BY ZAINAB MUHAMMAD BASHIR, AUGUST 27, 2026 | 11:07 PM

The headlines will eventually fade, the hashtags will disappear, politicians will move on to the next controversy, and the world may turn its attention to another crisis, but Nigerian families who buried their loved ones will continue to live with the consequences.

This is why, now that the heated debate surrounding the ‘Christian genocide’ narrative appears to be losing momentum, Nigeria must confront a more difficult question: what comes next?

The debate has exposed something Nigerians can no longer ignore: the country’s security crisis is real, regardless of the label used to describe it.

Some Nigerians believe the term ‘Christian genocide’ accurately describes what is happening to Christian communities, while others argue that Nigeria’s insecurity is more complex and affects people across religious and ethnic lines.

Perhaps the most important lesson is that the debate over terminology should not distract us from the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.

A Nigerian who loses a father, mother, child, or sibling to violence does not experience that loss as a political argument.

The pain is the same.

Nigeria therefore needs to move from narratives to solutions.

Our security challenges are not the same everywhere, as terrorism, banditry, communal conflicts, farmer-herder tensions, and other forms of violence have different causes and require different responses.

Government must become more proactive, intelligence gathering must improve, security agencies must respond faster, and communities must be protected before attacks occur rather than only visited after tragedy.

But security alone will not solve the problem.

Nigeria must also confront poverty, unemployment, weak institutions, and the lack of opportunities for young people.

A young population without hope can become vulnerable to manipulation by criminal and extremist networks.

Education, employment, entrepreneurship, and economic development must therefore be treated as part of Nigeria’s national security strategy.

Religious leaders also have a major responsibility.

Christians and Muslims must be able to demand justice for their communities without turning their pain into hatred against another religion.

An attack on a Christian should concern a Muslim.

An attack on a Muslim should concern a Christian.

That is what it means to be a nation.

International attention can help Nigeria, but Nigerians must ultimately take responsibility for the country.

Foreign governments can provide assistance, intelligence, and resources, but they cannot build the trust, institutions, and leadership Nigeria needs.

The real question now is not who won the argument over the ‘Christian genocide’ narrative.

The real questions are: Who is protecting our communities?

Why are perpetrators able to continue operating?

Why are innocent people repeatedly exposed to violence?

And what are we doing to prevent the next attack?

Nigeria cannot afford another cycle in which tragedy produces outrage, outrage produces arguments, and the arguments eventually disappear until the next tragedy.

The narrative may change.

The headlines may move on.

But Nigeria cannot afford to.

The next chapter should be about protecting every Nigerian—Christian, Muslim, and everyone else—while rebuilding the security, justice, and economic systems needed to make that protection possible.

Because the ultimate goal should not be to prove whose suffering matters more.

The goal should be to build a Nigeria where every Nigerian’s life matters equally.

Note: Zainab Muhammad Bashir is a 300-level Mass Communication student at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State.