After the worst massacre of Catholic faithful in Nigeria’s history on June 5, rights advocates have rebuked the U.S. Department of State’s flawed conclusions in its annual religious freedom report for 2021.
Article by Douglas Burton from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.
“Instead of tongues of fire—bombs and firearms descended on worshippers in southwestern Ondo state [June 5] in a Pentecost Day massacre,” said government critic Emmanuel Ogebe, Special Council for Justice for Jos advocacy group based in the United States.
“The blood of the innocents be upon the Buhari regime and their American enablers,” Ogebe told The Epoch Times, referencing the brutal bombing and shooting of a Catholic congregation in Nigeria’s Ondo state on June 5.
Ogebe and other analysts have told The Epoch Times that for years the U.S. Department of State has explained most of the violence in the Middle Belt states as a consequence of disputes over land and water resources.
The latest report cites its nonprofit reporting contractors to support the same narrative.
The NGO reporting groups of the International Crisis Group, Mercy Corps, and the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) are cited repeatedly in the report to show that the greatest part of the loss of life some observers have called a “genocide against Christians” is actually not motivated by religious extremism.
“Rather than religious belief or animus, we find that intercommunal violence is largely driven by insecurity and a lack of trust between ethno-religious groups competing for political power and control over natural resources,” according to the ACLED report.
Elsewhere the report states, “Numerous fatal intercommunal clashes continued throughout the year in the north-central region between predominantly Christian farmers from various ethnic groups and predominantly Muslim herders.
“According to the ICG [International Crisis Group], the causes of the northwest turmoil were complex and interrelated, saying that ‘Environmental degradation and rapid population growth have aggravated resource competition between herders and farmers. Disputes over land and water prompted both herders and farmers to form armed self-defense groups, fueling a cycle of retaliatory violence that has taken on a communal dimension.’”
The legal experts and State Department veterans interviewed by The Epoch Times denounced this narrative.
“The 2021 Religious Freedom Report conveys more information about the attitudes of the State Department officials who wrote and approved it than it does about the situation on the ground in Nigeria,” said former assistant secretary of state Robert Destro.
“Even senior Nigerian government officials fear that they will be kidnapped for ransom and murdered, and it is common knowledge that Nigeria’s federal police are either unwilling or unable to stop the violence.
“Can you imagine the uproar if the official state department narrative on Ukraine described that conflict as climate-change induced ‘communal violence’ and ‘resource competition’ between Russian soldiers and Ukrainian farmers?” Destro said to The Epoch Times.
“By downplaying the ethnic, religious, and economic dimensions of the carnage, the State Department diplomats are appeasing the Nigerian government, misleading Congress, and deluding themselves.”
“Nothing says the State Department report is arrant nonsense more than the glaring facts of the rivers of martyrs blood flowing in Nigeria in which the “see no genocide, hear no genocide, say no genocide” Anthony Blinken team are actively covering up in defiance of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and others,” Ogebe said.
The communal violence explanation surfaced in a June 6 Washington Post article on the church attack.
“While the attack was the first of its kind in Ondo state, it fits a larger pattern of communal violence across Nigeria,” according to Ebenezer Obadare, a senior fellow for African studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
- Preserve your retirement with physical precious metals. Receive your free gold guide from Genesis Precious Metals to learn how.
That observation drew the ire of Nina Shea, a human rights attorney and scholar at the Hudson Institute, who told The Epoch Times, “The Council on Foreign Relations expert insinuates that the attack on the church was somehow provoked. It was not.
“This was an innocent congregation in a peaceful area.
“This narrative of a communal violence is a well-worn tactic also used by the State Department to manipulate international opinion, avoid portraying Christians as victims of persecution and deflect attention from the real crisis of extremism infecting society and spreading throughout Nigeria.”
Critics also faulted State Department’s approach to remediating the violence, which emphasized peace-building grants to “narrow the gap between competing narratives,” according to the report.
“Nigeria doesn’t have a narrative problem, It has a security problem,” Destro told The Epoch Times.
“The [U.S.] Embassy is fundamentally misconceiving the nature of the problem, which is a breakdown in law enforcement,” Destro said.
“That’s like saying, ‘we need to bridge the gap between the victim of a rape and the narrative of the police department that didn’t show up,’” Destro added. “As long as the embassy sees its role as managing narratives, there will never be a reduction of violence.”
The Secretary of State’s removal of the listing of Nigeria as “a country of particular concern” last November has rankled myriad human rights organizations with engagement in Nigeria.
In the words of the report, “The Secretary of State determined that Nigeria did not meet the criteria to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in, or tolerating, particularly severe violations of religious freedom—or as a Special Watch List country for engaging in, or tolerating, severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.”
The listing is reserved for nations that have serious problems with human rights abuses and the Nigerians were embarrassed by it, according to Destro.
A less onerous label for a nation is to be listed on “a special watch list,” which Nigerian didn’t get either, in spite of the fact that Nigeria in 2021 saw a 15 percent increase in violent deaths over the previous year.
“This was not a determination but a dictatorial decision that is neither supported by fact or law,” according to lawyer Ogebe.
“It is glaring to note that while Sudan was delisted in a prior year citing improvements in country conditions, the Blinken State Department is so incompetent and capricious, it doesn’t give reasons or cite Nigeria’s improvements in its reversal process.”
Ogebe went on to say: “Indeed with Sudan, the Pompeo-led State Department removed it from CPC to special watch list. Blinken on the other hand basically just disappeared Nigeria altogether in a mysterious magic trick.”
Image by EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
