When the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, recently dismissed reports of anti-Christian genocide in Northern Nigeria as “false” and “divisive,” many saw it as just another ritual denial from the northern establishment — a familiar script in a nation that has mastered the art of looking away from its own horrors.
But this time, someone outside Nigeria called the bluff.
From thousands of miles away, Mike Arnold, former Mayor of Blanco, Texas, and founder of Africa Arise International, fired off a blistering challenge: if the Sultan believes there’s no Christian genocide, then he should defend himself before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Arnold’s words, posted on X (formerly Twitter), were not the polite language of diplomacy. They were a moral indictment. He accused the Sultan of being the “architect of genocide,” alleging that he has, for years, provided safe haven and cover for extremist groups responsible for the massacre of Christians across Nigeria’s north.
“I challenge the Sultan of Sokoto to prove he’s not the architect of this genocide,” Arnold wrote. “That he did not, while serving in Afghanistan, connect with and recruit Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups to Nigeria, where he has provided them safe haven, vast resources, and unlimited Christian blood to feed their bloodlust.”
Strong words, perhaps too strong for comfort. But behind the outrage lies a haunting truth: Christian communities have been under siege for years, yet the national conversation is muffled by politics, ethnicity, and the fear of offending “religious sensibilities.”
When churches are burnt, when priests are abducted, when villages vanish overnight, the nation responds with silence, and silence, as Arnold suggests, is complicity.
Whether or not his allegations hold water, Arnold has forced open an uncomfortable question: why does Nigeria, a country bleeding from religious violence, still pretend there is no war against its Christian population?
It is not enough for the Sultan to dismiss these claims with a wave of the hand. As the symbolic leader of Northern Islam, his words carry weight — and when those words deny the obvious suffering of millions, they become an instrument of revisionism.
Arnold’s challenge may never see a courtroom, but it has struck a chord. Because in Nigeria, truth itself is on trial and the victims of faith-based slaughter are still waiting for justice that never comes.
Facebook Comments
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings