Former Minister of Education and President, Human Capital Africa, Oby Ezekwesili, yesterday, blamed the Federal Government for the embarrassment Nigerians are facing following the United States’ designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
She said the “government’s failure to ensure accountability for widespread killings and to prosecute perpetrators has attracted criticisms and global concern,” warning that such impunity damages Nigeria’s moral and reputational image.
The ex-minister stated this at Series III of the Kingdom Lifestyle Conference, organised by the Jesus World Changers Apostolic Mission, themed: ‘From Systematic Poverty to Sustainable Prosperity- a Biblical and Market Impact-Oriented Framework.’
While citing alarming data showing the trend of killings in the country, Ezekwesili referenced the Global Conflict Tracker 2025, which reported that over 80,000 Nigerians were killed between 2011 and 2024 in conflicts linked to Boko Haram, banditry, and communal violence.
She also added that in the 2024 Global Terrorism Index, Nigeria was ranked among the five most terror-affected countries for a decade running. She condemned the lack of accountability for mass killings in the country, particularly in Plateau, Benue, Owo in Ondo State, Zamfara and Southern Kaduna, saying none of the massacres had led to a transparent investigation or conviction.
Ezekwesili described the lack of accountability for widespread killings as evidence of a “collapse of moral conscience in governance,” warning that a state that does not value life cannot invest in education, health, or human capital.
“When foreign leaders like President Donald Trump issue scathing warnings about genocide and the killing of Christians in Nigeria, it is not just a diplomatic embarrassment, the way people are seeing it. It is the direct consequence of our collective indifference. We did not unify our voices to defend the sanctity of life, even though it is our duty to do so. And now our silence has become the world’s rebuke. They have called all of us disgraceful,” she said.
She, however, argued that the vacuum of moral courage on the part of the government is what has empowered impunity, stressing that Trump’s warning to Nigeria about genocide and governance collapse, “is not an external insult but factually the echo of our collective moral failure.
“You can’t solve what you don’t take responsibility for. You can’t solve what you deny. So our fellow Nigerians are denying that we have a problem. Will it be solved? No. We cannot continue to express outrage only when outsiders shame us,” she added.
