President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor talked back at the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III at the opening, today, of a two-day Roundtable meeting for Special Advisers on religious matters from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory at the Presidential Aso Villa, Abuja.
While the Sultan said that as leaders of Muslims “we have tried to contain the insurgents in Nigeria and all over the globe. There is no where I have not been to, talk about the fact that there is no problem between Christians and Muslims. In The Common World – published in 2010, we wrote to Islamic State (ISIS) to tell them that they should not continue to do what they were doing in the name of Islam. If we read those documents we must trust what we have done our best.”
The CAN President responded thus: “His Eminence said he wrote a letter to ISIS, I have to truly congratulate you for that because that was a very good move. I didn’t know about it until today and I am so glad it happened. But I want to appeal that you also write to Boko Haram because Boko Haram is worst than ISIS. They have killed more people than ISIS. They have caused more atrocities than ISIS. They need to be written to as well, it is very important. It will help.
“It is true, your Eminence, that Christianity and Islam have no problem but I’m glad you said there could be problem between Christians and Muslims and the reason is because probably we are not going deep enough.
“You touched on some very important things. For example and please permit me to say this, why should a church in the north for the last 30 years not be able to get C of O? Any Mosque anywhere in Nigeria should be able to get a C of O. Why is it that people want to build a place of worship, they are not given a land? “Those of you who represent these governors, I like what His eminence said; tell your governors some of these things and if they refused, resign. “Hopefully, people will ask why you are resigning. Because we must create a level playing ground for everybody. We must deal with each other as equals: very important, very vital. No matter your religion, in any state you come from, if you qualify for a position you should get it.”
The Sultan said that Nigerians should thank God that religious leaders are now sitting and talking together to find the way forward, saying that it is a blessing.
“It is an important step towards finding lasting peace in our country. We would have been on th streets fighting one another. When the Sultan and CAN President speak, it is very serous and our fellowers take it seriously.”
Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar insisted that there is no problem between Islam and Christianity, advising however that leader of both religions need to educate their followers on the religious tenets.
According to Sultan, one of the problems facing Nigeria today is the fact that they don’t tell themselves the truth.
“Let us know what to tell our leaders. We must follow due process to execute projects.
“Whatever you can do to eliminate pains please do so. Don’t tell our leaders what they want to hear, tell them the truth. We had written a strong worded letters; that was two years ago. We have done our best at our level. We can only advise.”
Sultan Sa’ad noted that the best platform available now to address the current challenges is the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council, which he regretted, had not met not met in the last one and half years because the funds was not released by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“This needs to be cleared to clear the doubts that we do not want to meet.
“You cannot compare what happened in the Niger Delta to what is happening in north the east. How many heads and emirs have been displaced? How many people have been killed? How many people have been kidnapped. How many of our people are now internally displaced persons?”
The Sultan appealed to politicians to play politics without rancour as the nation approaches 2015 elections campaigns.
“Let us not look at religion and ethnicity of candidates but their capacity and how they can move this country forward.
The CAN President insisted that if Nigerians have to begin to learn to come together, there must be sincerity, equality, fear of God and genuine love for one another. “The problem with gatherings like this is that if we are not careful it becomes an occasion for good
photographs; we shake hands, we talk very nicely, we are all politically correct. We don’t want to offend each other. Please let’s offend each other; we need to. Because if we don’t offend each other, we will not tell each other the truth and that is part of Nigeria’s problem.
“If you come out to say certain things there are those who feel you are rocking the boat but God is in the boat; the boat will not sink. Let us talk to each other, let us tell the truth to each other; let us not sweep it under the carpet. When we finish the opening ceremony and you go into the close door session, lay all the cards on the table.”
Oritsejafor said that he had made an appeal several times that the religioud, political and traditional leaders should come together and discuss.
“I have heard and I may be wrong, one thing you will learn about me is that I’m usually not politically correct, I tell you as it is. But I have been told that the Boko Haram, to a very large extent, are very vast in scriptures. What scriptures do they use? “There are still religion cleric that they respect. If these people are not presenting the right thing and are misrepresenting Islam, which I agree it is so to a very large extent, we expect that our brothers should reach out to them so that the real Islam can be presented to them. “They won’t liten to me. In fact, they will kill me faster than anything else. Oh yes, that is the truth and I am aware of that. In fact, as I speak I know what is going on around me all the time, so I know. But that is not to say that they don’t kill Muslims, please don’t misunderstand me. But the reality is that the Muslims they kill they kill for two reasons. One: there are Muslims who disagree with their ideology, that is a fact and I thank God for that. Two: there are Muslims who refuse to work with them or who give information about them, so they are not happy with them. It is a fact so I am not going to deny that.”
He said that right now, there is no single church standing a place like Mubi, adding that every church in that town has been leveled. CAN President asked: “can you imagine a governor saying to somebody that he cannot use the money of his state to send people of a certain religion on pilgrimage. “We must change such attitude. We must correct this thing. We cannot do that and have a great nation.
“Let me say that our actions must match our words. It is not enough to say sweet and good things and wonderful thing. Those wonderful things are good but our practical actions must match everything we are saying. When you meet, meet with the heart that this is our Nigeria. We don’t have another one. And as you meet, because you know you are not crossing to Cameroon, you are not crossing to Chad, you are in Nigeria and you are a Nigerian, put all the cards on the table. You may annoy each other. You may offend each other but if genuinely truly we believe that we are all Nigerians, then we will find ways to work out those disagreements. But to sweep issues under the carpet will not take us anywhere.”
The chairman of the occasion, former Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed had set the tone of the meeting when he called on the participants to speak devoid of pretenses.
He asked them however to work together as brothers and sisters, reminding them: “We will account to God for whatever we do either in pretenses or in all sincerity.” [myad]
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