Rev Dr Ayokunle, CAN President
We
are disappointed but not surprised with the disparaging, lies and
abusive statements credited to the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed in Ilorin during the Town hall meeting where he was accusing
religious leaders of making alleged provocative statements that can lead
to religious war.
Mohammed
in his characteristic manner left out the issues but went after the
so-called religious leaders, which we all know, are the Christian
leaders because we know that the Minister dare not speak against the
Moslem leaders who had said worse things.
His
words; “…Such fallacies like the Islamization of Nigeria, the killing
of Christians by Muslims, the labelling of Nigeria as the most dangerous
place for Christians in the world can only serve one purpose: trigger a
religious war. Needless to say that no nation ever survives a religious
war.
“Those
who are making these allegations know that they are not true, but they
have found in religion another tool to demonize the government of the
day, divert attention from the government’s anti-corruption stance and
create undue tension in the polity…”
Mohammed went on further to dismiss the Islamisation agenda against the country when he said: “The
alleged Islamisation of Nigeria under the current administration is
totally false and should be perceived in its entirety as a campaign of
calumny. The secular nature of Nigeria’s Constitution makes the issue of
religious dominance and impunity improbable.”
We
want to boldly declare that Nigerian Christians love their country and
they not only promote peace and unity but also always pray for her and
the leadership. In the last one year, the Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN) has declared fasting and prayers for Nigeria and her
leadership twice. If we are thirsty for a war, we wouldn’t have gone
that far.
Is Lai Mohammed accusing of us of telling lies:
*That our members are being killed, maimed and burnt by the Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast?
*That our members are being killed by the Fulani herdsmen in Plateau, Benue and now Southern Kaduna states?
*That those responsible for these killings profess Islam as their religion?
*That
those who killed Madam Bridget Agbahime in Kano were Muslims who were
arrested but later discharged and acquitted by the court as requested by
the State Attorney- General and Commissioner of Justice?
*That
those who killed Madam Eunice Elisha Olawale while doing the morning
preaching in Kubwa, Abuja were Muslim fundamentalists who were arrested
but also freed by the Police?
Is
Lai Mohammed telling us that no Christian was killed by the Fulani
herdsmen who invaded the Southern Kaduna, killed and maimed our members
and razed down their communities recently? Is
Mohammed saying the Fulani herdsmen who have been killing our members
are not armed with sophisticated weapons and is it wrong for us to ask
where they get the AK-47 and other weapons they are using?
When
all those killings were going on in Plateau, Benue and Southern Kaduna,
was there any time Lai Mohammed or anyone in the Federal Government
raised up a voice against the atrocities?
If
those murderous Fulani herdsmen are faceless, how come the Sultan of
Sokoto is claiming that they are not Nigerians and in another instance,
the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai said they had been paid
for the “wrong done to them’’? Why
is it that whenever these murderers are perpetrating their atrocities,
the security agencies look elsewhere until their victims decided to
fight back? Is it because the security agencies are Muslim dominated? CAN says No to disparaging remarks in the name of politics. Enough of these lies by Lai Mohammed!
Adebayo Oladeji
Special Assistant (Media and Communications) to
President of CAN, Rev Dr Samson Olasupo A. Ayokunle
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