Don’t Politicise Religion, Christians, Muslims can flourish together - Buhari
*Says Christians, Muslims can flourish together
Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja
As Nigerian prepares for its general
election in about 70 days, President Muhammadu Buhari has warned leaders
of thoughts across all divides, especially those in the political
class, to desist from actions and utterances capable of polarising the
country along religious lines.
The president made the call in an
opinion article he authored titled: ‘Don’t Politicise Religion in
Nigeria: Muslims and Christians Can Flourish Together,’ and published in
The Church Times, a media outfit known for informed and independent
reporting of Church and world news on Friday, November 30.
President Buhari, who quoted extensively
from the Bible and the Quran to drive home his argument, also drew
inference from the popular story of Reverend Samuel Ajayi Crowther, who
after he received freedom from his slave masters on their way to America
from Europe, returned to Nigeria to establish the first Anglican
mission in Yorubaland with the first Bibles translated into Yoruba and
Hausa languages.
Underscoring the fact that Nigeria has
the largest Christian population on the African continent and that the
messages and teachings of Christianity are part of the fabric of each
person’s life, President Buhari stated that: “Along with the millions of
Christians in Nigeria today, I believe in peace, tolerance, and
reconciliation; in the institution of the family, the sanctity of
marriage, and the honour of fidelity; in hope, compassion, and divine
revelation.
“Like Bishop Crowther, I am a descendant
of Abraham; unlike him, I am a Muslim. I believe our two great
religions can not only peacefully coexist but also flourish together.
But Muslims and Christians must first turn to one another in compassion.
For, as it says in Amos 3.3: ‘Do two walk together, unless they have
agreed to meet?’
“As they are people of the Book, I
believe that there is far more that unites Muslims and Christians than
divides them. In fact, I believe that the messages of the Bible are
universal: available for anyone to exercise, and instructive to all.
“We must resist the temptation to
retreat into our communities, because, if we do, we can only look
inwards. It is only when we mix that we can reach new and greater
possibilities.
“Whichever religion or religious
denomination they choose to follow, Nigerians are devout. Anything that
Nigerians believe will place impositions on their practice, and belief
is therefore sure to cause widespread alarm.
“And, unfortunately, there are those who
seek to divide Nigerians — and our two great religions — and to do so
for their own advantage.
“I stand accused — paradoxically — of
trying to Islamise Nigeria while also being accused by Boko Haram
terrorists of being against Islam. My Vice-President is a devout man, a
Christian pastor. He, too, is accused of selling out his religion,
because of his support for me.
“This is not the first time that I, nor,
indeed, my Christian-Muslim evenly split cabinet, have been the subject
of such nonsense. Fortunately, the facts speak differently from the
words of those who seek to divide us from one another.”
He reiterated that since he took over
power, Boko Haram has been significantly and fatally degraded, while at
the same time, he had befriended church leaders and church groups both
within and outside our country; my Vice-President has addressed and
opened dialogue with Muslims up and down our land.
According to President Buhari, “In all
things, we seek that which all well-meaning Christians and well-meaning
Muslims must seek: to unite, respect, and never to divide. Does it not
say ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ (Qur’an 2.256)? Does it not say
‘Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us’ (Luke 9.50)?
This, surely, is the path that followers of both our two great religions
must walk.”
But regrettably, he noted that “Those
who wish us all to walk apart have recently found another focus for
their efforts: the tragic clashes between nomadic herdsmen and settled
farmers in the central regions of Nigeria.
“For generations, herders have driven
their cattle from the north to the centre of our country; they tend to
be predominantly Muslim, although not exclusively. The farmers, in
certain areas of central Nigeria, are predominantly Christian.
“The causes of this conflict are not
religious or theological, but temporal. At the heart of this discord is
access to rural land, exacerbated both by climate change and population
growth.
“Sadly, there are some who seek to play
fast and loose and so make others believe that these are not the facts.
When religion is claimed as the cause — and by those who know that it is
not — it only makes finding a resolution more difficult.
“The government has taken action to
mediate, to bring the two groups together in peace and unity. But we
also need all parties to follow the teachings of the scriptures, and
encourage reconciliation rather than cause division. As it is said:
‘Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?’ (Mark
8.18).
“As our constitution codifies,
politicising religion has no place in Nigeria; for it makes us turn away
from one another; it makes us retreat into our communities and walk
different paths.
“I believe that there is a better way.
To those who seek to divide, I still hold my hand out in brotherhood and
forgiveness. I ask only that they stop, and instead encourage us to
turn towards one another in love and compassion. Nigeria belongs to all
of us. This is what I believe.”
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