The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad
Abubakar III, and the National
President of the Christian
Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo
Oritsejafor, on Monday openly
disagreed on the continued
violence being unleashed on parts
of the country by Boko Haram.
While Abubakar said Islamic
leaders had “tried so much” to
preach against the activities of the
sect, Oritsejafor said they had not
done enough in reaching out to the
insurgents and making them
understand the true teachings of
Islam.
The two religious leaders spoke at
a round-table meeting with special
advisers on religious affairs from
the 36 states of the federation and
the Federal Capital Territory in the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The programme, which was
declared open by Vice-President
Namadi Sambo, was organised by
the Offices of the Senior Special
Assistants to the President on
Islamic and Christian matters.
It had “Toward synergising and
interfacing in the religious sector
for national development” as its
theme.
Abubakar, who is also the leader of
the Jama’atu Nasril Islam, had in
his remarks said there was no
problem between Islam and
Christianity. He argued that if
there was any problem between
Christians and Muslims, such
matter should be dealt with at that
level.
He heaped the blame on what he
described as lack of education
about religions which breeds lack
of trust and sincerity.
The Sultan regretted that while
Islamic leaders had continued to
condemn the insurgents, they were
still being accused of not doing
enough.
This, he said, was not fair to the
religious leaders.
He said he had personally gone
across the globe to preach peace
and uphold the fact that there was
no problem between adherents of
Islam and Christianity.
In his quest for peaceful
relationship between the followers
of the two religions, the Sultan
said he had written two separate
lengthy letters to the Pope and the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
He said when people were asking
Islamic leaders to sit with
insurgents and discuss, they fail to
note that the current situation
could not be compared to the
activities of militants in the Niger
Delta.
Abubakar said, “In a situation
where Muslim leaders condemn
insurgents and they will still be
told they have not done enough.
That is not fair.
“We don’t tell ourselves the truth.
Followers are not telling the
leaders the truth, and the leaders
will think they are doing the right
things.
“If the governor in Sokoto is told
that he should sponsor four people
to Christian pilgrimage, so be it. It
is government’s fund. If a land is
needed in Kano for a church, they
should get it after following the
due process.
“Muslim leaders have tried so
much. I have gone across the
globe to say that there is no
problem between Islam and
Christianity.
“We wrote to the Pope, the
document is titled the Common
World – published in 2010. He
replied us and since that time, we
have been having meetings.
“We also wrote to the ISIS to tell
them that they should not
continue to do what they are doing
in the name of Islam. If we read
those documents we must trust
what we have said.
“If we don’t trust one another, we
cannot move forward. If we say one
thing here and go back to our
states to do other things, we have
wasted our time and resources.”
While urging followers to stop
telling their leaders what they
want to hear, the Sultan said he
and Oritsejafor had, two years ago,
written a letter to President
Goodluck Jonathan on how to end
the Boko Haram violence.
He said he again called the
President’s attention to the letter
when they were invited recently to
an expanded meeting of the
Security Council.
The monarch explained that he had
told the President that they had
done their best because they could
only advise the government.
He said, “Followers should stop
telling the leaders what they want
to hear. We wrote a letter to the
President on what to do to end the
scourge about two years ago.”
Abubakar also noted that religious
leaders under the auspices of the
Nigeria Inter Religious Council had
been meeting and going round the
country to interact.
He said members of the council
had not been able to meet in the
last one and a half years because
of insecurity.
The Sultan alleged that while they
decided to move an earlier meeting
fixed for Gombe State to Abuja, the
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation failed to release funds
to them.
He said like every other Nigerians,
Islamic leaders also feel the pain
of insurgency because one life lost,
especially to insurgency, meant a
lot to them.
Mohammed reiterated his position
that the insurgents were not
committing the atrocities in the
name of Islam.
The Sultan advised that as the
2015 general elections approach,
politicians should carry out their
campaigns without reference to
candidates’ religious or ethnic
background or colour.
Oritsejafor, in his reaction,
commended Abubakar for writing
the ISIS, saying he had not heard
about the letter before.
He however called on the Sultan to
also write another letter to the
Boko Haram, which according to
him, had killed more people than
the ISIS.
The CAN President said since Boko
Haram members have clerics they
listen to, Islamic leaders must find
a way of reaching out to them and
present the teachings of true Islam
to them.
Oritsejafor said the insurgents
would not listen to him but would
rather kill him fast if he dared to
reach out to them.
