By Akinwale Kasali
President Muhammadu Buhari has come under strong criticism, and labelled insincere by the National Christian Elders Forum, NCEF.
The group asked him to stand by his words that the Islamic terrorists are godless, callous gangs of mass murderers by reorganizing the National Security Units to comply with the Federal Character Principle in Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution.
NCEF observed that the National Security Units are solely controlled by Muslims from the North of Nigeria, at the expense of other religions in the country.
The group held President Buhari responsible for the audacity, expansion, and unbridled atrocities of ISWAP, Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen in the country, which have led to the loss of lives and properties.
In a statement signed by its National Chairman, Elder Solomon Asemota, SAN, the group said that while President Buhari appropriately described the Islamic groups as a terrorists group, millions of Nigerians believe he would however require a lot of hope before attaching any sincerity to his statement given the excessive pro-Islamic direction of his government since 2015.
“President Buhari not only deliberately created the atmosphere for Islamic insurgency to thrive in Nigeria, but has equally adopted repentant terrorists into the Nigeria Army.”
Reacting to the beheading of 11 Christians on Christmas Day, the group described the dastardly act as callous, stressing that the timing of the gruesome murder of the innocents Christians on Christmas Day was a signal of the Islamic insurgents deliberately desecrating the day in which Christians worldwide mark the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, and the central figure of the Christian faith.
The statement stressed that the act was not only a heinous crime, but provocative and insulting.
Asomota said, “These Christians were abducted by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram. According to reports, thirteen men were shown in a video pleading for deliverance while eleven were eventually killed.
“Two of the captives were released because they are Muslims while the remaining eleven were presumably killed due to their Christian faith. Ten of the Christians were beheaded while the eleventh was shot dead.
“The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari responded in a statement that he was “profoundly saddened and shocked by the death of innocent hostages in the hands of remorseless, godless, callous gangs of mass murderers that have given Islam a bad name through their atrocities.
“He further went on to appeal that we should, under no circumstance, let the terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims because these barbaric killers don’t represent Islam and millions of other law-abiding Muslims around the world.”
The group frowns at the insincerity of President Buhari, stressing that if President Buhari is sincere, he should ensure that all the terrorists that have been assimilated into the Nigeria Army are dismissed, adding that at the most, they could be constituted into Civilian Task Force if they are willing to help combat terror in the land.
“No sensible Government, anywhere in the world adopts terrorists into its Army.
“Our suspicion is that the statement of President Buhari is for the benefit of the United States of America which recently placed Nigeria on its Special Watch List (SWL).
“However, President Buhari has the opportunity to prove us wrong by ensuring that the murderous Fulani herdsmen from his ethnic group are arrested and prosecuted.”
“We should, under no circumstance, let the terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims …”
“Presently Nigeria is divided under its conflict of ideologies which produced ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS. The current distress in the country is caused by the conflict between DEMOCRACY and SHARIA ideologies. It is the Sharia ideology that emboldens Islamic terrorists in the country and until it is dismantled as competing National Ideology, the country will not know peace.
“President Buhari has done more than any leader in this country to inflame this conflict of ideologies. In its paper of 11th December, 2019 titled: “SOWORE COURT SAGA: WELCOME TO SHARIA”, the NCEF provided information proving that Nigeria is running under Sharia ideology rather than Democracy which President Buhari was sworn into office to uphold.
“We however, insist that the solution to the problem of Islamic terrorism in Nigeria is for Democracy to remain the only National Ideology as designed by the founding fathers of this country. If Mr. President is sincerely committed to the unity of Nigeria, he should promote Democracy.
“NCEF is also not unaware of the statement credited to the Sultan of Sokoto in PUNCH newspaper of 28th December, 2019 that Christians in Nigeria are not persecuted”.
“NCEF would want to conclude that his Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto was misquoted as this statement coming from a traditional ruler of his stature would not accord with statesmanship. Denying the obvious under the circumstances could hardly be described as a suitable solution to problems threatening the corporate existence of the country.
“The National Christian Elders Forum would not want to link this statement with another statement of the Sultan in 2011 in Harvard, USA, in which his Eminence said, “I do not recognize any Nigerian Constitution and the only Constitution I recognize is the Koran”. This pregnant statement which out rightly rejected Democracy and accepted Sharia could easily be interpreted to have escalated the current Sharia induced religious insurgency and intolerance in Nigeria.
“NCEF implores both President Buhari and the Sultan of Sokoto, as Fulani Muslims, and leaders of the Islamic Ummah to open up dialogue with the rest of the country to resolve these problems caused by religious intolerance in Nigeria. Already, other Muslim countries in the world are relaxing their erstwhile hard Islamic stance in order to operate meaningfully in modern multicultural, multi religious and multi ethnic societies.
“For example: Saudi Arabia officially banned child marriage under 18 years. Sudan has apologized to Christians in the country. The Minister of Religious Affairs, Nasredin Mofreh, apologized to Sudanese Christians for the oppression and harm inflicted on your bodies, the destruction of your temples, the theft of your property, and the unjust arrest and prosecution of your servants and confiscation of church buildings.
“The Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok of Sudan on Christmas Eve tweeted a photo with prominent activist Natalina Yacoub and said that he seeks to build a Sudan. That respects diversity and enables all Sudanese citizens to practice their faith in a safe and dignified environment.” Sudan celebrated Christmas for the first time in ten years.
“Locally, Shiite Muslims visited three Churches in Kaduna to felicitate the Christmas season with them. All these are pointers to leaders of the Sunni Muslim Ummah in Nigeria that rigid Islamic intolerance is going out of fashion. It is time for Sunni Muslims in Nigeria, particularly in northern Nigeria, to adjust to modern civilization and join to restructure the country for the peace, safety, and prosperity of all the citizens,” NCEF explained.
The group, therefore, called on President Buhari and the Sultan of Sokoto, as principal decision makers on all issues involving Islam in Nigeria, to participate in building ONE COUNTRY, ONE SYSTEM which is Democracy.
It said the conflict of ideologies of Sharia and Democracy must be dismantled, adding that as we enter a new decade in a few days time, the NCEF appealed to leaders of Sunni Islam in Nigeria to join all well meaning citizens to build a country that “though tribe and tongue differ, in brotherhood we stand.”
