Those sponsoring Nigeria’s Christian killings are wealthy, powerful, in govt’s highest levels – Sam Adeyemi

Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Sam Adeyemi, has submitted that persons behind the Christian genocide in Nigeria are wealthy, powerful and occupy the highest position in government.

Adeyemi spoke during a news conference to mark the church’s 30th anniversary on Thursday.

He warned that the outcome could be “messy” if the United States intervenes in Nigeria’s security challenges.

He also warned that military action in Nigeria by the United States will further worsen the country’s security challenges.

The minister was reacting to the recent designation of Nigeria as ‘a country of particular concern’ by US President Donald Trump over the alleged persecution of Christians in the country and the threat of military action.

The cleric noted that for Nigeria to develop and address its security challenges, it needs an honest conversation about where the country needs to go.

“It is open knowledge that some of the people that support the killing of Christians are powerful,” Adeyemi said.

“Some of them are at the highest levels of government. And some of them are wealthy. So, it is not something America will throw bombs on the ground, and it will disappear.

“At the end of the day, they will go and we will still have to sit down and have a discussion.

“It may seem like, oh, we are divided along tribal lines. Those are not really issues in our country. The big issue is, do we want this country to become a developed economy? The countries from which they brought the religions have developed economies.”

Adeyemi stated that Nigerians have missed Trump’s message by dwelling more on whether there is a Christian genocide or not, adding that it is a question of semantics.

“It will not be contested, because the evidence is everywhere,” he said.

“It is on the internet. The pictures are there. The numbers are there. So, we should not argue over what should or should not be called a genocide. It does not reduce the impact of the loss of life.

“Especially the members of the families of those who have been killed. Some of them in very gruesome manners. We should not be so insensitive as to be arguing over semantics.”

He argued that the US interest in the killing going on in Nigeria stems from its belief in the sanctity of human life, adding that some Nigerian victims of terror reported the issue to the American government.

“We should ask ourselves: do we value human life in our country to the extent that we will now be arguing whether the English word we used is correct or not?” he asked.

“We have left the main issues. What is the value of a life in our country? Why should people be killed like that? That then gives us the bigger picture.

“The fact is that people are being killed everyday in our country for reasons for which they should not die.

“So, we cannot contest the fact that so many people who are being killed are Christians.”