By Our Correspondent
LAGOS — World-renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has issued a blistering challenge to the Catholic hierarchy in Nigeria, demanding they abandon “toothless” press statements and lead a mass peaceful protest against the relentless slaughter of Christians.
In a move that has sent shockwaves through the country’s religious and political landscape, the Half of a Yellow Sun author declared that the “senseless killing” of believers has become so commonplace that Nigerians have grown numb to the horror.
‘Mother Church’ Must Lead
Adichie, a global voice for justice, singled out the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) as the only body with the moral authority to mobilize a broken nation.
”Issuing press statements are no longer enough,” Adichie stated. “The Catholic Bishops should come out to the streets and lead a peaceful protest. Nigerians will stand behind them.”
The novelist argued that the Catholic Church, as the “mother church,” carries a unique responsibility that other denominations—specifically targeting large Yoruba-owned Pentecostal megachurches—have failed to meet. She expressed a lack of confidence in other religious leaders to join the fray, suggesting that the Catholic Church has a singular history of standing for the truth.
The Normalization of Terror
Perhaps most chilling was Adichie’s assessment of the current psyche in Nigeria. She noted that the public has moved past the stage of shock when news of an attack breaks.
”These days, Nigerians no longer worry about attacks; they simply ask how many were killed,” she said. “That is the level human lives have been reduced to.”
She highlighted a grim pattern where terrorists systematically target Christian celebrations to raze communities and claim lives, turning holy days into “killing seasons.”
Background: A Nation Under Siege
The author’s intervention comes at a time of escalating violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Northern regions. For over a decade, Christian communities have faced a dual threat from:
Boko Haram and ISWAP: Radical insurgents seeking to establish an extremist caliphate.
Armed Bandits/Fulani Herdsmen: Violent clashes over land and resources that have increasingly taken on sectarian and ethnic undertones.
According to recent human rights reports, thousands of Nigerians are killed annually in targeted attacks. The 2022 Owo church massacre, where gunmen opened fire on a Catholic congregation during Pentecost Sunday, remains a haunting symbol of the vulnerability Adichie is now addressing.
While the Catholic Bishops have frequently criticized the government’s failure to protect its citizens, they have largely remained within the confines of diplomatic appeals and liturgical prayers.
Adichie’s demand for “boots on the ground” represents a significant shift in expectations from Nigeria’s intellectual elite toward its religious institutions.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly claimed to be “on top of the situation,” but the persistence of these attacks suggests a security apparatus stretched thin and a lack of political will to tackle the root causes of the insurgency.
As of today, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has yet to issue an official response to the author’s call for a street-led movement.
