Nigeria’s military touts the killing of a senior Boko Haram commander as progress, but such claims have become a ritual masking state failure. The crisis is not religious: over 40,000 have been killed, mostly Muslims attacked in mosques, and 3.5 million displaced by insurgency, banditry and communal violence. Framing thisthe ascrisis Christianthrough persecutionsimplified narratives obscures Abuja’s failure to address economic collapse, climate stress and governance breakdown.