President Muhammadu Buhari has
taken a swipe at those accusing him of attempting to Islamise Nigeria,
describing himself as “a descendant of Abraham just like Bishop Crowther”.
Crowther was the first Anglican
bishop in Nigeria. A linguist, he translated the Bible from English to Yoruba.
In an article published by
UK-based Christian Times, Buhari referred to the accusation as “nonsense”.
The president said he believes
that there is far more that unites Muslims and Christians in the country than
what divides them.
Read the op-ed below:
In 1844, the Revd Samuel Ajayi
Crowther returned home to Yoruba land (now part of modern-day Nigeria). Twenty
years earlier, he had been kidnapped and sold to European slave traders who
were bound for the Americas. He was freed by an abolitionist naval patrol, and received
by the Church Missionary Society. There, he found his calling.
Crowther made his voyage home to
establish the first Anglican mission in Yoruba land. He came with the first
Bibles translated into Yoruba and Hausa languages. He opened dialogue and discussion
with those of other faiths. And his mission was a success: Crowther later
became the first African Anglican bishop in Africa.
Today, Nigeria has the largest
Christian population on the continent. The messages and teachings of
Christianity are part of the fabric of each person’s life.
Along with the millions of
Christians in Nigeria today, I believe in peace, tolerance, and reconciliation;
in the institution of the family, the sanctity of marriage, and the honour of
fidelity; in hope, compassion, and divine revelation.
Like Bishop Crowther, I am a
descendant of Abraham; unlike him, I am a Muslim. I believe our two great
religions can not only peacefully coexist but also flourish together. But
Muslims and Christians must first turn to one another in compassion. For, as it
says in Amos 3.3: “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?”
As they are People of the Book, I
believe that there is far more that unites Muslims and Christians than divides
them. In fact, I believe that the messages of the Bible are universal:
available for anyone to exercise, and instructive to all.
We must resist the temptation to
retreat into our communities, because, if we do, we can only look inwards. It
is only when we mix that we can reach new and greater possibilities.
Whichever religion or religious
denomination they choose to follow, Nigerians are devout. Anything that
Nigerians believe will place impositions on their practice, and belief is
therefore sure to cause widespread alarm.
And, unfortunately, there are
those who seek to divide Nigerians — and our two great religions — and to do so
for their own advantage.
I stand accused — paradoxically —
of trying to Islamise Nigeria while also being accused by Boko Haram terrorists
of being against Islam. My Vice-President is a devout man, a Christian pastor.
He, too, is accused of selling out his religion, because of his support for me.
This is not the first time that I
— nor, indeed, my Christian-Muslim evenly split cabinet — have been the subject
of such nonsense. Fortunately, the facts speak differently from the words of
those who seek to divide us from one another.
Since my administration has been
in power, Boko Haram has been significantly and fatally degraded; I have
befriended church leaders and church groups both within and outside our
country; my Vice-President has addressed and opened dialogue with Muslims up and
down our land.
In all things, we seek that which
all well-meaning Christians and well-meaning Muslims must seek: to unite,
respect, and never to divide. Does it not say “There is no compulsion in
religion” (Qur’an 2.256)? Does it not say “Forbid him not: for he that is not
against us is for us” (Luke 9.50)? This, surely, is the path that followers of
both our two great religions must walk.
UNFORTUNATELY, those who wish us
all to walk apart have recently found another focus for their efforts: the
tragic clashes between nomadic herdsmen and settled farmers in the central
regions of Nigeria.
For generations, herders have
driven their cattle from the north to the centre of our country; they tend to
be predominantly Muslim, although not exclusively. The farmers, in certain
areas of central Nigeria, are predominantly Christian.
The causes of this conflict are
not religious or theological, but temporal. At the heart of this discord is
access to rural land, exacerbated both by climate change and population growth.
Sadly, there are some who seek to
play fast and loose and so make others believe that these are not the facts.
When religion is claimed as the cause — and by those who know that it is not —
it only makes finding a resolution more difficult.
The government has taken action
to mediate, to bring the two groups together in peace and unity. But we also
need all parties to follow the teachings of the scriptures, and encourage
reconciliation rather than cause division. As it is said: “Having eyes do you not
see, and having ears do you not hear?” (Mark 8.18).
As our constitution codifies,
politicising religion has no place in Nigeria; for it makes us turn away from
one another; it makes us retreat into our communities and walk different paths.
I believe that there is a better
way. To those who seek to divide, I still hold my hand out in brotherhood and
forgiveness. I ask only that they stop, and instead encourage us to turn
towards one another in love and compassion. Nigeria belongs to all of us. This
is what I believe.
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