“That CPC Tag? It’s Not What You Think,” US Lawmakers Tell Nigeria

By: Abudu Olalekan

Nigeria CPC designation won’t weaken US ties, Congress delegation assures

The delegation touched down in Abuja on a Sunday. Two days. That’s all they scheduled—two days of meetings, handshakes, and conversations that stretched longer than planned. The kind that make diplomats check their watches but keep nodding anyway. You know the type. The ones where real talk happens after the official recorder is turned off.

They came because of a label. A three-letter acronym causing headaches in Nigerian government circles since October: CPC. Country of Particular Concern. The Trump administration slapped it on Nigeria back in October, citing threats to religious freedom. And honestly? Nobody likes being on that list. It’s like getting called to the principal’s office, but for countries. It stings.

Bill Huizenga, the Michigan congressman leading this crew, wanted Nigerians to understand something. This isn’t a breakup letter. It’s more like a tough-love conversation between friends who’ve known each other too long to just walk away. Friends who’ve invested too much to ghost each other now.

“For me personally, I believe the CPC designation is warranted,” Huizenga admitted during their final press briefing. Their mission? “Listening, learning and holding frank conversations.” The kind where you don’t sugarcoat things but you also don’t burn bridges. You just… talk. Honestly. Even when it’s uncomfortable.

The meetings piled up quickly. Government officials with their talking points, crisp and practiced. Religious leaders with stories that kept catching in their throats. Civil society groups waving reports with highlighted sections and coffee stains. Private sector folks worried about how instability hits their bottom line. Everyone had something to say about violence. Everyone had a different version of who’s suffering most. That’s Nigeria for you. Everyone’s got a story. Everyone’s story is different.

Huizenga’s team heard about attacks in the Middle Belt—mainly Christian communities feeling besieged, isolated, forgotten. But they also sat through briefings about Muslim communities in the North-East and North-West dealing with their own nightmares. Boko Haram doesn’t discriminate. Bandits don’t check ID cards for religious affiliation before pulling the trigger. Violence, it turns out, is an equal opportunity destroyer. It doesn’t care about your faith. Just your vulnerability.

“The core message is that all citizens, regardless of faith, must be protected and feel safe,” Huizenga said. Simple words. But in Nigeria, they’re the hardest promise to keep. Probably one of the hardest promises to keep in the world.

The other congressmen had their own takes. Keith Self, who’s spent eight years wrestling with European issues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, kept seeing parallels. “Many of the problems Nigeria is dealing with today are similar to what Europe has faced,” he said. Mass migration. Security pressures. Democratic institutions creaking under weight they were never built to handle. The kind of stress that cracks foundations, slowly but surely.

Self wanted Nigerians to reframe the CPC thing. Not as punishment. As opportunity. A weird kind of gift, maybe. “This does not have to be a negative. It can be a positive starting point for a deeper and more honest relationship.” He’d seen this movie before, he seemed to suggest. The European version had a decent ending. Maybe Nigeria’s could too. Eventually. With work.

Michael Baumgartner cut straight to the emotional core. No academic language. Just straight talk. “I hope that the trip gives the Christian community in Nigeria hope that they’re not alone. Also the world is watching the actions of the Nigerian government to make sure they’re safe.” The grammar wasn’t perfect there. But the sentiment landed. Hard. That’s what matters.

Jefferson Shreve, the youngest-looking of the group, called the visit an “investment.” Not an investigation. The distinction mattered to him. A lot. “This trip has been about listening and learning. We want to be helpful, and we want to see Nigeria succeed, because Africa cannot be successful unless Nigeria is successful.” Hard to argue with that logic. Simple math, really. Nigeria’s too big to fail.

The delegation made one thing crystal clear: they’re not recommending boots on the ground. Trump’s earlier threat about deploying US troops to target terrorists if Nigeria didn’t “move fast” enough—that’s not the playbook these congressmen are pushing. Not even close. Instead, they’re talking sustained engagement. Increased dialogue. Targeted support. The boring, slow-moving stuff that actually changes things but doesn’t make for exciting headlines. The real work. The stuff that matters.

They’ll report back to Washington. Their colleagues will listen, probably with half an eye on their phones, but they’ll listen. The recommendations will land on desks. Some action might follow—most likely more funding for programs nobody hears about but that keep small community projects alive. The unsexy part of foreign policy. The part that works.

The Nigerian officials, for their part, were apparently “open.” That’s diplomatic speak for “they didn’t slam the door in our faces.” Optimism was expressed. Progress was deemed possible. The usual script. We’ve all read it before.

But here’s what feels different. The CPC designation—this thing that landed like a slap back in October—might actually become something else. A reason to talk more honestly. A tool to leverage change. A reminder that the world is, in fact, watching. Closely. Very closely.

Huizenga put it simply before they headed to the airport. No fancy language. Just the point. The designation is meant to “spur progress and internal conversations within Nigeria on how to better protect people of all faiths.”

Conversations are cheap. But sometimes, they’re all you’ve got. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, they’re enough. Just enough.