He said, “His Eminence said he
wrote a letter to the ISIS. I have to
truly congratulate you for that
because that was a very good
move. I didn’t know about it until
now and I am so glad it happened.
“But I want to appeal that you
also write to Boko Haram because
Boko Haram is worse than the
ISIS. They have killed more people
than the ISIS, they have caused
more atrocities than the ISIS, they
need to be written to as well, it is
very important; it will help.
“I have made an appeal several
times that there are some of our
leaders who must come together:
religious, political and traditional.
They must come and discuss.
“I have been told that Boko Haram
members , to a very large extent,
are very vast in scriptures. What
scriptures do they use?
“There are still religious clerics
that they respect. If these people
are not presenting the right thing
and are misrepresenting Islam,
which I agree it is so to a very
large extent, we agree that our
brothers should reach out to them
so that the real Islam can be
presented to them.
“They won’t listen to me, in fact,
they will kill me faster than
anything else if I go to them, oh
yes, that is the truth. I am aware
of that. In fact, as I speak, I know
what is going on around me all the
time, so I know.”
While admitting that insurgents
also kill Muslims, Oritsejafor said
Muslims fall victims to the sect for
two reasons.
According to him, Muslims who
are killed are those who disagree
with the sect’s ideology or those
who refuse to work with them by
giving information.
He described as painful and
disheartening, a situation where all
churches in Mubi in Adamawa
State and other places had been
levelled.
He also decried a situation where
a state governor would vow that
he would not use government
money to sponsor adherents of a
particular religion on pilgrimage.
The CAN leader said it was not
enough for religious leaders to say
sweet things, they must match
their words with actions.
He continued, “The problem with
gatherings like this is that if we
are not careful, it becomes an
occasion for good photographs,
shaking of hands and talking very
nicely.
“We don’t want to offend each
other. Please let us offend each
other, we need to. Because if we
don’t offend each other, we will not
tell each other the truth and that
is part of Nigeria’s problems.
“If you come out to say certain
things, there are those who feel
you are rocking the boat but God
is in the boat, the boat will not
sink.
“Let us talk to each other, let us
tell the truth to each other, let us
not sweep it under the carpet.
“It is true that Islam and
Christianity have no problem. I am
glad you (Sultan) said there could
be problem between Christians and
Muslims.
“Why should a church in the North
for the past 30 years not get a
Certificate of Occupancy? Any
mosque or church in any part of
the country should be able to get
C of O.
“Why is it that people will want to
build a place of worship in a
particular part of the country and
they will not get land?
“We must create a level playing
field for everybody; we must deal
with everybody equally.’’
Sambo, who represented Jonathan
said religion, as a guide for
mankind, must be applied as a
guiding light against the backdrop
of all the problems confronting the
nation.
He added that religion must be
used for conflict resolution,
sustenance of peace and the
establishment of a just and
egalitarian society.
The vice-president said the
activities of the insurgents would
not deter the government from
positively transforming the lives of
the citizens.
He added, “We are working round-
the-clock to transform all facets of
our socio-economic and political
lives.
“Let me reiterate that we remain
resolute in our quest to provide
positive development to Nigerians
anchored on peace and harmony.
We equally remain unwavering in
our commitment to bringing an
end to the security challenges
confronting our dear nation.
“It is worthy of note to state that
the threats posed by senseless
insurgents who masquerade
themselves under the guise and
toga of religion to perpetrate their
lawless acts will not in any way
distract us from our quest to
positively transform the lives of
Nigerians.
“Our transformation agenda has
positively impacted on the lives of
Nigerians and we are committed to
the continuous delivery of
democratic dividends and good
governance to our people.”
Sambo said all Nigerians should
strive towards promoting inter-
religious harmony and dialogue at
all times for peace and
development to thrive, adding that
no meaningful development could
be achieved without peace and
security.
He said, “I urge us all to live
according to the noble tenets and
dictates of our religions. We
should continue to assist
government with prayers and
positive counselling and desist
from making inciting statements
and comments capable of causing
disharmony and breach of the
peace.
“It should be noted that, by the
teaching of our faiths, we shall all
account for our deeds in the
hereafter. I therefore admonish you
to live by example always and to
do good for the development of
our country and humanity.”
A former Head of Service of the
Federation, Yayale Ahmed, who
was the chairman of the occasion,
had earlier asked all Nigerians to
abide by the codes of conduct of
their religions.
Ahmed called on them to avoid
pretence and work together as
brothers and sisters.
He warned that everybody would
account to God for whatever they
did either in pretence or in
sincerity.
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