JNI SCRIBE BERATES CAN; ACCUSES IT OF DRAGGING RELIGION IN THE MUD FOR CLANDESTINE MOTIVES.
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| Sa'ad Abubakar III JNI PRESIDENT |
The Jamatul Nasril Islam (JNI), the umbrella body of Muslims in Nigeria has berated the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, for the comments credited to the body.
Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, General Secretary of JNI in a widely circulated statement on Sunday evening, described a statement from its Christian counterpart as "very astonishing and utterly un-chivalrous".
The JNI General Secretary in his statement said that; "religious bodies such as CAN always drags the name of religion in the mud for clandestine motives".
According to Dr. Aliyu, "religion is expected to teach us truth and sincerity, not lies and treachery".
"We are compelled to think that the views and statements are more of the misguided opinions of Rev. Asake and his cohorts, not necessarily the true reflection of Nigerian Christians, because there are a good number of Christians among them", the JNI scribe noted.
Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu noted that, "the press conference addressed by Rev. Dr. Musa Asake, General Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on the 16th of January, is mendacious, provocative, full of blatant lies and misinformation, disinformation as well as seditious to the State".
"Nevertheless, JNI will not refute all the allegations he raised against the government and its agencies as we would not be holding brief for the government. Our concern however, is about the series of lies he heaped on Islam and Muslims in his unfortunate press briefing".
JNI, in its press statement, highlighted it's position which states thus:
"The herdsmen debacle: it must be understood that this is a coinage mischievously invented by CAN over time and its errand boys among media practitioners to stereotype an ethnic group, achieve a pre-planned agenda. Moreover, why not call a spade by its name? And why is the whole herdsmen issue heightened now i.e. 2018?".
"Simply, CAN is unnecessarily overheating the polity because 2019 is around the corner. Our take is that CAN should better go and register as a political party and contest election if they want to test their popularity!
"We, nonetheless make bold that CAN is deliberately covering up by using the herdsmen debacle as a franchise to perpetuate evil as witnessed in the "Boko Haram" tale as cases of Christians dressed in Muslim garb to bomb churches is still fresh in our memories".
It also drew a reminder to "the infamous Lydia Yusuf of Bauchi State, the Miya Barkete would be Christian bombers also in Bauchi State, as well as the foiled bombing of the United Nation's House in Abuja, after which the then Minister of Information and Marylyn Ogar, then SSS Spokesperson, changed the storyline, are still fresh in our memories".
It pointed out that, "in the same light, some Christian Ieaders promote hate speeches such as "if you see a fulani man kill him by Pastor Suleman and crush them, kill them by Pastor Oyedepo". The repercussion of such speeches could be better imagined".
Khalid Aliyu, noted that in addition, "Bishop Kukah's hate speech against Muslims in Nigeria is legendary, as hardly would an opportunity avail itself for him to talk without smearing Islam and Muslims in Nigeria".
"Recently he said at the slightest excitement Hausa or Fulani man can kill you and get away with it. Seeing that they have gotten away with those crimes, CAN has now devised a new approach of destabilizing Nigeria in order to achieve their agenda. If not so how would one explain Rev. Asake's silence about the New Year's eve killings in Rivers State, but mentioned that of Kwara State and other places? Selective amnesia indeed! Is CAN not supposedly representing all Christians? If not so, why forget to mention the gruesome attack in Rivers? Is it because no Muslim is involved, and therefore it's not a crime?"
"Talking about the killings in Benue State, why did Asake remain mute on the arming of thousands of ethnic militia by the Benue State government (as unsupported personalities: reported by some sections of the media), an act which is seen as a preclude to the most unfortunate spate of horrendous experiences?"
"Why did Asake refuse to include brutal killings of hundreds of people and the destruction of properties in Zamfara State, Birnin Gwari area of Kaduna state and some parts of Katsina state? Does that mean that these places are not part of Nigeria or the people killed in these places are inferior to the ones mentioned by Asake? Does it mean CAN is always asleep when Muslims are killed?"
"The CAN scribe's claim that "the clannish mentality of the Fulani, places every other ethnic nationality in Nigeria as colonial subject or Dhimmi (second class citizen), irrespective of religion or culture' is indeed the pick of his stark socio-historic illiteracy despite his PhD. He should better go and learn what and how the philosophy of an Islamic State operates, as well as who a Dhimmi is".
"It should be noted that, before the ascendency to power of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), countless number of lives particularly Muslims were massacred in North East, North West, in fact, all over the country; the gory story of killings went unabated".
"For instance, in 2012, over 50 Muslims were murdered in Dogon Dawa in Birnin Gwari local Government areas, during early morning prayers, while in October 2014, over 103 Muslims were butchered in Faskari and Sabuwa local government areas of Katsina State. This is in addition to the daily bloodletting of Muslims in Zamfara State", the JNI statement continued.
