Interview with Sydney Paul*
29 December, 2025
Could you introduce yourself?
I am an American citizen and a Christian missionary who has lived in Nigeria for nearly three decades. I have many good friends among both Christians and Muslims, herders and farmers.
Is there persecution of Christians in Nigeria?
Yes, especially in the northeast of the country where Boko Haram and ISWAP have been attempting to get rid of Christianity along with any Muslims who disagree with them. Additionally, there is discrimination against Christians in Muslim-majority parts of Nigeria (and some discrimination against Muslims in Christian-majority parts of the country). There have also been several incidents of a mob killing a Christian accused of saying blasphemous things about Muhammad, although even more Muslims have been killed for blasphemy on such a charge.
Any Muslim who becomes a Christian is often in danger of losing their life. Even if ex-Muslims manage to survive direct attempts on their life, they lose their family, friends, inheritance, and all the connections which (in a society with little governmental infrastructure) provide social and economic support as well as physical protection.
Nonetheless, much that is labeled “persecution of Christians” is a misnomer. Is the war in Ukraine persecution of Christians? Or is it only when the war happens to be between people of two different religions that it counts as persecution? The fact is, Christians and Muslims here are killing each other. I hear people say things like “Since they are Christians, they are suffering for their faith in Christ.” That doesn’t logically follow. Cycles of retaliation and counter-retaliation are not suffering for Christ.
It is important to realize too that people here talk about being “born into Christianity” (or Islam), and identifying as a Christian does not necessarily mean one personally acknowledges Jesus as King.
I hear people say,“Since they are Christians, they are suffering for their faith in Christ.” That doesn’t logically follow. Cycles of retaliation and counter-retaliation are not suffering for Christ.
Is Christian persecution in Nigeria a genocide?
From what I understand, “genocide” is an attempt to exterminate a whole people group. If that is the definition we use, I must say that the conflict across Nigeria does not meet the definition. If exterminating Christians were the intention, it would be much less random. The vast majority of victims of both banditry and farmer-herder clashes, for example, are Muslims. Any genocider worth their salt would put their plan into action where the majority residents are Christian. If Muslim bandits really were trying to wipe out Christians, they could empty out vast swaths of Christian-populated areas as they have done in Muslim-populated regions in the northwest. But that is not what’s happening. Rather, banditry and farmer-herder clashes are occurring across the country regardless of whether the victims are Muslim or Christian.
What do you think is the root cause of the conflict?
In one word: resources. It’s primarily a conflict about who gets to use the land—for pasture, for crops, and for exploitation of mineral resources. Then because perpetrators of violence on either side are never brought to justice, there is ever-escalating revenge.
But many people, some of them prominent politicians and journalists, say that it is disingenuous to deny that the root cause of the farmer-herder conflict is anti-Christian sentiment. The people who claim that the root cause of the conflict is Christian persecution need to explain why there is farmer-herder conflict in the northwest of Nigeria where both the farmers and herders are Muslim. In fact, the conflict is worse in those areas!
Some people argue that “farmer-herder conflict” is not a good name for this conflict. They say it hides the root causes of the conflict.
People shouldn’t conflate the various drivers of violence. There is ideological Muslim violence in the northeast (e.g. Boko Haram, ISWAP) which is not the same thing as banditry in the northwest, or ESN terrorism in the east, or conflict between farmers and herders. I think “farmer-herder conflict” is an appropriate name for what is happening between farmers and herders. The name “Christian genocide” is a spin. It does not represent reality (could the thousands of churches across the country meet publicly for multiple services a week if a genocide were going on?). The people that promote the genocide narrative have to explain how the deaths of a tiny percentage of the Christian population proves intent by herders to wipe out Christians.
The name “Christian genocide” is a spin. It does not represent reality. Could the thousands of churches across the country meet publicly for multiple services a week if a genocide were going on?
Is there persecution of Muslims in Nigeria?
There is no Christian version of Boko Haram or ISWAP or an attempt to wipe out the Muslims. But there is rhetoric (from both Christians and Muslims) calling for eradication of the Fulani ethnic group, and the Fulani are majority Muslim. Furthermore, when there is religious violence in an area and Christians are killed, Muslims who happen to live nearby or who happen to be traveling through may be attacked and killed. So yes, in that sense there is persecution of Muslims.
Are the Muslims in northern Nigeria trying to wage jihad to establish a caliphate and Shariah law?
In the northeast, yes. Boko Haram’s goal is to re-establish the ancient Kanuri empire. But Shariah law is already in operation in most of the northern states of Nigeria. And your average Muslim on the street in northern Nigeria is just trying to make a living for their family, not going off to promote jihad and caliphate. You need to understand that Muslims are the primary sufferers at the hands of Islamic insurgent groups.
