Abuja— Two prominent Nigerian religious leaders the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday, openly differed on the war being waged against Nigeria by the Boko Haram insurgents.
Ayo oritsejafor
Although the two religious leaders agreed that the Boko Haram sect had committed serious havoc against the country and its people, they disagreed sharply on why the sect has continued to unleash unabated violence on the nation.
The two men of God spoke at a roundtable meeting with special advisers on religious affairs drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The programme with the theme “Toward synergising and interfacing in the religious sector for national development” organised by the Offices of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Islamic and Christian Matters was declared open by Vice President Namadi Sambo.
In effect, Abubakar had insisted that Islamic leaders had done their best to dissuade the sect from committing further destruction of lives and property while the CAN President punctured the claim, saying that the Islamic leaders had not done enough in that regard.
Muslim leaders have tried so much—Sultan
According to the Sultan, Islamic leaders have “tried so much” to preach against the activities of the sect but Oritsejafor said such effort was not strong enough to prevent the insurgents from further mayhem.
The Sultan maintained that there was no problem between Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, pointing out that if there was any problem between the two major religions, it would have been dealt with at that level.
Abubakar, however, blamed the rising level of insurgence on lack of education about religions which breeds lack of trust and sincerity.
He regretted that while Islamic leaders have continued to condemn the insurgents, they are still being accused of not doing enough. This, he said, was not fair to the religious leaders.
He said, he had personally gone across the globe to preach peace and uphold the fact that there is no problem between Islam and Christianity.
In his quest for peaceful relationship between adherents of the two religions, the Sultan said he had written two separate lengthy letters to the Catholic Pope and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
He said when people were asking Islamic leaders to sit with insurgents and discuss, they fail to note that the current situation could not be compared to the activities of militants in the Niger Delta.
Abubakar said: “In a situation where Muslim leaders condemn insurgents and they will still be told they have not done enough. That is not fair. We don’t tell ourselves the truth. Followers are not telling the leaders the truth, and the leaders will think they are doing the right things.
“If the governor in Sokoto is told that he should sponsor four people to Christian pilgrimage, so be it. It is government’s fund. If a land is needed in Kano for a church, they should get it after following the due process.
“Muslim leaders have tried so much. I have gone across the globe to say that there is no problem between Islam and Christianity.
We are not going deep enough —Oritsejafor
Oritsejafor said: “But if we would come together there must be sincerity, equality, fear of God and genuine love for one another. The problem with gatherings like this is that if we are not careful it becomes an occasion for good photographs, we shake hands, we talk very nicely, we are all politically correct. We don’t want to offend each other. Please let’s offend each other, we need to. Because if we don’t offend each other, we will not tell each other the truth and that is part of Nigeria’s problem.
“If you come out to say certain things, there are those who feel you are rocking the boat, but God is in the boat, the boat will not sink. Let us talk to each other, let’s tell the truth to each other and let’s not sweep it under the carpet. When we finish the opening ceremony and you go into the close door session, lay all the cards on the table.
“It is truth your Eminence that Christianity and Islam have no problem but I’m glad you said, there could be problem between Christians and Muslims and the reason is because probably we are not going deep enough.”
Likening Nigeria to the boat in the Holy Bible that wanted to sink with Jesus Christ on board but did not sink, he noted that many things have happened in Nigeria that have rocked the boat, but the boat has remained standing.
He said: “Some are religious, political, tribal, but different things have happened that have rocked the boat. But let me still thank the Lord that the boat is still floating.”
Querying why a church in the North in the last 30 years have not been able to get a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for land, he said any mosque or church should be able to get C of O anywhere in the country.
Letter to Boko Haram
He charged the Sultan to also write a letter to Boko Haram to stop their attacks and not just the letter to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
He said: “His Eminence said he wrote a letter to ISIS, I have to truly congratulate you for that because that was a very good move. I didn’t know about it until today and I am so glad it happened. But I want to appeal that you also write to Boko Haram because Boko Haram is worst than ISIS. They have killed more people than ISIS, they have caused more atrocities than ISIS. They need to be written to as well, it is very important it will help.”
The wife of a Nigerian pastor, Oritsejafor, Helen Oritsejafor, who was in a arms deal saga lately has spoken on the issue of the arms deal and how surprised the pastor was, seeing the comments and statement from Nigerians.
Ayo oritsejafor
In an interview with vanguard correspondent, she also disclosed that using the pastor’s aircraft was like a way of tarnishing his image knowing that he speaks against the regular killing of Christians in the North. Mrs Oritsejafor expressed sadness that the Christians in the North love and respect her husband compare to the way the Southerners look at him.
