On October 31, 2025, the Trump Administration designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious persecution, explicitly invoking the term “Christian Genocide.” For most observers, this looks like a simple religious conflict: Muslims versus Christians.

They’re wrong. In this maiden episode of Beyond the Headlines, we trace the roots of Nigeria’s security crisis back to 1914, when British colonizers forced over 250 ethnic groups into an artificial union.

Further Reading & Resources

1. Council on Foreign Relations - Nigeria's Battle With Boko Haram ⁠https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/nigerias-battle-boko-haram⁠
2. International Crisis Group - Stopping Nigeria's Spiralling Farmer-Herder Violence ⁠https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/nigeria/262-stopping-nigerias-spiralling-farmer-herder-violence⁠
3. IPI Global Observatory - Northwest Nigeria Has a Banditry Problem: What's Driving It? ⁠https://theglobalobservatory.org/2024/05/northwest-nigeria-has-a-banditry-problem-whats-driving-it/⁠
4. The Guardian - Ten Years On From Chibok: What Happened to the 276 Nigerian Girls? ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/11/nigeria-chibok-boko-haram-girls-school-abductions-islamist-militants-borno-yobe-katsina-kaduna