Nigeria: Religion, Power, and Peacebuilding

Late last year, the U.S redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, a move that reignited fierce global debate and intensified an already complex moment in U.S.–Nigeria relations. U.S. military air strikes on Christmas that targeted an ISIS-affiliated terrorist group in northwest Nigeria, which the U.S. accused of persecuting Christians, further illustrates these complicated and evolving dynamics. What does this CPC redesignation mean for the millions of people living in Nigeria? Is this a necessary wake-up call for accountability or a surface-level solution to a deeply rooted complex crisis of political power and security? In this episode, Oge is joined by Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja and Dr. Usman Bugaje, senior adviser to the Sultan of Sokoto, to unpack the nexus of religion, power, and the desperate search for peace in one of the world’s most religiously vibrant countries.

You can listen to Nigeria: Religion, Power, and Peacebuilding online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Nigeria: Religion, Power, and Peacebuilding is an episode from Into Africa by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies.

This episode is 56:49 long.

This episode was published on Feb 27, 2026.

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