By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The united States government on Wednesday removed Nigeria from the list of countries which engages in or tolerates “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in a statement titled, ‘Religious Freedom Designations’ said; “The United States will not waiver in its commitment to advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country.
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In 2020, the Donald Trump-led administration designated Nigeria along with “Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as countries of concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for engaging systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations.”
But Nigeria’s removal from the list attracted the ire of a Nigerian-born U.S.-based human rights activist and lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe.
In a message he sent to TheNiche, Ogebe, son of retired Supreme Court jurist, Justice James Ogenyi Ogebe, the first Idoma person to become a Supreme Court Justice, accused Blinken of following in the footsteps of the Barack Obama-led administration.
“The U.S. decision not to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for egregious religious freedom violations goes against the facts and the reality that most Nigerians know and is a return to the regrettable Obama era I had dubbed “see no evil, hear no evil and say ‘no evil,’” ogebe wrote.
“Sacrificing religious minorities on the altar of appeasement is a travesty of the highest order given that America itself was born in the quest for religious.
“Secretary Blinken has apparently learnt nothing from his goofed assessment of the Afghanistan implosion even as Nigeria becomes the next frontier of global jihad with the tacit omission and commission of the Nigerian regime.
“Blinken is the new Hilary (Clinton) who refused to recognize Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Ironically we obtained that FTO designation as I testified in the U.S. Congress eight years ago this week. What a sorry repeat of a historic blunder.”
But apparently, the Biden administration disagrees.
According to the statement by Blinken, “In far too many places around the world, we continue to see governments harass, arrest, threaten, jail, and kill individuals simply for seeking to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs.
“This administration is committed to supporting every individual’s right to freedom of religion or belief, including by confronting and combating violators and abusers of this human right.
“Each year the Secretary of State has the responsibility to identify governments and non-state actors, who, because of their religious freedom violations, merit designation under the International Religious Freedom Act.
“I am designating Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.
”I am also placing Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.”
“Finally, I am designating al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.
“The challenges to religious freedom in the world today are structural, systemic, and deeply entrenched.
“They exist in every country. They demand sustained global commitment from all who are unwilling to accept hatred, intolerance, and persecution as the status quo. They require the international community’s urgent attention.
“We will continue to press all governments to remedy shortcomings in their laws and practices and to promote accountability for those responsible for abuses.
“The United States remains committed to working with governments, civil society organizations, and members of religious communities to advance religious freedom around the world and address the plight of individuals and communities facing abuse, harassment, and discrimination on account of what they believe, or what they do not believe.”
