By Abdulrahman Aliagan
Faith and Freedom Africa (FFA) has taken a decisive step in shaping Nigeria’s response to its designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the United States, convening a high-level Leaders Strategic Engagement in Abuja to confront the issue with clarity, depth, and national purpose.
The engagement, held on 11 December 2025 at Hawthorn Suites Hotel, Garki, brought together senior religious leaders, civil society actors, policy experts, women and youth representatives, and key influencers to interrogate the implications of the designation and outline a strategic national response anchored on unity, evidence-based advocacy, institutional reform, and responsible leadership.
Opening the engagement, Faith and Freedom Africa’s Country Representative, Mr. Felix Joseph Samari, delivered an extensive and in-depth address that set the tone for the entire discussion. He made it clear that the gathering was neither a forum for denial nor an emotional reaction to external pressure, but a deliberate leadership intervention aimed at understanding the CPC designation in its proper technical, legal, and diplomatic context.
Mr. Samari explained that the CPC framework derives from the United States’ International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which mandates the U.S. government to identify countries where violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) are considered systemic, ongoing, and egregious.
He outlined the multi-layered designation process, noting that it draws from reports by U.S. embassies, submissions from religious and civil society actors, and assessments by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which then makes recommendations to the U.S. Department of State for final executive action.
According to him, Nigeria’s greatest weakness in responding to the CPC designation lies not only in security challenges, but in the absence of credible, structured, and nationally owned data on FoRB violations.
He warned that Nigeria risks losing control of its narrative when sensitive issues such as religious freedom and insecurity are left entirely in the hands of external actors who may lack access to local data, historical context, and lived community experiences.
During a technical session he facilitated, Mr. Samari further broadened participants’ understanding of what constitutes FoRB violations, stressing that religious freedom concerns extend far beyond mass killings and headline-grabbing attacks.
He explained that FoRB violations also include everyday experiences such as denial of access to worship spaces, discrimination in schools and workplaces, harassment of students and civil servants, selective enforcement of regulations, and restrictions on religious practices during periods of insecurity.
FFA Country Representative noted that attacks on communities during religious festivals—even when motivated primarily by criminal or economic interests—still amount to FoRB violations because they directly prevent individuals from exercising their right to worship freely and safely. Participants were reminded that the absence of accessible reporting channels and institutional focal points for victims, particularly women, children, students, and public-sector workers, has allowed many violations to remain undocumented, thereby weakening Nigeria’s advocacy position internationally.
Mr. Samari emphasized that Nigeria’s CPC designation is not without precedent, recalling that the country was similarly designated in 2020 with little public awareness or structured domestic engagement. He argued that the current moment should therefore be used as an opportunity to build credible monitoring systems, strengthen institutions, and engage international partners with evidence rather than emotion.
In a goodwill message, the former Chief Imam of the Apo Legislative Quarters Mosque, Abuja, Sheikh Muhammad Nuru Khalid, lauded Faith and Freedom Africa for convening what he described as a timely and courageous platform for honest national reflection. He commended the organization’s focus on Freedom of Religion or Belief as a shared civic value rather than a divisive religious weapon.
Sheikh Khalid observed that the renewed attention surrounding Nigeria’s CPC designation has generated intense reactions, misinformation, and polarized narratives across the country. He cautioned against allowing emotions, conspiracy theories, or sectarian sentiments to dominate public discourse, warning that such responses ultimately undermine national unity and credibility.
He further stressed that without reliable, locally generated data and inclusive dialogue, Nigeria would continue to struggle to present a nuanced picture of its complex security, communal, and governance challenges—challenges that are often oversimplified internationally as purely religious conflicts. He urged religious leaders across faith traditions to support initiatives that promote truth, balance, and justice.
The second major presentation, delivered by a renowned Nigerian Islamic scholar, educator, and peacebuilder, Sheikh Muhammad Nurudeen Lemu, shifted the focus from diagnosis to responsibility and strategic advocacy. Drawing on his extensive work in interfaith dialogue, peacebuilding, and Shariʿah Intelligence, he challenged Nigerians to critically interrogate the narratives they project about themselves, both locally and internationally.