Below is the excerpt:
Your husband, the CAN president, has received a lot of bashing lately. How do you react?
For us southerners, we might not really appreciate what Papa Ayo Oritsejafor is doing and the role he is playing in Christianity in Nigeria because we are not directly affected by the activities of the terrorist group, Boko Haram. Christians in the North are the ones experiencing it, they are the ones losing fathers and mothers, children; being dislocated.
They are the ones who see people’s throats being cut off as chickens; their houses being burnt by petrol bombs and their young ones both boys and girls being abducted on daily basis. They value him so much. They know that whatever he is going through today is because of them. It was actually them who came to persuade him to run for CAN presidency.
The first time they came, he used wisdom for them and said he would think about it. They came back again and kept coming because they know who he is. He is a good man. If there is anything I know my husband to be is that he is a good man to a fault, and sometimes I really feel for him. Unfortunately, the society of nowadays does not value a man like this especially those of us in the South. He is much respected in the North.
How did the news of his jet’s involvement in the $9.3m money for arms saga hit you?
I was really surprised. I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t know our plane was out of the country because we leased it out to a company in Abuja so that we will be able to utilize whatever comes out of the deal for the maintenance of the plane because it is quite expensive.
So we didn’t know. We read and heard comments some people made concerning it, unknown to us that our plane was actually involved. We were really surprised just like many other people.
In all honesty, by the time we got to know that it was Papa’s plane, we knew that enemies were trying to play some prank. It is natural because he is a symbol of Christianity in Nigeria. If anyone wants to move against Christianity in Nigeria, it would be easier for the one to go after the symbol. The only thing is I wasn’t expecting people to get really dirty as they did.
The whole episode appeared as if somebody was out for some sinister joke…
It’s quite obvious. Take for instance, why was it that it was Papa’s plane that would be hired? How would it be that it would be his plane of all planes in Nigeria that they needed for that mission? It’s still very baffling. Number two, it became obvious that it was orchestrated and the whole essence of it is to see how they can give him a name God has not given to him, and all because he has been a very outspoken man.
I know him too well, he is a very down to earth person, and he doesn’t know how to hide his feelings. He is a very quiet and reserved person. But then when there is a need for him to speak about anything, he would rather confront things the way they are rather than to hide behind his fingers. That is not him. I know quite a number of people have been very uncomfortable with that especially with the Boko Haram situation.
Let’s be frank, who would not be affected? You are leading a body and gradually, there seems to be an elimination of this same group of people. You would be a wicked leader not to react. I wouldn’t even call you one not to have reacted towards what was really going on in Nigeria and is still going on by the way.
So he made every effort. He noticed that our government wasn’t really upcoming with a lot of things; we seem to try to politicize a lot of things in Nigeria which is quite troubling.
He went out of his way to go address the US Congress. It was quite obvious that terrorism was being financed not just from within but from outside as well, whether to destabilize or in a way, indirectly force on Nigeria a particular religion which is quite shameful.
And he was not comfortable with that. If you would know, this was injustice. So he is now paying the price for being an outspoken man, defending his people, defending Christianity in Nigeria, and do not want Nigerians having to hide their heads later on in life because whichever way we look at it, history will tell.
Why do you think that some people would politicise a purely security issue like that?
Well it’s natural. Number one, it is the perception. By the special grace of God, a man who has lived a life that is worthy of note, a man with an integrity that is without blemish, who will never compromise his stand whichever way it is; automatically, that man has added so much value to Christianity and of course the umbrella of Christianity in Nigeria which is Christian Association of Nigeria.
So a personality like Papa Ayo Oritsejafor, is a threat to anyone who sees him as one because they believe he has a voice, he has a clout, coupled with the fact that the present president of Nigeria happens to be a Christian who is also from the South-South. So they believe that this man is definitely going to support his brother, he would want him to come back being a Christian as well.
Without having to say too much, if I could say this, it is quite shameful. At a point, I was going to actually call some of the wives of these so-called people who were going outside saying a lot of things about my husband, having to engage them as well and see how it looks like, telling them to come out and look at the issue, how would they feel, how would people condescend so low?
A lot of things I read in the newspapers, sometimes they amuse me, sometimes I’m a little bit surprised. But when people begin to fabricate stories and they are doing everything in their power to hang a man. It’s quite surprising to me because I would think that what we should be talking about should be the dividends of democracy.
We don’t even have what they call political surgery. In developed countries, they have surgery where there’s what we call town house where it is expected at the local government level, state level and at whatever level, where people would be able to ask certain questions to the leadership, and challenge them on how they are piloting the affairs of the nation. With what I have seen, Nigeria is yet to get to that level and that is why we look for every necessary means to pull down people instead of fixing the issues on ground.
