30th December, 2019
PRESS RELEASE:
CAN FUELING TRAMADOLISED RELIGIOUSITY
The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr.
Samson Ayokunle, has again lashed out at the Sultan of Sokoto and President
General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji
Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar over the latter’s comment in which he debunked CAN’s claim
of religious persecution.
The Sultan had argued that Christians were not being persecuted in
Nigeria. He also revealed that CAN did not table any complaint of persecution at
the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) which is the official National
interfaith platform for treating such matters. This drew the ire of the president
of CAN who blamed the Sultan for not waiting for the next NIREC meeting before
disagreeing with him in public.
In a chain reaction, the Islamic human rights organization, Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC) has carpeted CAN president. MURIC accused Ayokunle of
lying, deception and incitement. The human rights group’s statement was issued on
Monday, 30th December, 2019, by its director, Professor Ishaq
Akintola.
“MURIC takes serious objection
to the response of CAN to the Sultan. Imagine CAN president, Dr. Samson
Ayokunle arguing that the Sultan should have waited for the next meeting of
NIREC to fault his (Ayokunle’s) claim instead of debunking it publicly. How
reasonable is that? How can the Sultan wait for a private forum to fault a lie that
was told in public? Are the discussions in NIREC in the public domain? How can
you remove a woman’s clothes in the market place and expect her friends to wait
until she arrives home naked before they cover her up? Isn’t that warped logic?
Those who make provocative statements in public should not expect a pat in the
back in the privacy of their offices. As you make your bed, so you will lie on
it. You cannot sow a million potatoes without reaping a tomatoe.
“The Sultan is a notable bridge-builder primus inter pareil
and a peace-maker nulli secundus. If some religious leaders specialize in
creating tension, the Sultan’s vocation is dousing tension. If some leaders are
adept at inciting their followers, the Sultan is always there to calm nerves.
“With his dynamism, his high mobility, his proximity to Nigerians
of various backgrounds, the Sultan has won the respect and admiration of compos
mentis Nigerians regardless of religious and ethnic leanings. Expectedly, he enjoys the loyalty of Nigerian
Muslims such that when he speaks, he speaks for the entire Muslim populace in
the country. He is level-headed and has never incited Muslims. Not even once. He
is well known as an advocate of peace. This explains why he is called the
Sultan of the people.
“Is it fair to blame such a man
for telling you the truth? MURIC will not stand akimbo while CAN weaves its web
of lies around the Sultan. Can lied by saying Christians are the targets of
Boko Haram and bandits. That is a lie
from the pit of Jahannam and CAN knows it. Exempli gratia, Zamfara State is
widely known as the base of banditry. How many Christians are in Zamfara? All
those kidnapped by bandits in Zamfara are Muslims. Did the Muslims once accuse
Christians of being the perpetrators? Facts are sacred. Why is CAN trying to distort
history? Why is CAN lying?
“The Bible says, ‘Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord’
(Proverbs 12:22). It also says. ‘…He who breathes out lies will perish’
(Proverbs 19:9). In his letter to the Colossians, Apostle Paul warned , ‘Do not
lie to one another’ (Colossians 3:9 – 10). Why then is the president of CAN
lying to his followers? Is this not a case of ‘Do as I say but not as I do?’
Religious leaders should not be found lying.
“The problem with Nigeria is the proliferation of religious leaders
whose behaviours contradict the tenets of their professed religion. They lie at
will. They incite their followers. Nigeria is the only place on earth today
where acrobatic religiousity is compounded with paradoxical criminality. The
leaders deliberately lead their followers towards articulated spirituality for
the purpose of political and economic exploitation. This country will begin to
know peace the moment the citizens start to crosscheck claims made by religious
leaders and stop listening to merchants of aggravated religiousity.
“CAN president tried to cover
his tracks after lying by silencing the Sultan. That is an abomination. CAN
president cannot gag NSCIA President-General. It is true that there is freedom
of speech. But if freedom of speech can allow blunt lies, the same freedom of
speech should stomach blatant truth. If you cannot stand the heat, don’t go
into the kitchen. If you use your freedom of speech to tell lies and incite
your followers, you cannot stop another person from exercising his own freedom
of speech to speak the truth and promote peace. What is the CAN president
afraid of? Why doesn’t he want the Sultan to speak up? Is he just realizing that
truth, no matter how long, will always overwhelm falsehood?
