Sultan, Oritsejafor disagree over Boko Haram The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on Monday openly disagreed sharply on the continued violence being unleashed on parts of the country by the Boko Haram sect. While Abubakar said Islamic leaders have “tried so much” to preach against the activities of the sect, Oritsejafor said they have not done enough in reaching out to the insurgents and presenting the true teachings of Islam to them. The two religious leaders spoke at a roundtable meeting with special advisers on religious affairs from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The programme which was declared open by Vice President Namadi Sambo was organised by the Offices of the Senior Special Assistants to the President on Islamic and Christian matters and had “Toward synergising and interfacing in the religious sector for national development” as its theme. Abubakar had in his remarks said there was no problem between Islam and Christianity, saying that if there was any problem between Christians and Muslims, such matter should be dealt with at that level. He heaped the blame on what he described as lack of education about religions which breeds lack of trust and sincerity. He regretted that while Islamic leaders have continued to condemn the insurgents, they are still being accused of not doing enough. This, he said, was not fair to the religious leaders. He said he had personally gone across the globe to preach peace and uphold the fact that there is no problem between Islam and Christianity. In his quest for peaceful relationship between adherents of the two religions, the Sultan said he had written two separate lengthy letters to the Catholic Pope and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). He said when people were asking Islamic leaders to sit with insurgents and discuss, they fail to note that the current situation could not be compared to the activities of militants in the Niger Delta. Abubakar said, “In a situation where Muslim leaders condemn insurgents and they will still be told they have not done enough. That is not fair. “We don’t tell ourselves the truth. Followers are not telling the leaders the truth, and the leaders will think they are doing the right things. “If the governor in Sokoto is told that he should sponsor four people to Christian pilgrimage, so be it. It is government’s fund. If a land is needed in Kano for a church, they should get it after following the due process. “Muslim leaders have tried so much. I have gone across the globe to say that there is no problem between Islam and Christianity. “We wrote to the Pope, the document is titled the Common World – published in 2010. He replied us and since that time, we have been having meetings. “We also wrote to Islamic State (ISIS) to tell them that they should not continue to do what they are doing in the name of Islam. If we read those documents, we must trust what we have said. “If we don’t trust one another, we cannot move forward. If we say one thing here and go back to our states to do other things, we have wasted our time and resources.” While urging followers to stop telling their leaders what they want to hear, the Sultan said he and Oritsejafor had written a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan on how to end the scourge about two years ago. He said he again called the President’s attention to the letter when they were invited recently to an expanded meeting of the Security Council. ift.tt/1vFGrQg ift.tt/1qGUBZv [[Boost your social presence with NAIRALIKES nairalikes ]] #nigeria x #nairalikes #vanguardng
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 17:16:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015