Let us dispense with theatrics, sermons, and manufactured outrage. It is time to confront reality.
President Donald Trump—whom some have repeatedly portrayed as a political messiah for Nigerian Christians—has imposed a visa ban on Nigeria. This ban does not target Christians alone. It does not distinguish between faiths. It affects all Nigerians: Christians, Muslims, traditionalists, and atheists alike.
For years, a particular narrative has been exported to the international community—that Christians in Nigeria, especially in Plateau State, are victims of an ongoing genocide orchestrated by Fulani herdsmen, jihadists, and Muslim forces. This story was amplified abroad, foreign intervention was sought, and Donald Trump was presented as the ultimate redeemer who would come to rescue Nigerian Christians.
Reality, however, has arrived—and it is indifferent to sermons.
There is no exemption for Christians. There is no special protection. There is no miracle. Instead, there is a blanket visa restriction that treats all Nigerians equally. This alone exposes the narrative for what it is: a political construction designed to extract foreign sympathy rather than a reflection of how international power truly operates.
Despite repeated warnings that Trump was not motivated by religious solidarity but by national interest, including strategic and mineral considerations, some insisted on portraying him as a saviour. The questions must therefore be asked plainly:
Where is this messiah?
Why does his policy make no distinction between Christians and Muslims?
Can this be explained without collapsing under the weight of contradiction?
Many Nigerian Christians are still waiting—waiting for the next foreign redeemer. Waiting for salvation from what has been described as marauding herdsmen and jihadists. Waiting for the external intervention that was promised.
The truth is simple and uncomfortable: no saviour is coming. There never was.
The world has been told repeatedly that Muslims are responsible for the destruction of churches and the forced conversion of churches into mosques, often presented as uncontested fact. Yet the very foreign power appealed to has acted in a way that dismisses this narrative entirely. Will these claims now be retracted, or will the cycle of misinformation continue?
Look at Palestine. American bombs do not distinguish between Christian Palestinians and Muslim Palestinians. Churches are not spared more than mosques. If similar force were ever applied in Nigeria, it would not separate Christians from Muslims or churches from mosques. That is how global power functions—blind to sentiment and guided only by interest.
White South Africans, claiming genocide, have been granted pathways to asylum. Nigerian Christians making similar claims—often exaggerated or politicised—have not. The message is stark: global sympathy is racial and strategic, not religious.
Religious leaders in this country, it is time to wake up.
Yes, insecurity exists in Nigeria—but it affects both Christians and Muslims, often unevenly across regions, and not as a religious conspiracy. Religious leadership carries a responsibility to speak truth to power, not to promote narratives driven by personal, political, or sectional interests. Both Christians and Muslims know this.
Stop exporting internal conflicts as religious genocide.
Stop promising foreign saviours whose actions ultimately harm the very people you claim to defend.
If another messiah exists, name him. Present him. Or accept the reality that no external redeemer is coming.
The moral lesson is unavoidable: international politics is driven by national interest, not religion. No Nigerian was treated differently because of faith. No amount of sermons, tears, or inflated genocide narratives will change that.
Many are waiting. What they have been offered instead is illusion—and that illusion has now collapsed.
The time for honesty—not theatrics—is here.
Stop misleading.
Stop exaggerating.
Stop lying.
Amototo writes ✍️
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