the impact hits close to home for Nigerians who live in Michigan. The latest U.S. Census estimates put the Nigerian population in Michigan at 12,362. Wayne County ranks first with 4,500 Nigerian residents. Oakland County comes in 2nd with 2,284 while Washtenaw County is ranked third with 821. While the Detroit area is home for most Nigerians who chose to settle in Michigan, smaller enclaves can be found in Kalamazoo, Kent, and Ingham Counties.
The Nigerian Association of Michiana, which reaches the Nigerian population in Michigan and neighboring Indiana, told Michigan News Source that some people in the Nigerian community believe U.S. intervention should have happened long ago.
“Citizens are dying on a daily basis in northeast Nigeria,” said Sunday Mahaja, President of the Nigerian Association of Michigana. “It’s alarming.”
Mahaja said the media uses different terms like Boko Haram, terrorists, and militants to describe the Muslim groups targeting Christians and nonbelievers. While those words are used interchangeably in some media reports, the suffering caused by the slaughter is no less heartbreaking. Majaja said the Nigerian government and influential leaders there are “in denial.”
He said, “It’s unfortunate that the Nigerian government is not coming out to take care of it or say they need help to take care of it.”
Family matters.
The Nigerian government has denied claims of Christian genocide at the hands of Boko Haram. However, scads of videos are popping up on the internet showing mass burials of entire church congregations throughout Nigeria.
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Fortunately, those videos have not shown the loved ones of Mahaja. He has family members living in those regions.
“They are living through it,” Mahaja said. “In the wake of an attack they will send us a message to say a village was attacked. We no longer freak out as long as we are getting messages from family members saying they are doing fine.”
Nigerian representation in Michigan.
Mahaja told Michigan News Source the association has been around for more than 20 years and is one of the only west African associations. He said most of the people they serve work in healthcare, like doctors and nurses. Others work in the technology field.
In addition, Michigan is home to a largely Christian population and growing Muslim sect. Michigan’s Christians, which account for 70% of the population, include Protestants and Catholics. Recent data puts the number of Muslims in Michigan at around 241,000. Dearborn boasts one of the largest populations of Muslims in the nation, and Michigan has 157 mosques and Islamic Centers.
The religious tensions between Muslims and Christians in Michigan have ramped up recently. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud gained national attention in September when he told Christian minister Ted Barham during a city council meeting that he wasn’t welcome in their city. Barham had pushed back against a city street being renamed after a Hamas terrorist.
Meanwhile, the FBI thwarted an alleged terrorist attack over Halloween weekend that aimed to kill hundreds of people in Michigan. The alleged group of terrorists, which FBI officials say met in city parks in Dearborn to discuss their plans, allegedly had their eyes on nightclubs outside of Dearborn which attracted members of the LGBTQ+ community.
