WorldStage– Wearied by the sustained, ongoing killings of Nigerians by religious terrorists and bandits, some Christian and Muslim leaders from the northern part of the country gathered on Friday in Abuja to declare common stand against the rampage in the country, even as it has become escalated following President Donald Trump’s threat of military invasion if it doesn’t stop.
Gathering under the auspices of The Africa Freedom Foundation and Yari, which was convened by the former senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, the leaders all agreed that government is complicit in the persistence of the attacks and not sincerely doing enough to end the trend; that Muslims are mute in condemning and not taking actions that suggest they aren’t in support of it; that Christians amplify the dimension of the killings; and that religious leaders, both Islamic and Christian, are also complicit in the perpetuation of the security crisis because of greed.
Setting the tone of conversation for the one-day summit themed “Conversation on search for peace in Nigeria, the convener, Senator Sani said Nigeria did not deserve the religious, tribal and banditry killings going on in the country given her record of involvement in peace-keeping operation across the globe.
He expressed wonder at how a country that’s pivotal in fostering and establishing peace in other countries would herself be held down by the very evil she’s helping others combat.
Wondering how the country got to the current state of religious crisis/security, Sani cited that Ethiopia with oldest Christian and Islamic history than Nigeria never went through this kind of crisis, nor is she going through it today, disclosing that his visit to the country exposed him to the knowledge of Christian and Islamic worship centres that are more than 2,000 years, which he said Nigeria could not boast of in spite of her claim of religious piety.
Going down memory lane and reflecting on the many roles Nigeria has played at the international scenes, he expressed surprise at why the country is still where it is today in terms of failure in managing crisis and nipping insurgency and banditry in the bud immediately.
Sani recalled that the northern part of the country used to be the most peaceful before but that it’s relapsed into chaos and killings because of vested interests and politics, referencing all the killings that had occurred across the west, east and central parts of the north.
Also speaking, Bishop David Boyi Gyang from Plateau State and one of the Christian representatives at the peace summit blamed religious leaders in the country for escalation and promotion of the attacks through what he termed their tacit indifference even when attacks hot up and become widespread.
He called on the Muslim clerics to reject using Islamic platforms to perpetrate killings, even if Christians are not the targets, arguing that some people cannot be claiming to be killing others in the name of a religion without the public holding such people responsible for genocide.
Corroborating Bishop Gyang, Archbishop James Malgit of Peniel Int’l Gospel Centre said there were communities in Plateau State that the locals have been chased out and could not come back. He however stated that concern for misfortunes as that is the reason for Christians and Muslims coming together under the summit to say enough is enough.
To achieve the needed peace, Malgit canvassed for speedy intervention from international communities ready to help Nigeria out of the security crisis.
In his own contribution, Mallam Abubakar Sadiq, Chief Imam of Kaduna Polytechnic, stated there’s still confusion about those actually behind the insecurity problem, wondering if it’s government, politicians or ordinary people. But he maintained the problem must be dealt with and brought to an end regardless of it sources.
He also condemned any form of killing, either by Muslims or Christians, saying that God has reserved five punishments for any faithful that kills unjustly. He affirmed that Islam is opposed to killing, particularly the innocent.
Sadiq however rejected the claim that Muslims are killing Christians in the country, arguing that a lot of Muslims are as well being killed as Christians by terrorists and bandits that never discriminate in perpetrating their crimes.
He appealed to both Christians and Muslims to come together and cooperate in combating and stopping the bloodshed.
Another Christian cleric, Archbishop Aaron Dauda Haruna of Great Nation Assembly, Musaka, Abuja would hold government responsible for failing to stop the bloodshed, alleging that it never wanted to acknowledge the extremity of the carnage going on because, according to him, it was the one sponsoring and backing all the perpetrators of the evil.
He also queried that if government was not involved how were the terrorists/bandits getting weapons which are sometimes more superior to the one used by the military personnel, despite the presence of Customs Service, military and other intelligence agencies.
He however appealed to all religious faithful to see themselves as one before God and begin to work for putting an end to the menace and achieve lasting peace in the country.
At the end of the conversation, the leaders jointly called on the government, particularly the federal, to get more serious and sincere about fighting the insecurity scourge head-on and establishing lasting peace in the country.
