Are we wiser than our master?

The argument is that northern Jihadists are hell bent on taking over the country having failed to do so through the electoral process. Our nation has become a minefield of suspicion. Conspiracy theorists with their fertile imaginations are sowing seeds of discord and mistrust all over the veld. No Christian rejoiced after news of the […]

The argument is that northern Jihadists are hell bent on taking over the country having failed to do so through the electoral process. Our nation has become a minefield of suspicion. Conspiracy theorists with their fertile imaginations are sowing seeds of discord and mistrust all over the veld. No Christian rejoiced after news of the bombs going off went round the country like Harmattan fire. Those who planted bombs in churches on Christmas day truly wanted to plunge Nigeria into an unquenchable inferno.

They know that igniting a religious war is the final recipe for the disintegration of a fractured nation. Because the curious question is – where do we draw the line. It was not until recently that I knew that Kano, my adopted home have indigenous Christians and that across the states of Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi it is not a 100% Islamic society with only a few settler Christians but that there are indigenous people who are Christians. Yes, they are small in minority but Christians all the same.

What shall we say of the states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba or the Middle Belt states with their strong admixture of people of many faiths across family lines. The trending panacea to Nigeria’s problem on social networks is that Nigeria should resort to the Gideon Orkar solution. The apostles of disintegration know very little about Nigeria beyond their cosmopolitan hideouts. They have no idea that most families are a mosaic of cultures and faith and that this is what makes Nigeria tick.

Those who talk like these are mostly casualties of historical ignorance. Unfortunately, some religious and opinion leaders who see brighter future in a balkanised Nigeria are building castles of warped imagination. Across the globe, candidates may represent different ethno-religious or other idiosyncracies, once they take on national assignments, they lose their ethnic and religious leanings. Not in Nigeria. We are perhaps where we are today, because some people believe that some section of this country sits somewhere and determines who gets to the position of political power. With this as foundation, it is no doubt that many speak as ethnic ideologues rather than nation builders.

Is Boko Haram fighting the cause of Islam or all Muslims? The answer is not far-fetched if we remove our jaundiced goggles. Islamic teachers say with copious Quranic and Sunnah readings that even in full blown war, those who take shelter in churches, synagogues and mosques are to be spared – for they have sought solace in the hands of the Almighty. This was what prompted Sultan Abubakar to immediately deny that those who planted bombs in churches are Moslems. His position is corroborated by  the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs,SCIA and scholars of different persuasions. Are those political statements? Perhaps, but those who have evidence to prove it should bring it forward or for ever hold their evil thoughts.

This is why any Christian worth his title would fail to agree with those who say that if this trend continues, ‘Christians’ should arm themselves and retaliate. Not only does our faith prohibit retaliation, forgiveness is at the centre of the Christian faith. We were all sinners till God through His son wiped clean our slate of sin. Christ, our Master, Saviour and Lord lived, taught and preached peace. In all records in The Bible, Christ never condoned violence. He told his accusers that his position is not borne out of cowardice or lack of means, indeed, he could have summoned celestial soldiers to his cause, but he submitted to all persecutions. That is why every effort over centuries to wipe out Christianity has failed and would continue to fail.

In Christ’s days, there were those who wanted occasion to bear grudges. They asked him how many times a sibling should offend each other in a day to warrant excommunication, he said seventy times seven. He warned us, his followers that a time is coming when those who kill Christians would think they were doing God a favour. Yet, he did not ask them to kill in return. This is why those who say their is limit to human endurance are not speaking as true followers of Christ. They may be speaking from a hurt mind and it is human, but not as priests of the Most High.

Its a shame that the bombing of a Madrasat school in Sapele coincided with such statements. Did these people set up their revenge mission before making their statements? It is curious. True, no religious group has monopoly of violence. But before you embark on a revenge mission, you should know the identity of your attacker so that you will not be guilty of shedding innocent blood. If adults were killed in Madalla and somebody threw an explosive device in Sapele – what is the correlation except that both attackers are callous, cruel cowards. If they were man enough they should face those with whom they have issues.

They may not be strident in their opposition, but which moderate Muslim wants to live in a Boko Haram controlled society? A society where women’s rights are curtailed? A patriachal society subject to the whims and caprices of a few warped individuals? You can count them on the fingers of one hand and they must be ignoramuses like them; afterall birds of the same feather flock together.

There is no single verse of the Christian scripture that encourages violence either as a means of propagating the faith or as a defense of it. The issues exacerbating violence in our country are beyond religion. When the ruiners of our country sit down to share their loot and to keep us in perpetual subjugation, they represent all faiths, no faith and all persuasions and no persuasion. The only God they worship is money and power, nothing else matters. Ironically, it is not they who lose in a religious conflagration – it is we, the hoi polloi. How many minister’s children have died in any explosion? How many governor’s children have been killed by Boko Haram?

Any leader, religious or secular who asks you to go and fight should first put his own family ahead of the fight to show their commitment. When their families are exterminated, then the rest of us can follow, because after all our religious leaders were not afraid to put their life and good reputation on the line. Don’t be deceived, a follower cannot be wiser than his master.