At least now we all know that it is the National Security Adviser who hired that plane out, who happens to be a relation of the Defence minister and who happens to be an in-law to the Sultan of Sokoto. I had a lot of respect for the Sultan of Sokoto. Before this issue of Boko Haram and so on, himself and my husband used to be very close. I could remember every now and then when he wanted to talk to my husband; he would often ask how is mama?
If there were issues in the newspapers and all that, he would call in to find out things and so on and so forth.
I so much cherished his relationship with my husband. But I’m a little bit surprised because no matter how it is, you know your friend. We must not allow bigotry to take away our innocence, our integrity, our corner in the name of what we are trying to get. We must not allow that to happen. We must always remember posterity because one way or the other, posterity will always judge.
And we must not throw caution to the wind because of whatever we are trying to achieve. We must also remember that Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is a husband of a woman who has children as well; regardless of whatever we are trying to do. This is a man that I know, and some Nigerians also know that this is a man who is so loving and caring.
If there’s anything this man can do to alleviate the downtrodden ones in the society, he would do. He’s done many. Many times over and over again, he goes out of his way to buy brand new cars, tricycles, grinding machines and so on to alleviate poverty in this country.
He is a person who decided to start a micro finance bank, not necessarily to make money, but to see how he can help lift someone’s head up; in bridging gap between the poor and the rich.
He believes the poor in our midst deserves every right to be somebody in life. This is a man who has sent thousands of people to universities through his Indigent Scholarship Scheme that he has in place over the years.
This is a man who actively participated in the peace initiative of Delta State that we are enjoying today. As a matter of fact, but for a man such as this, I do not think that Delta State would have been what it is today. There was nothing he didn’t do. He went out of his way to the creeks to speak to the militants, confronted situations headlong just to make sure he brings about peace.
What some people don’t know is that we love the Muslims. We do not have anything against Muslims. A lot of people are sending wrong signals to a lot of people, particularly Muslims, thinking that Pastor Ayo is an enemy of Muslims. It is totally untrue.
There is no iota of truth in it. He has a lot of them as friends. Papa Ayo’s relationship with Sultan of Sokoto is still strong as ever. When Islamic fundamentalists were killing his Christian brothers and sisters in the North, he was forced to urge their leaders to speak against the killings.
Let us find solution to this, you have a right to practice your religion, I have equal right as well to do same and we must not be at each other’s throats; and somebody being at the receiving end and having to keep quiet, I must speak out because I am the leader. That’s who we are talking about here.
When the Niger Delta crisis was so heavy, a lot of Warri were closed down. They took off when the gunshots and so on were such a very messy situation. But he stood his ground. We have all kinds of tribes in Word of Life Bible Church today; there are people from the North, people from all parts of Delta State even at the time of the crisis. During the crisis, the church was functioning normally because he has always been a detribalized man.
He is man that deals with people based on who they are, not according to tribe or religion. He engages people based on who they are. He went out of his way to spend tens of million for internally displaced Ijaws at Ogbe Ijoh, shipping bags of rice, bags of clothes and all sorts of things just to bring succor.
And naturally, many Itsekiris grumbled saying he did not extend the same gesture to them and he asked them if the Ijaws were not our people too? Whatever is happening, peace will definitely reign, we must not go back at each other. It was later he had to balance the whole thing so that they won’t think he’s one sided.
When you look at all these, when you look at a man who can do anything just to make sure that another man is comfortable, why should any man, all because of his disposition towards his people, go after him in this manner? It’s amazing. What that goes to tell you is that they have looked for everything.
And I’m so proud of him. I’m proud of my husband. They have looked for every avenue. We have heard of one or two people caught in some unholy alliance and so on, thank God my husband was not involved. They have done everything they could do to try and pull him down. What they finally did was to use a gift that was given to him; he didn’t use his money to buy it.
Some people said President Jonathan bought it for him. I wish he did. I have the list of the names of people who masterminded this thing on our record. Hundreds and thousands of people, church folks who said this man served us with every vigor in him, we could see in him a great man and he’s not getting younger anymore. He is ever on the road constantly doing everything he can for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; let us try as much as possible in elongating his life by blessing him with this gift. He didn’t buy it or put down money to say this is what he wants. He didn’t even know anything about it. I was aware of it.
What I would have loved for them to tell me is to show me the receipt of the plane that was bought by President Jonathan and the person who said he bought the plane. I have heard all sorts of lies that maybe somebody did it on behalf of somebody. There’s no human being that can stand up to say I bought this plane.
