The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has asked Nigerians to ignore a warning
\nmade by Enoch Adeboye, general overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of
\nGod (RCCG), calling it a \u201cprophesy of doom\u201d.<\/p>\n
Adeboye had last week warned that Nigeria as it is presently constituted
\nmay cease to exist if killings continue. He also added that 2019 elections
\nmay not hold.<\/p>\n
In a statement by Ishaq Akintola, director of the group, MURIC described
\nthe statement as a \u201cmessage of doom\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said nations are not run on prophesies and divisive messages but on
\nindustry, love, fortitude, unity, honesty and determination.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recall that killings and cattle rustling did not begin yesterday.
\nThese attacks have been there since the early 60s. It was not Nigerians
\nwho were attacking themselves but cattle thieves and criminals from
\nneighbouring countries like Niger, Chad and Mali,\u201d Akintola said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese invasions from other countries have continued till today due to
\nNigeria\u2019s porous borders. But Nigerians exploit religious rivalry and
\nacrobatic religiousity instead of engaging in diligent investigations. We
\nare blaming ourselves for nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill going along the lanes of history, a few years back, Nigerian
\nChristian leaders initially accused Muslims in the country of sponsoring
\nBoko Haram to kill Christians. All denials fell on deaf ears. Foul
\nlanguage was used. Provocative statements were issued. Nigerian Muslim
\nleaders exhibited patience throughout those terrible days. Today, the
\npicture has become clearer to the Christian leaders as Boko Haram has
\nkilled more Muslims than Christians (including an Emir) and destroyed more
\nmosques than churches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth is that both Christians and Muslims are victims of killings,
\nthough Christians may have the advantage of media support to use killings
\non its side as a propaganda tool. The Nigerian media hardly hypes reports
\nof Muslim deaths, nor do they report them correctly with their religious
\naffiliation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, Muslims do not use their dead victims for propaganda because,
\nas a rule, Muslims bury their dead speedily whereas Christians delay the
\nburial of their dead and openly display them. But the fact is that the
\nmonkey is also sweating, but the hair on its skin may not allow people to
\nsee it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ishaq said Nigeria had become a land where Shakespearean lines must be
\nactualised: \u201cWhen beggars die, there are no comets seen. The heavens
\nthemselves blow forth the death of princes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThus when Muslims are killed, the Nigerian media uses captions like \u201c85
\nkilled in Maiduguri Explosion\u201d or \u201c76 Die as Hoodlums Invade Zamfara
\nVillage\u201d. But when Christians are killed, the language and style change.
\nThe caption is \u201cFulani Herdsmen Murder 22 Christians\u201d,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is for this reason that Pastor Adeboye needs to direct his warnings at
\nthe Nigerian press, not at the government. Government is not escalating
\nthe crisis. Their asymmetrical reportage poses great danger to peaceful
\ncoexistence in a multi-religious Nigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cPastor Adeboye should also note that things are not usually what they
\nlook like from a distance. Benue militias have been caught disguised as
\nFulani herdsmen. None of the hoodlums caught by the military in the
\nongoing operation in Benue could speak Fulani language, yet they dressed
\nlike Fulani herdsmen and carried AK47 rifles.<\/p>\n
\u201cFake military camps have also been exposed in the same Middle Belt.
\nMilitiamen arrested have confessed that the Christian state governors are
\ntheir sponsors. So, why does Adeboye refuse to acknowledge the killing of
\nMuslims? Who are the Benue and Taraba militiamen killing?\u201d<\/p>\n
He, however, appealed to Adeboye to refrain from making inflammatory
\nstatements and to also persuade his \u201cjunior priests to water down their
\nfirebrand \u2018proselytisation\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has asked Nigerians to ignore a warning made by Enoch Adeboye, general overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), calling it a \u201cprophesy of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n