“What perturbs the surface, lies underneath the surface.” — Andy Goldsworthy
When U.S. President Donald Trump reinstated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act, shockwaves rippled through Abuja and Washington.
At face value, the designation speaks to violations of religious freedom. But as British land artist Andy Goldsworthy reminds us, what disturbs the surface is often rooted much deeper. Beneath this diplomatic censure lies a complex mix of history, geopolitics, sabotage, corruption and buried mineral wealth. Nigeria’s current turmoil is neither purely religious nor accidental; it is the result of a decade-long convergence of greed, conflict economies and political inertia.
What the CPC Really Means
On a lighter note, “CPC” amuses many Nigerians who recall the now-defunct Congress for Progressive Change of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Gen Z Nigerians even joke about the designation as “APC — Area of Particular Concern.”
However, the real implications are serious.
According to the U.S. State Department’s 2024 International Religious Freedom Report, a CPC nation is one that engages in or tolerates “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.” The designation empowers Washington to impose sanctions, restrict arms sales and review bilateral assistance.
Reuters reported that Nigeria’s inclusion reflects Washington’s “deep frustration” with Abuja’s failure to protect Christian and Muslim communities from terrorism, banditry and sectarian killings. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had long warned that Nigeria’s persistent impunity and governance gaps make it “a test case for Africa’s moral and political resilience.”
How We Arrived Here
Understanding this moment requires revisiting April 2014, when Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from Chibok. The New York Times reported at the time that the Obama administration deployed surveillance aircraft and military advisers to assist Nigeria. But a Nigerian military weakened by corruption and poor coordination failed to act decisively.
In subsequent years, Boko Haram splintered. ISWAP entrenched itself in ungoverned territories. Attacks multiplied; villages were razed; aid workers executed. BBC Africa investigations revealed that ideology had fused with economics: terrorism had become a business.
Nigeria today hosts what Al Jazeera, quoting former Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Christopher Musa in 2024, called “a hidden economy of terror.” Musa stated plainly:
“Terrorism in Nigeria is not just ideological; it is financed. There are interests, both internal and external, benefiting from it.”
These interests include illicit mineral networks, foreign mercenaries in the Sahel and domestic actors feeding off chaos.
Investigations by major international media, including the Financial Times, show that militants now occupy and “govern” mineral-rich territories across Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna and the North-East.
These areas contain gold, lithium, monazite, tantalite and other rare earth elements integral to the 21st-century global economy.
What is often framed as a religious conflict is, in part, a mineral war.
The Guardian (UK) estimates that over $3 billion worth of gold and lithium is smuggled out of Nigeria annually, facilitated by insurgents and corrupt officials. In this landscape, land grabbing by armed groups is less about territory and more about the wealth buried beneath it.
External Interests, Internal Abdication
A 2021 Al Jazeera investigation, “Nigeria’s Insecurity Is Big Business,” highlighted how local elites, international contractors and even aid ecosystems inadvertently strengthen conflict economies.
Transparency International’s 2023 report cited Nigeria’s security sector for opaque procurement and unaccounted billions.
On the ground, soldiers often lack basic supplies — a reality that fuels insecurity and erodes public confidence. The CPC declaration therefore strikes at Nigeria’s deepest wound: a failure to govern and protect its own citizens.
Herders, Farmers and the Faith Divide
Nigeria’s herder–farmer conflict is often simplistically framed as Christian vs. Muslim. In reality, it is a battle for land and water, worsened by climate change and governance failures. Former Interior Minister Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau once warned that armed groups now control territories and collect taxes, a damning indictment of state retreat.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) describes the conflict as
“a deadly contest between pastoralism and sedentary farming, where governance collapse converts survival struggles into religious wars.”
In 2024, President Bola Tinubu appointed former INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega as Special Adviser on the Presidential Livestock Reform Initiative and created a Ministry of Livestock Development. Yet, roaming cattle still dominate Nigerian cities — a reminder of policy inertia.