It’s a complete lie from the pit of hell. Because of his person, realizing the fact that what should he do with this plane knowing the amount of money that it’s going to cost to maintain it; if he was using church money to maintain it, they would have cried out to say he is using church money.
You can see how foolish people can be. If President Jonathan bought him a plane, can’t the same President Jonathan maintain the plane? Why must it be hired out so as to sustain the maintenance of the same plane if indeed it was the president that bought this plane? They politicize a lot of things. It’s really annoying.
Is Pastor Ayo really that close to President Jonathan as his accusers allege?
It is so amazing. I do not want to be rude or saucy so I’m trying as much as possible to hold my peace. Let me say this, I would love it if people can help me define that word ‘close’. Yes there’s a relationship that has to do with being in his position as the President of CAN and President Jonathan as the President of Nigeria.
Automatically, whether he likes it or not, there will be some level of interaction and that is what Nigerians are calling closeness. Maybe they should tell us how President Jonathan gave him one naira to buy a plane.
I don’t really think that Pastor Ayo is closer to the president than the Sultan of Sokoto, the co-chair of NIREC. This is not to say that Papa hates Jonathan, no he does not. He is a Christian and so as a Christian father to the nation, he tries his best to provide a guard. He speaks out whenever necessary.
He goes in to offer his own advice or suggestion as the case maybe whenever he is asked to. When he wants to see the president, he makes request just like everyone else. And mostly, it is to discuss the issue of the nation. Many times, he goes with his CAN executive council members to sit down with the president and confront him on certain issues all to see how the nation can be well piloted. What I have noticed is that whichever way you see it; if I say this man is not close to the president, they will say it’s because of what happened, if I say he’s close, they will say that is what we are talking about. I don’t even care what people might say concerning that because you can never please human beings.
What I am saying is that please before you start giving this man a bad name, find out the true position of things. Do not go out there forgetting that he is a husband to a woman and he is a father as well. Besides that, he is a man who has sacrificed himself. I think Nigerians even have him more than I do.
He is a very passionate person. When he believes in something, he’s driven by it. He goes all out to see how he can really push across whatever he is trying to bring in. That’s who he is. When he got the leadership, when he was elected to lead Christians in Nigeria, he made up his mind that he was going to do everything and anything possible to propagate what he has been given.
And he sees it as an assignment. Many times, people see leadership just to bear a name and enjoy it. I think if this man had wanted to enjoy the leadership as it were, maybe by now his relationship with the Sultan of Sokoto would be waxing stronger. And maybe he would have been enjoying more from the government as well. But he has decided to sacrifice all that just like Moses.
Moses sacrificed and said he was not going to allow the booting in Pharaoh’s house to override his judgment and so he shut himself out completely from the judgment at the palace and made himself a sacrifice for the liberty and freedom of the Israelites. That is what we are seeing now with our father as well. He has truly given himself out to the nation and then of course to the people who we call his constituents.
How did he receive the news of the plane saga?
He didn’t also know. When everything happened, according to what we heard, the plane was released immediately and it came back to Nigeria. They didn’t even bother to contact us to tell us what happened.
No one said anything. Someone called him and asked ‘where is your plane?’ And he said he didn’t know but he would find out from his wife. I have been the one managing it. When everything happened, they put it on him, but I have actually been the one running it. So he called me and asked where the plane was, I said I didn’t know promising to call him back.
The person who called him told him the plane was impounded in South Africa. So the gentleman said something happened. It was at that point he said one John came to hire the plane to fly South Africa.
The next they heard was they discovered this and that. However, since they knew that the plane and the crew members had nothing to do with the transaction, they let the plane go which is the normal practice. The only thing they do is that once that occurs, the next thing they do is to search whoever that is involved, pick the person and that’s it. No one is now going to start putting it on the plane or the owners or even the crew. The next thing he said was ‘Oh my God’.
He said these people are after something. I actually thought it was a joke because I wasn’t expecting anyone to condescend. I expect someone to be able to see between the lines. Please let us not belittle our government. Are you telling me that a whole Federal Government of Nigeria would need a pastor to help him move money to a location to buy arms?
That is an insult on this nation. For anyone to even phantom it, it shows how small minded we are really, and that we don’t look at things wholistically. It just does not make any sense at all other than the fact that certain people just said since it is his plane, let us just see how we can rope him with it so that we can malign him at the end of the day since we have been unable to hook him to anything.
We were also told that the same people leaked the transaction to the media…
That’s the truth. They did.They leaked it. When we now did our own investigation, we discovered that by the time the plane touched ground in South Africa, the picture was already taken. And some people were already having a meeting in London, and coming up with all sorts of stories and so on and so forth about him even before everything finally blew open. So it was all orchestrated right from Nigeria.
