Not in my saviour’s name
But then, Nigeria is the archetypal Phoenix. Every time hope looked so dim and the future is blurred, Nigeria bounces back from the ashes of its own ruins. Hope is the fuel that drives our country; it is the glue that holds its fabric together. But the question that one is forced to ask after […]
But then, Nigeria is the archetypal Phoenix. Every time hope looked so dim and the future is blurred, Nigeria bounces back from the ashes of its own ruins. Hope is the fuel that drives our country; it is the glue that holds its fabric together. But the question that one is forced to ask after the unveiling of Akhwat Akwop militia as the latest addition to the surfeit of ethno-religious terror groups bloodying the nation is whether Nigeria is finally running the last throes of its ninth life as a cat of survival and is now riding on the road of oblivion like Humpty-Humpty.
The logic seems to be that if there is Egbesu Confraternity from the Niger-Delta complimenting MEND from the South-South; louder quest for MASSOB to embrace violence; an OPC in the South-West and of course, Boko Haram from Maiduguri, why not form a militia on the Plateau. The Plateau, once loved for its close to heaven weather, and welcoming people but now the theatre of ethno-religious warfare. The Plateau of tourism now turned into a Plateau of crisis and neglect. The Plateau that acting President Goodluck Jonathan promised to return to its status quo but returned later to campaign without as much as a mention of a peace plan. The Plateau that went ahead to give him and his party an overwhelming support only to hear that he is not a general.
The way things are going, the disintegration of the former Soviet Union and the crisis in Bosnia are set to be considered an example of peaceful disintegration while Somalia is set to be envied compared to the fate that stares Nigeria The Jonathan campaign and indeed his presidency moved Nigeria from ethnic politics to religious acrimony. Not since the halcyon era of Babangida when SDP was dubbed Southern Democratic Party and the NRC baptised Northern Republican Convention has any national election adapted the colour of religion.
In the past, when things got awry, people call the elders and rally religious leaders to the rescue. Today, the elders have lost the respect and religious leaders have been dragged into the mud of politics. Our nation’s traditional cushion of support and tower of succour have been pulled down. We are like a herd of sheep whose electronic fence has been pulled down just at the approach of a hungry pack of lions. Somehow, rather than weep in ashes and sackcloth, our leaders are making lame excuses.
Every ethnic group now has a militia catering for its interest. Soon, we will be like Mexico with armed groups determining who gets what and unleashing hell if they do not get their due. Some would even swear that it is already happening. Reading through the new manifesto of the Akhwat Akwop, one is torn between derision and despair. They have promised to match Boko Haram, blood for blood and limb for limb. They have nothing but contempt for the Hausa-Fulani and have used the most derogatory terms for fellow citizens. But all that is fair game, when Nigerians are at each other’s throats. My concern is that they have dragged the name of Jesus Christ into their madness and quoted the Bible out of context.
There are two ways to respond – one is to play the ostrich and say that since Boko Haram has switched attention to preventing lawful people from serving their God in peace, it is good to find a group to remind them that no group has monopoly of violence. The other is to simply ignore them in the hope that all this nonsense would go away. A country like Nigeria with its contemporary jeremiad cannot afford such luxury. As there are those who will never read the Bible except if it is quoted in articles, it is incumbent on any genuine Christian to vehemently respond – not in my saviour’s name.
To know Jesus Christ is to hate bloodletting. No-one ever heard an angry word from his lips. The only time he raised his voice was in chasing away those who turned the Synagogue into a market place. When Peter, the only maverick among his disciples struck the high priest’s servant and cut his ear, the Master healed the ear with strong rebuke for the aggressor. He reminded his accusers that He had the capacity to invoke Angels to fight for him but instead chose to accept the Father’s will. He instructed his followers to love their enemies and do good to those who hate, persecute and despitefully use them. He was an epitome of humility and preached peace. He warned that the time would come when those who killed his followers would be deluded into thinking they were doing God a service. When he was derided, insulted and violently whipped, he prayed for his accusers and asked God not to credit their evil into their account.
Perhaps naturally, one could understand the distress, the pain and the disappointment that is forcing ethnic groups and other religious groups to embrace violence, but there is no excuse for such in Christianity. The word Christian means little Christ and was first used in the book of Acts not by Jesus’ disciples but others who noticed that they acted like their master. Akwhat Akwop militia may have reasons to hate the Hausa/Fulani or Boko Haram, if it carries out its threats and used violence in response, it would be doing so at its own risk, and certainly, not in my saviour’s name.