{"id":67359,"date":"2019-06-28T06:49:25","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T05:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=67359"},"modified":"2019-06-28T06:49:25","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T05:49:25","slug":"nigerian-government-writes-british-parliamentary-group-denies-persecution-of-christians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/nigerian-government-writes-british-parliamentary-group-denies-persecution-of-christians\/","title":{"rendered":"NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT WRITES BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY GROUP, DENIES\u00a0 PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The Nigerian Government has repudiated claims by a group styling itself<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
as Northern Christian Elders Forum, who falsely alleged that the
\nMuhammadu Buhari administration is practicing bigotry and alienating
\nChristians.<\/p>\n

The response by the Nigerian Government is contained in a letter to the
\nBritish Parliamentary Group, signed by Nigeria’s High Commissioner to
\nUK, George Adetola Oguntade.<\/p>\n

Two letters were addressed to Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, a former
\nsecretary of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and now Head,
\n“Independent Review of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Support of
\nPersecuted Christians, “and Baroness Berridge, the Chair of “All
\nParliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief. ”<\/p>\n

In the correspondences, the Nigerian government strongly dismissed as
\ninconceivable and outrightly false, allusions to the effect that the
\nBoko Haram terrorism served a government agenda against Christians.<\/p>\n

“It would be useful for me to engage with this process to ensure that
\nyou are thoroughly briefed on the situation in Nigeria, “High
\nCommissioner Oguntade wrote in the correspondences.<\/p>\n

Responding to the interim report on Foreign and Commonwealth Office
\nSupport for Persecuted Christians, Oguntade, a retired Justice of the
\nSupreme Court, told Rev. Mounstephen:<\/p>\n

“The safety and security of all Nigerians, whatever their faith, is a
\nfundamental priority of the Buhari Government. The government knows that
\nNigeria can only achieve its potential if there is religious tolerance
\nand cooperation.”<\/p>\n

The High Commissioner explained that President Buhari’s deputy is a
\nPastor, adding that the President “has befriended Church leaders and
\nchurch groups both within and outside Nigeria.”<\/p>\n

He added that the President’s cabinet is balanced between Muslims and
\nChristians, noting that he himself was a former Chancellor of the Church
\nof Nigeria (Anglican Communion).<\/p>\n

According to Justice Oguntade, Vice President Osinbajo has maintained
\nregular contacts with Christian and Muslim leaders as part of efforts to
\nbuild and sustain interfaith dialogue.<\/p>\n

Stressing that the country’s security challenges had no ethnic and
\nreligious colourations, the High Commissioner said the farmers\/herders
\nclashes predated the Buhari administration, noting that such clashes
\nbordered on the desire for pasture by the herders and the desire to
\nprotect crops from encroachment and destruction by the farmers.<\/p>\n

Oguntade explained that these clashes had a long history and the Buhari
\nadministration is taking a major step to address the root cause of these
\ncrises and violent clashes pitting Muslim and Christian farmers alike
\nagainst the herders.<\/p>\n

According to the High Commissioner, “the issue of grazing routes is
\nhistorically central to these conflicts and the Buhari administration is
\ntaking a holistic approach to the matter with a view to ending it once
\nand for all, so that Nigerians can live in peace with one another.”<\/p>\n

He, therefore, assured the international community that the Buhari
\nAdministration would ensure that “the competition over scarce land is
\nresolved peacefully for the benefits of all parties.”<\/p>\n

The Nigerian government also rejected attempts by the reporting group to
\nlink Boko Haram terrorism with official policy, stating clearly that
\nthese violent acts by the terrorist group predated the Buhari
\nadministration, like many others that were inherited on coming to office
\nin 2015.<\/p>\n

The Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK said criminal groups such as
\nthe Boko Haram terrorists who kill Muslims and Christians do not
\nrepresent Muslims.<\/p>\n

“Boko Haram is a murderous death cult whose savagery has destroyed
\nthousands of lives.<\/p>\n

“The Government is totally dedicated to eradicating their stain from our
\nland.<\/p>\n

“Since the Buhari administration has been in power, Boko Haram has been
\nsignificantly degraded \u2013 with the support and assistance of the UK
\nGovernment. We shall not rest until this mission is completed and the
\npeople of North East Nigeria \u2013 both Christians and Muslims \u2013 can live in
\npeace again, “he said.<\/p>\n

The two letters were each accompanied by a copy of an opinion article
\nsigned by the President and published on November 30, 2018, by
\nLondon-based “Church Times,” entitled: DON’T POLITICISE RELIGION IN
\nNIGERIA.<\/p>\n

In the article, President Buhari, among other things, said Muslims and
\nChristians can flourish together.<\/p>\n

“These two great religions (Islam and Christianity) can not only
\npeacefully coexist but flourish together. But we must first turn to one
\nanother in compassion. For as Amos teaches us: “Do two walk together
\nunless they have agreed to meet?”.<\/p>\n

“We must resist the temptation to retreat into our communities because
\nif we do, our palette of possibilities will remain primary. It is only
\nwhen we mix them together that we can imagine new and greater
\npossibilities.<\/p>\n

“As our constitution spells out, politicizing religion should have no
\nplace in Nigeria. However, it is all the more reprehensible when in
\ndoing so; it feeds fears and plays to man’s baser instincts.<\/p>\n

“For it makes us turn away from one another; it makes us retreat into
\nour communities and walk different paths; and it blinds us to each
\nother’s God-given dignity, ” the President said in the article published
\nin Church Times.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nigerian Government has repudiated claims by a group styling itself as Northern Christian Elders Forum, who falsely alleged that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is practicing bigotry and alienating Christians.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNIGERIAN GOVERNMENT WRITES BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY GROUP, DENIES\u00a0 PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/nigerian-government-writes-british-parliamentary-group-denies-persecution-of-christians\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT WRITES BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY GROUP, DENIES\u00a0 PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS - 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