Whoever such people are, they are not true Muslims or Christians. These are enemies of progress. These are people who are doing their very best in causing unnecessary discord between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria which is very sad. To use an innocent man to throw this sling is very sad.
Why is it that Christian leaders did not even see between the lines?
I think the greatest challenge in Christianity is that unlike our other side; they have a leader and regardless of how they feel, when that leader speaks, it is final. But in Christianity, everyone is a leader.
The unnecessary rancor that actually takes place in our fold is quite sad and shameful. So it’s always very easy for these people to pounce on them and manipulate them against themselves. What they don’t even know is that they are the target. Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is not the target; it’s every Christian in Nigeria.
We are all the target. We are the ones they have targeted but of course they can’t get to everyone so they have to look for the person who represents Christianity in Nigeria and that is what we are experiencing.
It’s sad to see Christian leaders calling for the resignation of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and so on when some of them don’t even know the details of what happened.
It’s manipulation. And some of them too have betrayed themselves. We also know the lives they live. I don’t even see some of those people as Christian leaders. I want to use this opportunity to appreciate our brethren at Catholic, our brethren at Baptist and all of the five blocks of Christian Association of Nigeria who stood their grounds knowing who they have as their leader and of course standing to confront anything negative concerning him.
When I read the communiqué after a meeting they had in Abuja, they said this jet wasn’t bought by President Jonathan, but if anyone has evidence to this effect that it was bought by President Jonathan, make it public. Number two, they also said that this particular plane was leased out before now. If anyone has an evidence to show that it was not, make it public. I’m still waiting.
I haven’t seen anyone to do that. I think it is at that time they will know that my own is more than my husband. I have just been holding myself because of him. Otherwise I would have loved to scream and shout and show up on television and call out to Nigerians to say that they should not kill my husband.
The only thing this man has done is to sacrifice himself for you. So if you do not appreciate him, then what is the need for him making these sacrifices, putting his 42 years in ministry on the line just because of you and I. I think he is a man who is worthy of commendation, who is worthy to be praised amongst men. A lot of people chicken out because they want to appear in the good books of everybody. No one really wants to come out. Everyone tries to shy away from anything that has to do with things like Boko Haram or anything.
He is the only one by the special grace of God, and no wonder God decided to put him in this position for such a time like this. If we had had a weakling there, I don’t know what would have happened to this country by now. It would have been a different ball game entirely.
By Luka Binniyat, Emman Ovuakporie, Levinus Nwabughiogu & Laide Akinboade
KADUNA —President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday for the first time spoke on the controversial $9.3m cash allegedly smuggled into South Africa by two Nigerians and an Israeli using his private jet. The money which has been confiscated by a South African court was meant for the purchase of arms for the Nigerian Intelligence Services. This is just as the #BringBackOurGirls# campaign group, has said it will soon drag the CAN president and the Federal Government to court over the money.
Ayo oritsejafor
Following the use of his aircraft to convey the money which was not declared in South Africa until immigration officials discovered it, the CAN president was linked to the arms deal with critics condemning his role in the arms deal.
Explaining his own side of the story yesterday, at an emergency meeting of the expanded National Executive Council, NEC, of CAN in Abuja, Pastor Oritsejafor denied any involvement or knowledge of the deal to buy arms in South Africa, noting that enemies of Christians were fuelling the division of CAN.
He said: “The media has been awash in the past few days about an unfortunate incident involving the movement of funds from Nigeria to South Africa. In the unfortunate news reports, attempts have been made to link me directly with the transaction. So far I have refrained from making any direct public statement pending the time that I would have briefed the leaders of the church and explained my position on the issues to them.
“I believe that the primary institution that I owe any explanation to is the church. Permit me to thank everyone who stood by me these past days by ways of prayers, as well as strongly defending me even though I have not undertaken any public defence of myself.
“I am particularly appreciative of the valuable support of the Catholic Church in refuting a distorted news item by mischievous elements in the media. I wish to assure you that I will not do anything to tarnish the image of Jesus Christ or compromise the divine standard of the Church.
The aircraft is mine — CAN president
“At the risk of being seen to be defending myself, I wish to confirm to the distinguished leaders of the church that the Bombardier Challenger 601 aircraft in question is mine.
“The aircraft was presented to me as a gift by members of our congregation and ministry partners world wide at the 40th anniversary of my call into the ministry. May I be permitted to stress that the aircraft was not given to me by the President of Nigeria, neither was it a settlement for any political favour or patronage.
