President
Buhari has once again reacted to his perceived hatred for Christians.In
a new article published on Churchtimes, a UK based online christian
platform, President Buhari said just like many Christians, he is a
descendant of Abraham and that he does not hate anyone that is of the
Chjristian faith, afterall his deputy is a Christian.He advised
Nigerians not to allow politicians use religion as a tool to divide the
country. Read his article below ''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.