The Human Cost: PWDs at the Margins
Insecurity disables without discrimination — but Persons With Disabilities suffer the most.
The UN OCHA 2023 Humanitarian Snapshot recorded over 25,000 civilians with life-changing injuries since 2010. Rehabilitation and psychological support remain scarce.
I personally wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser on the non-kinetic dimensions of insecurity and its impacts on PWDs. To date, no visible action has followed.
Any credible reform must therefore be disability-inclusive, rebuilding lives as well as infrastructure.
The Pains, Chains, Stains and Gains of the CPC Moment
Pains:
Nigeria is publicly branded unsafe for religious freedom, unsettling investors and partners.
Chains:
Our diplomacy and aid relationships now face intensified moral scrutiny.
Stains:
The designation exposes weaknesses in governance, military readiness and citizen protection.
Gains:
Every rebuke is an opportunity for reform, introspection and national renewal.
ADC’s Roadmap: Answers, Solutions, Accountability
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) believes this moment can inspire genuine transformation built on four pillars:
Inclusive Security Reform — Stronger intelligence, oversight, transparency and PWD-inclusive security planning.
Transparency & Accountability — A citizen-audited national security ledger under parliamentary and civil-society review.
Economic Justice & Mineral Governance — Regulation of artisanal mining, closure of illegal supply chains and reclamation of lost territories.
Diplomacy of Dignity — Engagement with global powers as partners, not patients.
As The Economist famously wrote:
“Nations fail not because of poverty, but because of extractive institutions.”
The Moral Imperative
Reinhold Niebuhr observed:
“Nations are never as good as the best among them, nor as bad as the worst.”
If we continue mischaracterising terrorism as merely religious, we will ignore the deeper battle — the plunder of our future beneath the soils of Zamfara and Borno.
The CPC designation is not our enemy; it is an echo of ignored warnings.
Our missing daughters, stolen minerals, fallen soldiers and forgotten PWDs demand a national reset.
Financial Leakages, Rare Earths and Nigeria’s Missed Opportunity
Investigations and oversight bodies estimate that Nigeria loses about $9 billion annually to illegal mining and mineral smuggling. Meanwhile, Nigeria continues to rely on World Bank and IMF financing.
The nation’s solid minerals — estimated between $700–$750 billion — remain largely untapped. Rare earth elements, crucial for global energy transitions, could eclipse oil as Nigeria’s greatest economic asset.
Illegal mining fuels terrorism, drains revenue and forces the country into needless borrowing.
What a Responsible Government Must Do
Complete geological mapping & publish a transparent mineral cadastre
Mandate in-country beneficiation and processing
Open contracting & community revenue sharing
Clamp down on mining cartels with coordinated intelligence
Integrate mineral governance with anti-terror financing laws
Channel mineral revenues into debt reduction, education and disability services
Ensure disability inclusion in mining communities
ADC’s Development Blueprint
ADC will push for:
A strengthened Solid Minerals Act
Beneficial ownership transparency
Local processing industries
GDP growth of $15–$25 billion from formalised mining over a decade
Job creation in refining, battery production and downstream manufacturing
Environmental restoration and community participation
If properly governed, Nigeria’s mineral wealth can lift millions out of poverty and reduce reliance on external borrowing.
Conclusion: From Poverty to Prosperity
The CPC designation offers a rare opportunity. Nigeria must respond with:
Reform, not outrage
Dignity, not defensiveness
Fact-based governance, not propaganda
Faith, freedom and justice are not Western imports; they are Nigerian rights.
The choice before us is clear:
Stop leakage.
Strengthen institutions.
Protect citizens.
Include the forgotten.
Transform mineral wealth into national prosperity.
This is more than policy — it is a moral roadmap tying security, justice and disability inclusion into one national mission.
Dr. Chike Okogwu is the National Leader, Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), African Democratic Congress (ADC)
Author, So What, If I Am Not Like You!
He writes from Abuja, Nigeria.
November 2025