“With the benefit of hindsight, the President of the country was a guest in our church during the anniversary celebration when the Jet was presented to me and this has been construed to imply that it was a gift from the President of the country.
“The President of Nigeria has nothing to do with the gift of the aircraft. By the way, I still wonder why all those saying this, still cannot come out to show proof so that the matter can be put to rest once and for all. Let me say that this might be an issue of the court in the near future.
“In order to ameliorate the cost of maintenance of the aircraft, I sought and got permit to allow the aircraft fly in and out of Nigeria.
“Based on this, I leased the aircraft on August 2, 2014 to a company to run it. It was the leasee that entered into an agreement with the people who carried out the transfer of funds. Having leased the aircraft to the Green Coast Produce Company Limited, any transaction undertaken with the aircraft can no longer be attached to me.
War against the Church
“In as much as I am shocked and distressed by the incident, I wish to appeal to Christians in Nigeria to remember that a war has been waged against the Nigerian Church. This war is being fought on many fronts and this unfortunate incident is another dimension in the assault against the Church.
“It is clear that those who manipulated this conspiracy desire to create a schism in the Church. The media hype and the deliberate distortion of information that followed it confirmed that forces that desperately desire to cause division and disunity in the Church are at work. Even the devil knows that a house that is divided cannot stand.
“As Christians, we need unity in the Church now more than ever. We are witnessing inhuman attacks by religious extremists against Christians in the northern part of the country while Christian infrastructure is being destroyed in hundreds.
“If we permit the enemy to divide us, our chances of corporate survival shall be severely threatened.
“Distinguished leaders of the Church, please permit me to state clearly before God and before all of you here present today, I am not a party to the movement of $9.3 million from Nigeria to South Africa to purchase arms and ammunition. I am not part of the deal. I know nothing about it.
“Let me make a passionate appeal to our heads of blocks, heads of denominations and Christian leaders at different levels and spheres of influence to please use your good offices to caution and control your subordinates and followers from making public statements that will further polarise the Church and strengthen the arms of the enemies of the church.
“If I offend you or you offend me, instead of talking to media, let us talk to each other within the house of God.”
#BringBackOurGirls# threatens to sue
Meanwhile, the #BringBackOurGirls# campaign group, at its sit-out, yesterday, in Abuja called for more public outcry over the $9.3 million cash found in Pastor Oritsejafor’s private jet in South Africa, saying it has concluded arrangement to sue the CAN president and the Federal Government over it.
According to the group: “We need more pressure more than ever; this is tax payers money, we must speak up any time an injustice is done especially when it is about infiltration of arms because that is what brought us here. There is need for a louder cry about this because quietly people are forgetting about the $9.3 million, it will continue if we don’t do anything.
“By next week you will have something different, we are working with our lawyers to sue Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and the Federal Government.”
Also, the House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Business has said that the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Lai Mohammed must have acted out of ignorance for saying that the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha was biased in his ruling over the controversial $9.3million arms deal motion.
Briefing House of Representatives correspondents at the weekend, chairman of the committee, Albert Sam-Tsokwa said “it is glaring that the APC publicity secretary was not conversant with our House rules when he said the Deputy Speaker manipulated the proceedings on the motion bordering on the $9.3m arms deal in South Africa.
“The DS acted as a patriotic Nigerian as he considered the interest of Nigerians above any political lineage following our House standing Orders to the letter.
“The motion in question was an investigative one seeking investigation into the alleged arms deal in South Africa which does not need any debate as this might jeopardise the proposed investigation”.
Vanguard recalls that in the wake of the arms deal, the matter came up in the form of a motion on the floor of the House last Tuesday, but Ihedioha, who presided over plenary that day, did not allow debate on the motion, citing ‘national security.’ He later called for a voice vote and majority of the lawmakers voted against it.
This development did not go down well with some lawmakers, most of whom are of the opposition All Progressives Congress ,APC, who staged a walk out from the floor immediately Ihedioha ruled.
The motion, sponsored by Deputy Minority Leader Abdulrahman Kawu Sulaiman,APC, Kano sought for a thorough investigation into the matter.
But Tsokwa argued at the briefing that what Ihedioha did was in line with the relevant rules of the House, which do not allow debate on matters relating to infrastructure, security and investigation.
He explained that “the House is precluded from discussing any issue that is pending in court. Our rules also say motions on infrastructure, security and investigation are not to be debated. The motion on $9.3 million seeks an investigation, so it shouldn’t, couldn’t and mustn’t have been debated. That was exactly what happened,” Tsokwa said.
