The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has
condemned claims by Christian leaders that they are being persecuted and killed
by Boko Haram.
Abubakar insists that nobody was being persecuted because
Boko Haram was targeting both Christians and Muslims in the Northern part of
the country.
The monarch spoke at the first quarterly meeting of the
Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) meeting in Abuja.
His comment is coming at a time when some leaders of
Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, alongside the General Overseer of the
Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye protested the killing of
Christians in the Northeast and the country.
However, the Sultan called for unity, stressing that Boko
Haram should not be allowed to divide the country.
According to the monarch: “It pains me when we gather at
NIREC or other meetings and agreed on measures that would promote religious
peace, unity and tolerance. But shortly after, you will begin to hear stories
of persecution here and there.
“If we go out shouting, marching, dancing and singing that
people of a particular religion are being persecuted and killed, you also
forget people of other religions are also affected in the killings by the same
enemies of the state.
“We must not allow terrorists to come in between us and
divide us. If we mistakenly do, then we are finished. There is nothing wrong
with any religious organisation marching on the street to call for God’s
interventions in a particular issue. But we should not make a show of such
things because we want to be visible and, therefore, bring more problems to the
nation.
“We have been reading and hearing reports about the
persecution of Christians in Nigeria and I keep asking myself, how? Christians
are being killed, Muslims are also being killed, and they are all lives created
by God.
“For me, there is no persecution of anybody in this country.
If you claim there is the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, there would
also be claims of persecution of Muslims. But that would not solve the problem.
“People claim they are denied places to build mosques,
churches in some parts of the country. But the right thing to do in such cases
is to approach relevant authorities and not to make claims of persecution.”
Contrary to Sultan’s stance, the Minister of Information,
Lai Mohammed had recently declared that Boko Haram was targeting Christians in
the North.
The Minister had claimed that the insurgents were trying to
divide Nigeria along religious lines.
The ministers comment was on the backdrop of the killing of
CAN Chairman in Michika, Adamawa State by Boko Haram insurgents recently.
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