Our attention has been drawn to the current development in the White House, Washington DC regarding the hypocritical and false allegation of genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
The tone of the allegation reads that it is only Nigerian Christians that are at the receiving end of the wanton killings and other atrocities perpetrated by terrorists in the country.
We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Osun State Chapter want to declare unequivocally that the bid to pitch the nation for genocide on the ground of religion is totally unfounded, biased and is a calculated attempt to implicate innocent Nigerian Muslims.
Our position is informed by the fact that even though Nigeria is currently grappling with the containment of terrorists activities with all best possible resources at her disposal, undeniable data shows that the nefarious acts of terrorists know no religious bounds in any community where they perpetrate their nefarious activities. Both Christians, Muslims and others alike do form part of the victims but the reality is that Muslims form the greater percentage of the dead and kidnapped.
Unlike the Islamic war ‘Rule of Engagement’, terrorists fight guerrilla war sparing neither young nor old, women nor weak in the community during operations. To say that Christians are the targets or that they are more affected by terrorists’ strike is a figment of imaginations.
The brains behind the conspiracy may want to score religious point by seeking the solidarity of the super powers to garnish unnecessary support for their mission. The period between year 2000 to date has witnessed unprecedented more Muslim victims of terrorist attacks than the Christians in Nigeria. This shows that the hues and cries about ‘Christian Genocide’ remains utterly baseless.
The conspiracy may have also resulted from Nigerian Christians by virtue of having an edge in terms of economic empowerment control of the media in the country. The propaganda of ‘Genocide against Christians’ in Nigeria should be subject to thorough investigation with the available data of victims of terrorist attacks within the last twenty-five years.
It is on this note that the following suggestions are brought to the fore in view of the conspiracy against Nigeria:
I. All hands must be on deck to stamp out terrorists’ nefarious operations.
II. Nigeria is a sovereign nation and its sovereignty should not be dragged into the mud both from within and outside the country.
III. Good neighborliness is mandatory among adherents of all faiths in the country. cherished in Islam and by the Muslims.
IV. Religious groups should realize that no holier-than-thou game will save anyone if war breaks out.
V. The Federal Government should prepare reliable statistics on death toll from terrorist attacks across religious divides.
VI. Concerted efforts should be made to tighten up security in order to curtail the excesses of terrorists in Nigeria.
Dr. Razaq Uthman,
Chairman, MURIC, Osun State Chapter.