Tsokwa further stressed that “the mover wasn’t supposed to take it that day, because it wasn’t on the Order Paper. He insisted on taking it because he said he was away on the Speaker’s errand. But any matter that is not on the Notice Paper can’t be included on the Order Paper. Some members were against taking the motion, but the Deputy Speaker allowed him.”
The Taraba state lawmaker explained that going by parliamentary rules, if any member is not satisfied with a particular decision taken, such a member would call for the House to be divided based on the ‘ayes’ and the ‘nays,’ saying walking out was not appropriate.
“The decision wasn’t taken on the basis of party. It wasn’t all APC members that voted against it and vice-versa”, he said.
FORMER military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd.) and the National President, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday, charged Muslim religious, political and traditional leaders to take advantage of the current Ramadan season to engage the dreaded Islamist sect, Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, in superior ideological dialogue to end rising terrorist attacks in the country
The two men and the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Hassan Kukah, spoke at the 10th annual luncheon and awards of the Bible Society of Nigeria, BSN, held in Lagos.
Gowon acknowledged that the country is going through a critical period due to incessant killings and bombings by Boko Haram, saying there was the need for Muslim leaders to engage the sect in a bid to end the unwarranted carnage.
He was optimistic that the current trying period in the nation’s history, like the Nigerian Civil War, will soon pass away.
He urged Nigerians to refrain from attacking President Goodluck Jonathan for delay in arresting the insurgency, pointing out that they have had several meetings with the President on ways of arresting the situation.
Gowon said: “We discuss the problems of the country. We are concerned about the security problem in the country. It is not an easy thing to resolve overnight.
“People were expecting the Civil War to end in a fortnight, but it did not. No matter how weak the opposi-tion is, it will take sometimes to resolve the problem.
“I can assure you that I know the President is doing everything possible to end this crisis.”
Responding to an award presented to him by BSN, the CAN President said if not for God and the gallant efforts of our soldiers fighting the insurgents in the North, Boko Haram would have declared Borno State an Islamic state by now and “use that place to launch out to other parts of the country.
“But somehow, they have not been able to do that. That is the annoyance they have because that is what they wanted to do.
“I am begging our Muslim traditional rulers, Muslim politicians in the northern part of Nigeria to use the occasion of the current Ramadan, the annual observance regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam, to dialogue with the sect known as Boko Haram.”
The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, stated on Monday that the purported conversion of the kidnapped schoolgirls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Born State by members of Boko Haram was a declaration of conflicttowards Christians within thenation.
The CAN chief, who was reacting to a brand new video by the Boko Haram, displaying the Chibok schoolgirls reciting the Holy Qur’an on Monday, noted that thesewomencouldn’t be exchanged for the discharge of any detained Boko Haram members, who he described as ‘felony’ in detention, as demanded by the sect.
Oritsejafor, who spoke by means of the CAN’s National Director of Research, Elder Sunday Oibe, at a press convention in Kaduna, added that the forceful conversion of the women, who arelargely Christians, amounted to persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
He said, “I have the consent of our national president, who is abroad to address you. First, these children are Christians and not Muslims and so they cannot be converted to a religion that is not theirs at gunpoint without conviction. Besides, is that how conversion is being carried out? All the children displayed are Christians and that is the motive behind the abduction.
“It is simple. Because they are Christians and they represent the church in the eyes of their abductors. Secondly, it smacks of some form of religious persecution. If not, why are their captors converting them to another religion? And if they say they will use them as a condition to negotiate for their men in detention, our daughters are not criminals and cannot be used in any way to free their criminal fighters.
“Show us where in Nigeria you have seen Christians fighting and throwing bombs in the name of God. We challenge any one to show us where Christians have abducted Muslim children in the name of Christianity. We challenge anyone to prove in Nigeria where Christians have taken arms in the name of protecting Christianity or even carry out acts of genocide on helpless and defenceless Nigerians. As far we are concern, it is a war against Christians and Christianity.”
The Christian Association of Nigeria has called on members of the National Conference to discard the present presidential system of government and replaced with parliamentary system forthwith.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting of the National President of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and the South-West leaders of the body, led by Archbishop Magnus Adeyemi Atilade, held at the weekend in Ikeja, Lagos.
CAN in the communiqué signed by Archbishop Atilade, said the presidential system was too costly for Nigeria to bear.
According to the body, the nation’s resources were being wasted on recurrent expenditure that had not been beneficial to the generality of Nigerians.
CAN observed that churches in Nigeria were under intense attack from what it called “the forces of evil, with Christians being killed daily in the northern part the country.
“Christian schools are being closed down and churches are not being given approval or certificate of occupancy for development of churches,” it stated.
The body urged the Federal Government to address problems that could lead to religious uprising in the country.
