A prominent pan-African think tank is calling on former US President Donald Trump and the international community to confront the deep-seated origins of the violent crisis targeting Christian communities in Nigeria's Middle Belt, warning that without addressing these root causes, the bloodshed will persist.
Colonial Roots of a Modern Crisis
The African Sociocultural Harmony and Enlightenment Foundation (ASHE Foundation), through its president, Prince Justice Faloye, presented a detailed analysis linking the ongoing violence to British colonial administration. Faloye explained that the British strategically divided the original African civilisation, placing the Middle Belt, home to over 300 distinct ethnic groups, under the Northern Afro-Asiatic Islamic Protectorate instead of the Southern Protectorate.
This political manoeuvre, according to the foundation, deliberately weakened the indigenous groups, creating a system of exclusion and unrepresentative governance. Faloye described this as a form of 'policide'—the political negation of these communities—which laid the groundwork for the systemic oppression and violence seen today.
The Erasure of Indigenous Identity and Knowledge
Beyond political subordination, the foundation highlighted a parallel process of 'epistemicide'—the systematic suppression of traditional African knowledge systems. This undermined the identity of the ancient African civilisation centred in Ile Ife, which Faloye states is based on a spiritual and scientific system known as Ifa.
He emphasised that this indigenous civilisation, which he dates back approximately 14,000 years and claims influenced many world religions, is largely ignored by Abrahamic faiths. The statement traces how collaborative efforts between Afro-Asiatic groups and European colonisers disrupted and weakened these indigenous kingdoms, fueling ethnic divisions for political and economic control.
A Call for Restructuring and Lasting Peace
The ASHE Foundation asserts that a true resolution to the genocide requires a fundamental restructuring of Nigeria's governance. The solution, they propose, is to recognise indigenous African federating units, thereby empowering regions like the Middle Belt with self-governance and local policing powers.
Faloye stressed that such a change would mark a new era of justice and democracy, ending centuries of oppression. In summary, the foundation's urgent call is for the recognition of indigenous rights, the restoration of traditional identities, and a significant change to Nigeria's political structure to stop the genocide and support a lasting peace in the region.
