*Says CAN over-heating polity “through provocative and blatant misinformation”
*Names Suleiman, Kukah, Oyedepo, others as Christian leaders promoting hate speeches in Nigeria
*Insists FG must arrest, prosecute promoters of hate speeches in country
*Pro-national peace Nigerians say high time FG moves against CAN
*Recalls how it misled Jonathan over Boko Haram as Islamisation
*Says only people with short memories believe ‘killer herdsmen’ theory
“The ‘herdsmen’ debacle must be understood that this is mischievously invented by CAN over time and its biased errand boys among media practitioners stereotype an ethnic group so as to achieve a pre-planned agenda. Why is the whole herdsmen issue heightened now in 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.”
After days of meticulous study of security situation in recent times in parts of the country particularly Taraba State’s Mambila plateau massacre of over 700 Fulani people including their defenceless wives and children, the killing by suspected ‘herdsmen’ of 34 people in Benue, the killing by cultists suspected to be working for some politicians Rivers of 24 Christians returning from crossover night on the eve of 2018 New Year, and, last but not the least, the attacks on Muslims’ mosque and Christians’ church on the eve of the New Year by some hoodlums in Ilorin, Kwara State, and the misrepresentation of same as Muslim fundamentalists attacks on Christians as coined by people it tagged as mischievous elements, the umbrella body of Muslims in Nigeria, Jama’atu Nasir Islam (JNI) on Sunday has accused the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for inventing the ‘herdsmen’ theory to achieve a preplanned agenda.
Addressing a press conference in Kaduna Sunday evening, the Secretary-General of JNI, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, accused the CAN of unnecessarily over-heating the polity “through provocative and blatant misinformation”.
“The ‘herdsmen’ debacle must be understood that this is mischievously invented by CAN over time and its biased errand boys among media practitioners stereotype an ethnic group so as to achieve a pre-planned agenda.
“Why is the whole herdsmen issue heightened now in 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 to say that CAN is deliberately covering up by using the ‘herdsmen’ debacle as a franchise to perpetrate evil as witnessed in the Boko Haram tale”.
The JNI leader also accused Christian leaders of hate speeches, warning that they should not take the Nigerian Muslims patience foolishness.
“In the same light, some Christian leaders promote hate speeches, such as if you see a Fulani man kill him by Pastor Suleiman and crush them, kill them by pastor Oyedepo. The repercussion of such speeches could be better imagined.
“In addition, Bishop Kukah’s hate speech against Muslims in Nigeria is legendary, as hardly would opportunity avail itself for him to talk without smearing Islam and Muslims in Nigeria.
“CAN and other Christian leaders such as Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Pastor Oyedepo, Suleiman and recently El Buba should not take Nigerian Muslims’ patience for foolishness, as their speeches are becoming really provocative and outlandish. Therefore, CAN should desist from making provocative statements in the midst of serious issues bedeviling the nation.
“Government should take the bull by the horn by prosecuting promoters of hate speeches 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.
“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. A criminal should be treated as a criminal regardless of his/her ethnicity and/or religious affiliation”.
In the meantime, some Nigerians who respondent to questions on the the issues so far are not happy that Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is acting like the accusers and the judge in the whole scenario, as one of them said, “All that tells you is that, CAN itself has hands in all of the confusion and the Federal Government must move fast now against its leadership before they turn the new tactic of “herdsmen” they have brought as an invented theory to what they turned Boko Haram to be.”
They said it was necessary the government moved against CAN because “If we do know that they nothing but fake people in their so-called house of God, many other Nigerians do not know. So, it is not good that government will give them the freedom to spread their hate and fake/misrepresented information until they heat the polity the more and incite the public against the State.”
