The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC,
has reacted to claim by the National Christian Elders Forum, NCEF, that the
conviction of suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen, was a
Jihad against Christians.
In a statement by its Chairman,
Solomon Asemota, NCEF had insisted that the development was a continuation of
the “jihad that began with the overthrow of General Yakubu Gowon in 1975”.
However, MURIC charged NCEF to
allow peace to reign in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by its
founder and Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Tuesday, MURIC said:
“National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has described the conviction of the
former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, by the Code of Conduct
Tribunal (CCT) as part of the jihad against Christians in the country. NCEF
made this allegation in a statement signed by its chairman, Chief Solomon
Asemota (SAN) on Friday 19th April, 2019.
“We are still wondering about
what happened to NCEF. This is a group of elders who, ceteris paribus, should
know better and, consequently, contribute positively to the national discuss.
But we are perturbed by its pedestrian outbursts.
“We find it hard to believe that
General Yakubu Gowon in particular, a former Head of State, will belong to a
group that stands logic on its head and twists the facts of history. How did
the overthrow of Gowon in 1975 constitute a jihad? This is a most irrational
claim.
“Our people say when a child
rejects evening pounded yam, his parents will narrate to him the story of his
mother’s marriage. But what do we say about elders who falsify facts? We must
beckon on historians to bail us out.
“For the avoidance of doubts,
Gowon was toppled on 29 July, 1975 for reneging on his promise to end military
rule in 1976. The spate of protests against his U-turn especially by university
students showed how unpopular his procrastination had become. It also led to
the closing of some higher institutions.
“Gowon had fallen in love with
power and was not ready to leave even after spending ten years (1966 – 1975).
Nigerians may be passive on misrule and parliamentary idiosyncracies but they
have never been silent over tenure elongation. The inglorious third term agenda
is a good example.
“Gowon got his fingers burnt for
seeking to tow the path of sit-tight African rulers like Hosni Mubarak of Egypt
who spent 30 years in office (1981 – 2011) and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya who
spent 42 years (1969 – 2011). It is a great disservice to history for NCEF to
seek to distort the events which led to the toppling of Gowon.
“As it turned out, many of the
drammatis personae in the anti-Gowon post-coup events were Christians. Joe
Namvan Garba was made commander of the Elite Guards Brigade, Mathew Obasanjo
was named chief of staff at supreme headquarters, Theophilus Y. Danjuma became
chief of army staff, Commodore Michael Adelanwa, chief of naval staff and John
Issa Duku, chief of air staff. The last time we checked, Joe, Mathew,
Theophilus, Michael and John were all Christian names. So, was it Joe Garba or
Mathew Obasanjo who was pushing Buhari’s jihad agenda?
“Again, NCEF claimed that Buhari
overthrew Shagari in 1983 and retired Justice Taslim Elias, a Muslim, to
Islamise Nigeria by replacing a Federal Republic with a Sultanate. What sense
does this make for crying out loud? Both Shagari and Taslim Elias were Muslims
and why would Buhari remove them if he intended to Islamise the country?
“The most arbitrary claim of the
group has to do with the removal of the suspended CJN. NCEF claimed the removal
of Onnoghen is a continuation of stealth jihad which began with the coup
against Gowon. It is as ludicrous as it is infantile.
“Perhaps NCEF is also suggesting
that the National Judicial Council (NJC) which found Onnoghen guilty of the
charges leveled against him is engaging in jihad. When will NCEF stop seeing
religion in every big or little thing? Why should the Onnoghen issue be turned
into religious blackmail?
“Members of NCEF need to be
circumspect and careful in their utterances. If we are not careful, reckless
statements like this could prepare grounds for genocide. We need to take
lessons from Rwanda and we may not have a Kigame to heal the wounds that are
direct consequences of such conflict.
“Muslims did not call it a
Christian crusade when ex-President Jonathan removed the CBN governor (now Emir
of Kano) unceremoniously. Neither did they start appealing to religious
sentiment when the same Jonathan sacked Justice Salami.
“Again, for want of anything else
to say, NCEF blamed the problems of Nigeria on the amalgamation of the Northern
and Southern regions. We must ask NCEF who should be blamed for the
amalgamation. Was it done by the Sultanate or the Fulanis? The British colonial
masters amalgamated the North and South. NCEF should direct its protest letter
to No. 10, Downing Street.
“Elders are expected to possess
the wisdom to solve problems, not the flair for rabble-rousing. It is high time
NCEF accepted this common destiny and settled down. We are bewildered that
elders of a religious group whose scripture is filled with wise sermons have
elected to behave contrary to the teachings. NCEF members are mere hearers of
the word of God, not doers (James 1:23).
“It is didactic to note that the
umbrella body of all Nigerian Christians, the Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) has already disowned NCEF. That alone is enough to compel us to ignore
the group but for the need to put records straight.
“That development becomes more
instructive when considered against the background of the visit of Paul and
Barnabas to the elders in Jerusalem for consultation ((Acts 15:2). Instead of
consulting NCEF, CAN dissociates itself from the Northern elders. It speaks
volumes. Impertinence sometimes creates distance.
“Was this not on Peter’s mind
when he advised church elders “not domineering over those in your charge, but
being examples to the flock”? (I Peter 5:3). Members of the NCEF should not
tarry until Nigerians start sending anti-senility drugs to them before they
take CAN’s advice.
“On a final note, we affirm that
what Nigeria needs now is a peaceful environment. There can be no meaningful
development without peace and stability. Let us stop heating the polity.
Nigerian Muslims have no Islamisation agenda. We are willing to peacefully
coexist with both Christians and traditionalists as neighbours and on equal
terms.
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