The Bishop of Zaria, Rt Rev
Abiodun Ogunyemi has denounced the Archbishop of Kaduna and the general
secretary of the Anglican Consultative Council for paying a “humiliating visit”
to Governor Nasir El-Rufai to apologise for criticising him over a plan to demolish
the St George’s Cathedral in the university town.
Ogunyemi said the apology was all
an attempt to make the governor look good in preparation for a possible
presidential ambition in 2023.
But to Ogunyemi, the apology
boiled to nought, according to a statement he published on the church’s
website, zariadiocese.org.ng
“The governor should know that he
will never be president of Nigeria. I speak prophetically as a servant of the
living God,” the Bishop of Zaria said. Zaria is the hometown of El-Rufai.
The bishops that drew the ire of
Ogunyomi are the Most Rev. Ali Buba Lamido, Archbishop of Kaduna Province and
the Bishop of Wusasa, and the former Archbishop of Kaduna and current ACC
leader, Dr. Josiah Idowu-Fearon and the general secretary of the Anglican
Consultative Council.
Ogunyemi said the Anglican leaders
have placed placed loyalty to Muslim politicians over loyalty to the Church of
Nigeria.
He singled out Lamido for special
venom, accusing him of compromising Christian standards and the truth and he
and Idowu-Fearon for ”their intrigues with the government of Mallam Nasir
El-Rufai.
According to a report written by
George Conger in Anglican.ink , the dispute arose over the attempted seizure by
the Kaduna State government of St George’s Cathedral in Zaria.
On 20 Sept 2019 the Church of
Nigeria’s Diocese of Zaria reported it had received a notice to vacate the 110
year old cathedral within seven days by order of Governor El-Rufai. The Kaduna
State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA) said it would use the
historic church land to expand the Sabo market.
However, following protests by
the diocese and the Christian Association of Nigeria the state backed down from
its plans.
However on 12 Nov 2019 Archbishop
Lamido led other church leaders to El-Rufai to apologize for the criticism of
the diocese and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
A statement issued by the Kaduna
State government said the archbishop “has apologised to Governor Nasir El Rufai
for the social media campaigns that tried to turn the issue of the
redevelopment of Sabon-Garin Zaria market into a religious matter.”
The statement also reported the
archbishop and other Anglican bishops expressing their thanks to El-Rufai for
“his decision to preserve St. George’s Cathedral.”
The government spokesman said the
Archbishop had told the governor the Church of Nigeria had distanced itself
“from this campaign that has been whipping up baseless allegations of religious
bigotry, explaining that the church sees itself and the government as
partners.”
‘’The meeting has afforded us a
welcome chance to clarify matters and recalibrate our relationship in a mutual
commitment to the peace and progress of Kaduna State, and harmony in its
diverse communities,” Archbishop Lamido was quoted to have said.
The archbishop’s apology drew an
immediate response from the Bishop of Zaria.
“The bishop and the people of
Zaria diocese are not surprised about the views and apologies expressed by
Archbishop Lamido at the Governor’s office yesterday … because Bishop Lamido is
known to always compromise christian standards and the truth.”
The diocesan statement claimed
the archbishop was corrupt. He had sold “sold three very precious landed
properties of Wusasa diocese to some Muslims. These properties were acquired by
missionaries in the late 1800s. These great legacies have been lost forever by the
Wusasa community.”
The statement further claimed:
“Bishop Lamido brought a Muslim governorship candidates with money to bribe the
House of Bishops to vote for this man against Governor El Rufai. His
antecedents when it comes to standing for the church speak volumes.”
The bishop of Zaria took
exception to the assertion that by protecting their cathedral the diocese were
“religious bigots” or “at war with the Governor”. He explained: “We are only
fighting for our right. Nobody can stop us from fighting for our right.
Besides, prophets do not apologize to kings but kings apologies to prophets.
Nobody can propose to demolish our cathedral and we will keep quiet or
apologise.”
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