By Frank Tietie
The phrase “All are God’s children” was famously declared by Charlton Heston while portraying Moses in the classic film “The Ten Commandments,” which draws on ancient texts, including the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In one poignant scene, as the final plague devastates Egypt, Moses’ adopted mother (Pharaoh’s daughter) joins him and the Hebrews in the region of Goshen. Unable to endure the widespread mourning over the deaths of the Egyptian firstborns, she exclaims, “Oh my people!” Moses replies, “All are God’s people!” As a Christian, I firmly believe that everyone is indeed God’s child, and this conviction is one of the driving forces behind my commitment to human rights. As stated in Jeremiah 32:27, “I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?”
Humanity is united. All human beings possess equal value regardless of skin colour, eye colour, race, ethnicity, tribe, socioeconomic status, or faith; God created us all.
I have faced significant backlash for my recent comments on social media regarding claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, as discussed by the U.S. government and on Fox News. Many critics argue that the violence in Nigeria is not specifically targeting Christians but is indiscriminate, affecting Muslims as well. So why did it take an American alarm for the issue to gain attention, especially concerning claims of organised killings and displacement of Christians in Northern Nigeria? Any unjustifiable killing, regardless of the group or faith involved, must be condemned—after all, we are all God’s people!
My comments were aimed at Christian leaders, many of whom have unfortunately reduced the Christian faith to a competitive pursuit of materialism, without prioritising prayer as a means to seek God’s protection for the persecuted. I reminded them of the Christian belief that overcoming the enemy is achieved “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts (Zechariah 4:6).
I am reminded of the events in 1994, when accusations of genocide in Rwanda were met with international indecision, leading to the horrific killing of 800,000 people, mostly with machetes, in just over 12 days. The world was left in shock at its own inaction.
It should not have required intervention from the U.S. to highlight the systematic killing of Christians in Northern Nigeria. Nigerian Christian leaders, particularly in the South, cannot remain silent or feign ignorance, even in the pulpit or during open prayer. Furthermore, the Nigerian government cannot evade its responsibility by claiming that the violence is indiscriminate; the lives of Christians and Muslims are equally valuable and essential.
Most violence occurs in remote rural areas of Nigeria, often overlooked by Western media, which may highlight the plight of Christians who can more easily voice their concerns. However, the mass killings and displacement of Muslims also deserve attention.
It is clear that Christian communities are being targeted in Northern Nigeria, not in a religious war between Christians and Muslims, but rather through land-grabbing efforts by individuals who do not adhere to Islam as we know it and who have also killed and displaced Muslims, especially in places like Zamfara State, but have received little coverage due to cultural or religious biases.
The claims of a Christian genocide should not incite a religious war. Instead, they should serve as a call to protect all communities, whether Christians, Muslims or animists, because “all are God’s People”.
If anyone has information about the affected communities, please encourage their leaders to reach out to me so I can connect them with resources for psychosocial and material support to alleviate their suffering.
● Tietie, lawyer and media Personality, writes from Abuja.