"Similarly, sometimes in August, 2017, over 90 innocent, defenceless and harmless Fulani women and children were massacred by the rampaging Adara Christian Militia (ACM) in Kajuru local government; likewise 13 innocent souls were killed in Rugar Alhaji Malam burnt and buried at Unguwan Aku and 10 were killed and mutilated beyond recognition at Malam Yelwa in Aguba all in Kaduna State".
"Asake's reference to the spate of killings in many parts of Northern Nigeria as "Jihad", exposes his stark socio-historic illitcracy and his height of enmity against the Muslims and Islam".
"Can we then safely say the killings in Zamfara, Katsina, Birnin Gwari, Mambila, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, as well as the cannibalization of Muslims in Plateau and such other places entrench Christianity? Must Rev. Asake bring Christianity so low as to appear mundane and unintelligent", the statement queried.
The JNI General Secretary disclosed that, "during the press briefing by Rev. Asake, he (Asake) ignorantly supported Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel".
"Asake has clearly told Nigerians that his loyalty is to Trump and not to the Government and President of Nigeria. It is thus very perplexing to note that CAN and the likes of Asake are operating at cross purposes with the entire Christendom, such as the Vatican and the hundreds of Christians around the globe, who were unequivocal in their respective condemnation of Trump's Zinonist tendencies".
"This is pure treachery and crass undermining of national interest. We are indeed not surprised because, sometimes in July 2012, the American Senate Committee on Human Rights gave audience to then President Ayo Oritsejafor, where he made a lot of unprintable statements over there against the Muslims and Islam".
"To put the record straight. JNI condemns killings of innocent souls wherever they happen and whoever is involved. JNI also condemns the generalization of criminals as representatives of the whole, thus leading to unjust stereotyping and name calling".
"We condemn all criminals, whoever they are and wherever they come from, criminal should be treated as criminal regardless of his/her ethnicity and/ or religious affiliation".
"Therefore, CAN should desist from making provocative statements in the midst of serious crises bedeviling the nation. Although we are not oblivious of the fact that CAN, since the era of Ayo Oritsejafor has had a glaring pathological hatred for Muslims and Islam in Nigeria, the matter is now gathering more momentum and urgency and becoming a manifest and brazen threat to government".
"We are not surprised because the present CAN Ieadership is an offshoot of Oritsejafor whose aircraft was found in South Africa purportedly for arms deals and till date, nothing has been heard of it".
"CAN and other Christian leaders such as Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, Pastors Oyedepo, Suleiman and recently El Buba should not take the Nigerian Muslims patience for foolishness, as their hate speeches are becoming really provocative and outlandish. Hypothetically, as a religious body, they are expected to be part of the solution rather than the problem they have now become".
The Muslims know that "Nigeria is secular" sloganarian is mere mendacity seeing that the Government and its policies are more tilted towards Christianity and Christians signs and practices. So CAN should free us from the hypocritical secularity claim. The Christians always tend to cry more than the bereaved (in most cases, the bereaved are the Muslim) in Nigeria".
"But, we boldly assert that our strength is with Allah, the Most High, as there is the World beyond this mundane".
The Jamatul Nasril Islam General Secretary in the press statement prayed for the following:
* Government's silence over the Numan massacre which was reportedly spearheaded by the Bechama Christian Militia (BCM) against Fulani Muslim settlemebook in Shafaran, Shawal, Gumara, Kikam and Kadamti villages all of Adamawa State, on Monday 20th November, 2017, is condemnable and perpetrators must be brought to book.
* Necessary investigation on the sources of arms of the so called Livestock guards in Benue state, who had engaged in intimidation, forceful confiscation of cows and extra-judicial killings of innocent lives from November, 2017 to date.
* Government should be seen to be proactive on these security matters. The reoccurrence of security upheavals; kidnappings, armed robberies, rising bombs/attacks of Boko Haram insurgents and ethnic violence here and there in Nigeria, is alarming and there is urgent need for redress. Citizens are becoming more and more agitated.
* Government should take the bull by the horn by prosecuting promoters of hate speech in Nigeria, if not, one day it will become a norm that cannot be challenged. And one of the chief mongers of the hate speech is CAN, as represented by Rev. Asake.
* Government should act fast before we are consumed by their induced conflagrations.
* Finally, while we continue to express our sincere condolences to all the victims of these unfortunate killings, we are calling on both the politicians and non governmental organiations to be find a lasting solution to these repeated, senseless killings.
* We also expect the Nigerian Governments at all levels, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other stakeholders who recently visited Benue State to undertake similar visitations to areas where Fulani Muslims were killed and maimed, such as Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba State respectively, it concluded.
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