Who are the Fulani and how do other ethnic groups in Nigeria view them?
The Fulani are a traditionally nomadic group of approximately 30 million individuals who live across West Africa. As pastoralists, their livelihood depends on herding cattle. Both population growth and rapid desertification is bringing the Fulani into more and more conflict with sedentary farming ethnic groups. When Fulani cattle damage and eat farmers’ crops, this builds hatred, a cycle of violence and calls on social media to “get rid of the cockroaches.”
Why is the Fulani side of the story not being reported?
Partly because of generally low levels of literacy and the fact that few herders are able to express themselves in English, which is the language of the media and the international community. Few herders have social media skills or connection with the western world. They have nobody to report their side of the story to; even in local Nigerian newspapers and online news sites, there is very little information of what is happening to herders. So both inside and outside Nigeria, the Fulani are cut off from the people who write the news.
Why do you think the individuals who uphold the “genocide narrative” do not visit Fulani?
Because they are frightened. People of other ethnic groups tell them, “Oh, the herders will kill you!” and these individuals just believe it. When foreigners visit where I live, I take them to speak to the herders and they are shocked. They ask me: “What? Can we actually do that? I thought the herders were dangerous and out to kill us!” Proverbs 18:17 teaches us that listening to only one side of the story will not lead us to the truth, and I have seen this play out.
The first to state his case seems right, till the other one comes and cross-examines. Proverbs 18:17
Can there be lasting peace between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria?
Of course! There is a lot of hope for a lasting peace! I think that there are elements of the Islamic faith that dehumanize non-Muslims and have serious consequences when adherents try to live them out. But most Muslims here are not even aware of (and cannot read) the warlike hadiths; they want to quietly make a living, not live in war. Lasting peace between Muslims and Christians can be and has been achieved in one or two places here even after many years of conflict.
What happens when the Nigerian government is under pressure to act against terrorists?
Pushing the government to show quick results creates a situation in which the Nigerian military carries out strikes on “terrorist camps”, sometimes without adequate time to be sure targets are valid. Family dwellings are destroyed and innocent civilians get killed.
How would you like the United States to be involved in this conflict? What would you like President Trump to do?
Sadly, the United States has lost credibility by taking sides: Christian Lives Matter—but apparently not Muslim lives. I pray that the US will not escalate the situation still further.
I would like the US to honestly listen to both sides of the story. Only when the full situation is understood can reasonable solutions be proposed. Oge Onubogu in her testimony before the US House of Representatives on 20 November 2025 provided some excellent recommendations going forward.
You are not a Nigerian citizen; why should people listen to what you have to say?
Please do listen to Nigerians. But listen to both sides. The problem with the promoters of the genocide narrative is that they are only willing to hear one side of the story. I have good friends on both sides of the conflict and I can assure you that most people reporting on this crisis do not have access to voices on both sides. They take the opinions of one side and create a misleading narrative.
There are several organizations reporting on this conflict like ACLED and Open Doors. What do you think about their data? Do they have inflated numbers or are they reliable?
ACLED does not inflate numbers. But they do not have available data sets on what happens to (Fulani) Muslims because much of what happens to them does not even make the news. I don’t know where the others get their numbers from.
Any suggestions to these organisations? Any changes they can make to the way they do their research?
Yes, talk to Muslims. Talk to herders. Don’t just rely on newspapers to tell you what is going on. Don’t just listen to the farmers. Listen to everyone involved.
How should Nigerian Christians respond to persecution?
What I have appreciated about my Fulani colleagues who have become followers of Jesus is that they really try to love their enemies, as Jesus commanded. They reach out to their persecutors in radical generosity, and they choose not to retaliate and defend themselves. That seems nuts but that is what Jesus told us to do. I believe my ex-Muslim Fulani friends are right. I pray that all who claim to follow Jesus will actually follow Him.
What are some immediate, practical steps forward?
People have to forgive each other. Both farmers and herders have seen their possessions destroyed and their families gruesomely murdered; they have many reasons to hate each other and to want to get even and then some. Helping people work toward forgiveness is a huge task. But also, a radically different approach to land usage is needed. Even if people are reconciled, they will all starve together unless they learn to use resources differently. Herders have caused land degradation via overgrazing; farmers have caused land degradation via deforestation, erosion, chemicals and abandonment of traditional fallowing practices. Farmers and herders can actually benefit each other, but this will require coordinated efforts that involve major shifts in farming/herding practices and thus require training. Long-term working with people in their own environment—not two-week workshop blitzes—is needed so as to teach solutions that are working elsewhere and can be successfully implemented here.
*Name changed to protect identity
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