He warned that many violent conflicts in Nigeria are rooted in injustice, poverty, frustration, weak institutions, and impunity long before they are framed along religious or ethnic lines. Allowing injustice to persist unchecked, he argued, creates a fertile environment for violence and manipulation.
Stressing that justice is a shared moral foundation across all faith traditions, Sheikh Lemu called on religious leaders and civil society actors to move beyond condemnation and adopt proactive strategies that promote love, social cohesion, early intervention, accountability, and credible mediation mechanisms.
He further cautioned that Nigeria’s projected population growth demands urgent, forward-looking policies to address exclusion, inequality, and youth frustration, warning that failure to do so could escalate existing tensions into widespread instability.
A high-level roundtable discussion examined the broader diplomatic, security, and reputational consequences of Nigeria’s CPC designation. Participants acknowledged that the label affects Nigeria’s global image, international partnerships, development assistance, security cooperation, and even the everyday experiences of Nigerians abroad, including heightened scrutiny at international borders.
While these implications were regarded as serious, the discussion also framed the CPC designation as an opportunity—if properly managed—to initiate reforms, strengthen institutions, improve data credibility, and engage the international community from a position of transparency and confidence rather than defensiveness.
Goodwill messages from invited stakeholders reinforced calls for responsible leadership, civic maturity, and collective ownership of peace.
A representative of the Muslim Youth Council of Nigeria lamented the declining quality of public discourse, urging Nigerians—especially young people—to reject violence and inflammatory rhetoric, noting that crises ultimately harm all communities regardless of faith or ethnicity.
Imam Haroun Ahmed Ezeh, one of the three Imams of the National Mosque, Abuja, highlighted the shared responsibilities of government and citizens in addressing insecurity and religious freedom concerns. He pointed to delays in diplomatic appointments and institutional coordination that have weakened Nigeria’s international voice, urging honest engagement with national challenges without wishing the country harm.
From the Christian perspective, Reverend Godwin commended Faith and Freedom Africa for creating a platform for honest and inclusive engagement.
He argued that Nigeria has failed to tell its own story effectively, allowing damaging narratives to gain global traction. While rejecting the tendency to label criminal violence as inherently religious, he cautioned against branding terrorists by faith and called on religious leaders to be more consistent and vocal in condemning violence.
Representing women’s voices, Hajia Fatima Isah Ndako of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Abuja, reflected on earlier periods of peaceful coexistence, attributing present tensions largely to political manipulation, poverty, and ignorance of authentic religious teachings. She called for sustained dialogue, women-led peace initiatives, and community education to rebuild trust.
From a humanist perspective, Ebeben Joy, Coordinator of the Humanist Association of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), linked the CPC debate to deep-rooted social polarization. She advocated for education reforms that promote critical thinking, shared civic values, and respect for human dignity beyond religious boundaries.
By the close of the engagement, participants agreed that Nigeria’s CPC designation should not be met with hostility, denial, or conspiracy narratives, but with introspection, data-driven advocacy, and coordinated national action. There was broad consensus on the urgent need for independent mechanisms to measure FoRB and human rights conditions, stronger community-level monitoring and reporting structures, sustained interfaith collaboration, public education, and constructive engagement with government institutions at all levels.
In his closing remarks, Archbishop Joe Jatau Yari, former Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Christian Pilgrims Board, commended the depth of dialogue and the spirit of mutual respect that characterized the engagement. He urged participants to translate conversations into sustained action, emphasizing that peace, justice, and religious freedom are collective responsibilities that require courage, consistency, and national unity.
Faith and Freedom Africa positioned the engagement as part of a longer national journey toward reform, social cohesion, and credible international engagement, reaffirming that Nigeria’s CPC challenge—if approached strategically—can be transformed into an opportunity to strengthen justice, security, freedom of religion or belief, and Nigeria’s global standing for the benefit of all citizens.
