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?” Buhari wrote.
President Muhammadu Buhari has stressed the need for
Christians and Muslims to co-exist peacefully.
His position was contained in an opinion article published in
Church Times, an Anglican newspaper.
Quoting various Bible verses, Buhari emphasised that Muslims
and Christians need to "not only peacefully coexist, but also
flourish together".
On the herdsmen/farmers' situation, he said herdsmen "tend
to be predominantly Muslim, although not exclusively", while
farmers "in certain areas of central Nigeria, are predominantly
Christian", noting that there was need for understanding,
calling for "reconciliation rather than division".
THE FULL ARTICLE
IN 1844, the Revd Samuel Ajayi Crowther returned home to
Yorubaland (now part of modern-day Nigeria). Twenty years
earlier, he had been kidnapped and sold to European slave
traders who were bound for the Americas. He was freed by an
abolitionist naval patrol, and received by the Church
Missionary Society. There, he found his calling.
Crowther made his voyage home to establish the first
Anglican mission in Yorubaland. He came with the first Bibles
translated into Yoruba and Hausa languages. He opened
dialogue and discussion with those of other faiths. And his
mission was a success: Crowther later became the first
African Anglican bishop in Africa.
Today, Nigeria has the largest Christian population on the
continent. The messages and teachings of Christianity are
part of the fabric of each person’s life.
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.
Since my administration has been in power, Boko Haram has
been significantly and fatally degraded; I have 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.
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.
UNFORTUNATELY, 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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