The Nigerian Armed Forces failed to prevent recurrent violent sectarian attacks in Nigeria. An Open Letter to Nigerian Christians and Muslims on the Violence in Nigeria
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Dear Christians and Muslims in Nigeria,
As much as many people have tried to dismiss the sectarian motives and implications of the political crisis plaguing Nigeria, the facts have shown that religion has become a political weapon in Nigeria and the worst hit have been innocent Christians in the northern states and middle belt of Nigeria.
Most of the accused have been identified as the Hausa Fulanis in Nigeria.
Please, see the full page public announcement of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) with the title “For how long will this continue”, published on page 26 of The Punch newspaper of Friday March 19, 2010.
This was not the first time that the PFN would raise such an alarm in the news media because of the recurrent violence in Plateau state and unprovoked incessant Attacks on Christians lives and properties in northern states. We have all seen before our very eyes that the Nigerian government has failed woefully to stop these sectarian attacks and should be held responsible for the loss of thousands of lives and properties over the years.
The political jobbers and political contractors in power cannot save us; therefore we must save ourselves before it is too late.
We have a Muslim receptionist named Aisha and she respects me as much as I respect her and I often remind her of Jumat every Friday and tell her to pray for me. And God knows that I can do anything to protect her even though I am a bona fide Christian.
Most of the security guards in Lagos are Muslim Hausas and I ask that if we can rely on them for our security, then why should we not make those in the middle belt and northern states of Nigeria reason with us?
These horrifying and terrifying sectarian clashes and attacks were uncommon during the regime of Gen. Yakubu Gowon who is from the middle belt of Nigeria.
Nigeria was at peace after the civil war until the coup of July 29, 1975 led by the late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed (November 8, 1938–February 13, 1976). That unfortunate coup was the beginning of the nightmares of Nigerians and since then Nigerians have never enjoyed peaceful co-existence till date.
The horrible and terrible evils of the past will continue to haunt us, but the most important thing is for us to face the truth.
We are either our best friends or worst enemies.
We either learn to live and work together in peace or break up in pieces.
The choice is ours and not that of any political party or government.
Except we are accursed fools, then we can continue to fool ourselves by preaching lies and practicing terrorism and making false allegation and accusations like devils. Because only accursed devils continue to do evils in rebellion against love and peace.
No pastor or prophet has sent us to attack and kill innocent people.
Our destinies are not in the stars, but in our own hands.
In conclusion, may I share the following letter from my good friend Rev. David Smith of Australia, because the message will help us in Nigeria.
Hi Michael,
I'm sorry it's been so long since I touched base.
I'm afraid I've just been flat out of late, As you probably know, I've been spending a lot of timetrying to support my mate, the local Islamic Sheikh. We've had very positive media coverage in Australia,with two interviews on ABC TV and feature articles inall the major Australian newspapers, and we've startedto get the attention of the international media too.
The further I go with this the more mysterious it gets.I currently have three Middle-Eastern men who want tomeet with me privately to show me previously-undiscosed doc.uments relevant to this case.
I'm being advised by all my mates (including Sheikh) to watch my back. But I don't want to sacrifice the chanceto uncover the truth about where the accusations against my mate really originated from.
Anyway, I've been tracking all updates in the media on http://www.savethesheikh.com.
Check in there to take a look at the latest TV segments, links to articles, etc.
I'll also be confirming on that site the details of our'Save the Sheikh BBQ', scheduled for Palm Sunday arvo (March 28th) and a Prayer Vigil that we intend to hold here on Easter Saturday - praying for justice for the Sheikh and for relationships between Christians, Muslims and people of all faiths and cultures in our community.
And of course I'm doing my best to put all this together in a new ezine for you. I really had hoped to have it in your virtual hands by today, but keep an eye on your inbox and hopefully I'll have something for you in the next couple of days. :-)
And keep my in your prayers. As you can probably guess, standing up for a Muslim cleric is not the most popularthing I've ever done. I'm losing track of the number ofnasty emails and phone calls I've received (all fromChristian people) but no one has threatened to take my life or hurt my family as yet, so I must be thankful. :-)
God willing, I'll be in contact in the next day or twowith that new ezine! Until then, may the Lord bless and strengthen you for the work to which you have been called.
Yours in the Good Fight,
Dave
dave@fatherdave.org
www.fatherdave.org
