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oClaims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria have become a growing subject of debate — not only within the country but also across international circles.
The allegations, amplified through social media and advocacy campaigns, have gained such traction that US President Donald Trump has decided to redesignate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC).
But how did we get here? How did online claims evolve into a diplomatic issue framing Africa’s most populous nation as one that commits “severe violations of religious freedom”, as defined by the US International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998?
At the centre of this escalation is one man — a powerful voice fanning the flames of controversy from over six thousand miles away: Ted Cruz, a US senator.
WHO IS TED CRUZ?
Cruz is a Republican senator from Texas who has served in the US congress since 2013.
Born Rafael Edward Cruz in Calgary, Alberta, in 1970, he is the son of Rafael Bienvenido Cruz, a Cuban immigrant and evangelical preacher who instilled in him a strong sense of divine purpose and conservative conviction.
He got his American roots from his mother, Eleanor Elizabeth, who was born in Delaware.
He graduated with honours in public policy from Princeton University before earning his law degree from Harvard Law School. Cruz later worked as a clerk for William Rehnquist, a chief justice.
After his supreme court clerkship, Cruz worked in private practice as an associate at the law firm Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal (now Cooper & Kirk, PLLC) from 1997 to 1998 and joined President George Bush’s administration in 1999 as a domestic policy adviser.
He also served as the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 to 2008, during which he argued nine cases before the US supreme court.
