Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday, attacked the Islamic fundamentalists, Boko Haram, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mohammed Nurudeen, for saying Nigeria is the most Christian-populated Islamic nation in the world.
While describing the sect as a bunch of cowardswho have sympathy among top security personnel for their unGodly activities, he slammed the minister, saying the statement was worrisome and that it was wrong for him to have called Nigeria an Islamic nation.
No basis for dialogue
Oritsejafor explained that there had never been a census where the figure of Muslims and Christians were stated in the country.
President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Chairman, CAN, Ondo State Chapter, Bishop Emmanuel Igbokoyi and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr Kola Ademujimi, during the inspection of Ondo state projects by the members of the National Executive Council of CAN after their National Conference, in Akure, on Tuesday
He declared that there was no basis for government to dialogue with the faceless group which had been terrorising the nation in a desperate bid to make it an Islamic nation.
Pastor Oritsejafor spoke with newsmen in Akure after an Extra-ordinary Council Meeting of the National Executive Council of CAN.
He said: ”The Boko Haram people are a bunch of cowards, who go to churches to shoot people that are not armed. If they think they are strong, they should go to places where the people they are going to attack are also armed.
“They should go and face people that are armed, not unarmed people. They are a bunch of cowards, who kill innocent people that are not armed.”
The CAN President, who read political undertone to the insecurity in the country, argued that top security chiefs are religious fanatics, who aided and abetted youths to kill innocent people under the guise of religion.
Upbraids security chiefs
He alleged that some security chiefs leaked security information to the Islamic sect hence the difficulty in tracking and curtailing its activities.
“I do not understand what they would be talking about. What are they going to discuss? It is puzzling. I see a total religious fundamentalism in the whole episode. If there should be a dialogue, there should be a basis.
“If you are talking of dialogue and the same sect of people are killing innocent souls, so what is the basis? To me, there is no basis for dialogue.
The security chiefs, according to him, ”are more loyal to their Islamic religion than the corporate existence of Nigeria.”
Asks minister to apologise
On the proposed dialogue with the sect, Pastor Oritsejafor declared that while he is not opposed to dialogue to solve issues, he argued that dialogue with the religious fanatics was out of it as they had not pretended about their agenda to Islamise the country.
The clergyman expressed disappointment over the minister’s statement, saying he should explain to Nigerians the source of his information or be sanctioned.
Oritsejafor, however, suggested a military solution to the activities of the Boko Haram sect, stressing the need for all the security agencies to exchange information on security threats.
He regretted that the nation’s security agencies rather than see themselves as complementing each other, see themselves as competitors.
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