Nigeria’s conflict narratives are not shaped by violence alone, but by the language used to describe victims and perpetrators. In this deeply analytical essay, Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde examines how selective naming in media reporting has influenced international perception, erased certain victims, and reinforced dangerous global assumptions about religion and violence in Nigeria.
For a counter-view on the limits of naming and why justice must go beyond vocabulary, read:
When Naming Alone Is Not Enough: Why Nigeria’s Conflict Narratives Need More Than Vocabulary Balance
Related reading on Streaming Naija:
Crime and Terror Have No Tribe or Religion: Nigeria Must Stop the Double StandardsAnd its counterpoint:
When Naming Everything Terror Blinds Us: Why Context Still Matters in Nigeria’s Insecurity Crisis
Editor’s Note
This article was written by Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde, a respected public commentator and researcher whose work on identity, conflict, and national narratives has shaped debates across Nigeria for years. I reached out to him for permission to publish this piece on Streaming Naija, and he graciously approved.
The essay below is presented exactly as he wrote it, with only editorial structuring for clarity and readability.
Genocide Nomenclature in Nigeria
By Aliyu U. Tilde
International perception of religious conflicts in Nigeria is heavily influenced by propaganda rooted in biased naming of victims and perpetrators. When one searches the internet for the killing of Muslims in Nigeria by Christians, the results are scanty. But search for Christian genocide or persecution, and the results are extensive. Something is clearly amiss.
It is not that Muslims are not being killed by Christians or fellow Muslims. For over twenty years, long before Boko Haram and banditry escalated, wholesale massacres of Muslims occurred in North-Central Nigeria, and they have continued even after 2009. Yet the internet remains largely blind to them. As a result, international observers forget them, and researchers rarely notice them.
The reason lies in nomenclature.
Same Crime, Different Names
When victims are Christians, Nigerian media, predominantly Christian, often name them explicitly as Christians, even when religion may not be the root cause of the conflict. Headlines quickly read:
- Fulani kill Christians
- Christian communities attacked
- Genocide of Christians
The internet sees only what is posted. When the victims are Muslims, however, the naming changes. They are described as villagers, worshippers, civilians, locals, or simply Nigerians. Their religious identity is deliberately cancelled or hidden.
For example, the 25 abducted Kebbi schoolgirls were reported as “schoolchildren,” not “Muslim schoolchildren.” As a result, scholars and readers searching for Muslim genocide or killings find little or nothing.
The same asymmetry applies to perpetrators.
If attackers are Muslim, they are labelled Islamists, jihadists, Fulani Muslim militants, or terrorists. These terms are easily indexed and reproduced, reinforcing a particular narrative.
If attackers are Christian-affiliated, they are described as youths, tribal militias, unknown gunmen, mobs, or attackers. Their religious identity is erased, allowing them to escape internet scrutiny and global accountability. Thus, an internet-dependent world develops the illusion that Christians are always victims and Muslims are always perpetrators, an illusion unsupported by history, statistics, or morality.
Forgotten Massacres of Muslims
The internet rarely reflects the following documented atrocities against Muslims by Christian neighbours:
- Kasuwan Magani (1981) – Nocturnal attacks on Muslims
- Kafanchan crises (1987, 1999) – Multiple massacres
- Zangon Kataf (1992) – Convictions and death sentence for a retired general
- Tafawa Balewa pogroms (1991–2001) – Cleansing of Muslim founders
- Plateau crises (2001–2012) – Over 40 Muslim settlements were wiped out
- Yelwa massacre (May 2004) – State of emergency declared
- Southern Kaduna (2011) – Over 1,200 Muslims killed
- Wukari crises (2013–2014) – Mass slaughter by militias
- Taraba/Jalingo/Ardo Kola (2012–2017) – Entire communities erased
- Mambilla Plateau (June 2017) – 727 Fulani Muslims massacred
- Numan massacre (November 2017) – Hundreds killed
These crimes are often labelled ethnic clashes, reprisals, intercommunal violence, or farmer-herder conflict. But when Muslims retaliate, the language shifts to Islamic violence or religious persecution.
The asymmetry is glaring.
Why the Bias Exists
Dr. Tilde identifies several drivers of this imbalance:
- Western institutions and Nigerian media are culturally Christian
- Evangelical NGOs dominate international conflict reporting
- Reports from these NGOs feed Western governments and media
- Religious persecution narratives attract funding, pressure, and leverage
Muslims lack a comparable global advocacy infrastructure, leaving their suffering underreported. This desperation to prove Christian persecution has even led to mislabeling Muslim victims as Christians, including international officials repeating false claims, later disproved by verified victim identities.
The Consequences of Selective Reporting
The result is a distorted global image:
- Christians are always victims
- Muslims are always perpetrators
- Christians never kill for religion
- Muslims kill primarily for faith
This narrative is false, harmful, and destabilising.
Balanced vocabulary is essential for accurate understanding. Dr. Tilde argues that Muslims in Nigeria must learn to name their suffering clearly, just as their counterparts do, to gain visibility in global discourse.
Only an egalitarian approach to nomenclature will allow the world to see Nigeria’s conflicts clearly and assist meaningfully. Without it, Muslims will continue to bear blame for violence they do not monopolise.
20 November 2025
Editor’s Closing Note
The issues raised here are complex and deeply rooted in Nigeria’s history. Balanced reporting matters, and perspectives like this help broaden the conversation.
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The issues raised here are complex and deeply rooted in Nigeria’s history. Balanced reporting matters, and perspectives like this help broaden the conversation. If you have thoughts or responses, feel free to share them in the comment section. Let’s keep the discussion informed and respectful.
Related reading on Streaming Naija:
Crime and Terror Have No Tribe or Religion: Nigeria Must Stop the Double Standards
And its counterpoint:
When Naming Everything Terror Blinds Us: Why Context Still Matters in Nigeria’s Insecurity Crisis
3 Comments
Should Nigerian media rethink how victims and attackers are described, or is naming already neutral enough?
ReplyDeleteIf two similar crimes are described differently, does that change how justice, sympathy, and global attention are distributed?
ReplyDeleteHow much does the way conflicts are named influence what the world believes about Nigeria, and who gets remembered or forgotten?
ReplyDelete