“It is now crystal clear to discerning Nigerians that CAN has the abstract
noun ‘trouble’ and the transitive verb ‘to forment trouble’. We are not
referring to the entire Christians of Nigeria per se, but the officials
and leaders of the Christian body who take decisions and speak for all
Christians in the country even though without consulting the latter. We know
there are thousands of peace-loving and honest Christians in this country. Is
it not high time CAN listened to such people?
“Some religious offices have been commercialised and the holders of
public offices in certain religions are being held hostages as religious
leaders claim that they were instrumental to the former’s attaining such
positions. All the lies and propaganda are for the purpose of justifying the
juicy rewards from these public office holders. Interestingly, Muslims do not
indulge in such mischief.
“It is outrageous for CAN to
claim that Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria. Where? How? When? By
who? Is it in this same Nigeria or is there another country on earth called
Nigeria? We challenge the CAN president to draw up a list of such persecutions
with names of the persecutor and those of the victims, including dates and
places of occurrence. In fact we will go further to add to the compromise from
our side. CAN president should tell the whole world the demands of Nigerian
Christians in concrete terms. We mean demands which they have probably been
making in the past and which the Nigerian government is yet to grant.
“On our part, we will table our concrete demands which we have been
making from federal and state governments but which have hitherto been denied.
Interestingly enough, some of our demands have been granted Nigerian Christians
even without the latter asking for them. So who is being persecuted? Who is the
persecutor? Who is being oppressed? Who is the oppressor? Who is the victim? A
dispassionate examination of these posers will reveal the identity of the group
that is shedding crocodile tears.
“Who took the Muslims’ only day
of worship (Friday) away from them and gave Saturday and Sunday to Christians?
Who stopped the Muslims from using their 800 years old Shariah and forced the
Christian common law on Nigerian Muslims throughout the country? Who outlawed
marriages ministered in mosques but legalized marriages conducted in churches?
Who demonized Islamic banking but idolized Christian Western banking?
“Who gave the Christians 1st
January but deprives Muslims of 1st Muharram? Who organized the
lopsided 2014 national conference where Muslims who constitute majority of the
population were given a paltry 189 delegates while Christians who are the
minority had 303? Who locked the Nigerian Muslim girl-child out of school over
an ordinary head-scarf called hijab? Who is forcing Muslim students in
Christian private universities to attend church on Sundays? Who demolished
mosques in Ekiti and River’s States? Who is the real oppressor now?
“Fact check: Rev Fr. Hasan Kuka is the Bishop of the Catholic
Diocese of Sokoto. His office is just a stone’s throw from the Sultan’s palace
in the same town. Has anyone ever threatened Father Kuka in Sokoto? Governor
Tambuwal and the Sultan himself were present during the opening ceremony of
that office. Is that persecution?
Fact check: The Emir of Kano has renovated churches attacked by
Boko Haram in Kano. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo narrated how another Muslim
governor in the North rebuilt and renovated all churches attacked by Boko Haram
in his state. He narrated this publicly in his speech at the Annual General
Assembly of the NSCIA held in December 2019 in Abuja. Is the renovation of
churches by Muslim leaders now termed persecution by CAN?
“It is clear that CAN cannot substantiate any claim of persecution.
CAN’s claim is therefore dubious, deceitful and quixotic. CAN is simply heating
up the polity and inciting its members without any justifiable cassu belli.
CAN is fueling tramadolised religiousity.
“Before we drop the anchor, we advise CAN officials to stop
deceiving its followers with imaginary tales of persecution. In addition, CAN
should, in its own interest, desist from whipping up sentiments and inciting
its membership against both the government and Muslims in the country. Responsible
leadership demands truthful mentorship. Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone learnt
the lesson too late and they paid heavy prices. It is not wise to start what
one cannot finish.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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