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor in this interview with Ozioma Ubabukoh, bares his mind on controversies surrounding churches, the Boko Haram insurgency and sundry issues
Apart from being a general overseer in your church, you head Nigeria’s highest religious organisation, the Christian Association of Nigeria. How do you feel when people criticise you sometimes on all fronts?
Criticism is part of life. Anybody who does not expect criticism should think again because criticism can actually enhance a man’s capacity to do better. Criticism for me is not a problem. The only thing that is a problem, in my own opinion, is when you are not doing what is called constructive criticism. Disrespectful criticism is also wrong. It is a free world and people are free to criticise. I will also say that as a person, I believe that truth must never be mortgaged. That, perhaps, is one of the things that get me into trouble with some people. If you watch events in Nigeria, and if our Nigerian press would give me credit, they would realise that many things I predicted eventually came to pass exactly the way I said them.
Boko Haram has launched an onslaught on the church for some time now. How do you feel about this?
Boko Haram is an organisation of cowards. If you wish, quote me and print it boldly: Every member of Boko Haram is a coward. Cowards shoot people in the back. Cowards kill children, women and harmless people. They are cowards and I want to recommend that when such people are killed, their flesh should be given to pigs because they are not better than pigs. The cowards also include those who finance the activities of Boko Haram; those who give them moral and logistic supports. Anybody involved in Boko Haram is a coward and a nuisance to himself, to the society and to God whom they say they propagate or proclaim. It is difficult for any rational mind to believe that what they are doing is what God professes. I don’t know the God they are talking about. It is a disgrace to humanity.
Do you think government is doing enough to tackle this problem?
Members of the security agencies are Nigerians, like you and I. That’s the first thing I want to say and because of that, we must understand that the battle they are fighting, they are fighting on our behalf. But they have their constraints. First, they don’t have enough troops. They have said that they are overstretched. There must be a deliberate effort to recruit new people into the army and into the State Security Service and other intelligence agencies. While this is being done, the people being recruited must be properly screened. The second constraint they have and I think this is very serious, if not even more serious, is the constraint of sabotage within the different formations. I have been saying this for more than two years now. But I think eventually, a lot of people who used to criticise me are beginning to say the same thing. There is sabotage within. There are people within the security agencies who are sympathetic to Boko Haram. It is strange, but it is true. There are also those who think that Boko Haram is defending their religion and so would do anything possible to sabotage the effort of the military. There are people in the military who are more loyal to their religion than to Nigeria. I can’t imagine how a religion would encourage the madness that we see in our society today. We have these two sets of people within the military and within all the intelligence agencies. I believe the Nigerian military is capable. It has the capacity to win the war. I believe our security men can do it. I believe they would do it. But what I am saying now has to be looked into critically. The third thing, I will not call it so much of a constraint as such. I would rather suggest that the military should continue to upgrade its equipment. It has to be continuous because you are dealing with desperate, crazy cowards. To deal with this kind of people who are constantly looking for ways to get new equipment, the soldiers must also upgrade their own equipment. Then number four, I will say that the Nigerian government should start now to ensure proper policing of our very porous borders. It is a major problem. Where are all these military hardware coming from? They didn’t fall from heaven and we don’t manufacture them in Nigeria. They come from the porous borders and seaports. Emphasis is on the seaports because we have had more than two or three occasions when a lot of arms and ammunition were seized at our seaports. The land borders should be patrolled by people who are passionate about Nigeria, not people who are more interested and more committed to religion. These borders should not just be manned by people who really care about Nigeria, but by people who will not succumb to bribes. The fight against Boko Haram must never be left to the military and to the government. Every Nigerian, especially Nigerians who presently live in the affected areas, must tackle the Boko Haram problem. Muslim political leaders and Muslim religious leaders must help us; they should go beyond condemning the acts of Boko Haram. They must not allow themselves to be used or destroyed. They must help us begin to develop the structure of loyalty to this nation and among those in the local communities because if that is done, gradually we would begin to find people who will take the risk to come out and give information about Boko Haram activities. One of the reasons many local people do not give information is because they are afraid that if they do, they would be killed. There are also those who don’t give information because they think erroneously again that Boko Haram is protecting their religion. These people should be re-oriented. They need a re-education. I say all these with a high sense of love and responsibility and with the belief that my Muslim brothers are my fellow brothers and I have nothing against them.
I will now tell you a little story to show that I have nothing against them. About nine years ago, there was a religious crisis somewhere in the North. Many people were killed and majority of the people killed were from the South-East zone. When they brought the corpses back home, there was a reaction. People were sad. They were angry and went after some of our Muslim brothers in Onitsha. