No doubt about it, Nigeria, as a nation is sitting rather carelessly on a keg of gun powder. You could feel the tension triggered by the unabated insecurity in the land. Everywhere you turn to, there is palpable fear. Christians in the northern region of the country can no longer sleep with their two eyes closed for fear of being attacked by bandits. Even in the church, during service, Christians can not afford to close both eyes while praying to the Lord, they need to be extremely alert to spot these monsters called terrorists and run for safety the moment they appear. And even at that, the churches are getting emptier by the day. Only the incredibly brave and faithful now go to church. You walk through some of the remotest parts of states such as Plateau, Borno, Kaduna, Zamfara and others, and you will find blood of Christians slaughtered senselessly by terrorists and bandits spilled all over the land. Over night, dozens of women have become widows, children became fatherless, while thousands of men whose wives and children have either been killed or taken away into the forests by the terrorists are left emotionally shattered and confused as to how to put back the pieces of their lives.
Surprisingly, many, including religious leaders and prominent people in government have insisted that there is no such thing as Christian genocide in the country. They claim that not only Christians are targets of bandits and terrorists but Muslims as well. They argue that mosques have been attacked and burnt down just like churches while many Muslims have lost their lives in the process. This is why they were incensed when the United States President Donald Trump declared there could be military invasion against terrorists to safe guard the lives of Christians in the country. They disagree totally with anyone who says there is indeed Christian genocide going on the country.
The Prime Citizens sought the opinion of one of Naija’s foremost but quiet and respected religious leaders and founder of the Celica Church of Christ world wide, Revd. (Dr.) Adetunji Adeonigbagbe. In this exclusive interview with the Prime Citizens Publisher, WALE LAWAL (08037209290), one could tell from the pain with which he spoke that Reverend Adeonigbagbe is disenchanted with the system. He is visibly disturbed that Christians are being killed and help seems to be coming from nowhere. He shares his deepest pain and concerns in this two part, one hour interview. Enjoy it.
As you are already
aware, sir, there is a disturbing scale of insecurity and violence going on in
the country, particularly in the northern region. Christians are being
slaughtered almost on a daily basis by bandits and terrorists and it’s become
a recurring pattern that’s now been described as Christian Genocide. But the government,
some Christians and Muslims do not agree it is a Christian Genocide, insisting
that Muslims too have been repeatedly killed by these monsters called
terrorists. Do you agree, sir, that it’s not a Christian genocide?
I think I can only best respond to that question by asking those who say its not a Christian genocide this question, let us do a little arithmetic here: from January to date, how many Christians have been killed and how many Muslims have been killed? Let us put the figures together. Let the authorities tell us how many Christians and Muslims have been killed and let those who say its not a Christian genocide come out and tell us if they still believe it is not a genocide targeted at Christians.
And another question that should be asked is this, who are the people killing these Christians? Are they Christians or Muslims? How many mosques have they attacked and how many churches have been attacked? Can we get the numbers and do this simple arithmetic? I am very certain that by the time these figures are made available to us, everyone will realise that 99 percent of those that have been killed so far are Christians. I think the government should get us these figures and let the people decide themselves what the answer is. We need to let those who insist it is not a Christian genocide see the figures and do the arithmetic themselves.
Do you also agree,
sir, that one of the reasons why it has been difficult for the Nigeria armed
forces to stop terrorism, and especially the killing of Christians is because a
lot of the powerful people behind it are people in government, do you also
share that belief?
Let me answer that question this way. Number one has the killings been stopped after how many years that it started? Number two, how come we always hear that when these bandits and terrorists are arrested they are often either released or absorbed into the military? Why do you recruit into the armed forces killers who possess an unquenchable thirst for human blood? Is it that you think they have repented when these same killers say it all the time that they will never stop?
It is really sad that this is happening in a country like Nigeria. I just don’t want to say that the government is behind these killings like some people are already saying, because the truth is that these killings started even before this present government. This has been going on for long but sadly, it remains to be seen if the government can bring an end to this madness. People are losing faith in the government. I say this because, obviously, we cannot say we have a good government. Everyday these killings take place and all we hear is that the government has ordered the military to go all out and destroy the terrorists, but its all talk and no action. Nothing has been done. They say the soldiers should shoot the bandits and terrorists at sight but the terrorists within the army are killing the soldiers. What I find even most baffling is the fact that when these people are arrested and they mention the names of some of the powerful people behind them, nothing is done about it, yet they go after other citizens and throw them into jail for lesser crimes but they cannot go after these untouchable and powerful elements who atre destroying the country! Does that speak well of the government?
So, what do you think
is the way out, sir? What should the government do because just this last
Easter Sunday in Kaduna, bandits still attacked an ECWA church, abducted its
members and killed about five people. Thankfully, the military troops went
after them and rescued all the abducted members, so this is happening
everyday….
(Reverend cuts in) Wale, listen to me I am not convinced about these stories that they give to us. Why couldn’t the troops go after the terrorists and eliminate them? Why couldn’t they go after them inside the forest and kill every one of them after rescuing the abducted members? All we hear all the time is that dozens of abducted people have been rescued, we don’t hear that dozens of terrorists and bandits have been killed. This is all politics as far as I am concerned. Each time they rescue people, how many bandits have been killed in the process?
If the government truly wants to solve this problem, let our military go into the forests and destroy the terrorists. Are they larger than our military? The same military force that fought the civil war? If the terrorists use more sophisticated weapons, why can’t we acquire such weapons ourselves, we have the resources to do that. Honestly, I am not happy about the situation at all. It is clear that some saboteurs are working with the terrorists to make sure they wipe out as many Christians as possible, but the Almighty God will not let them succeed.
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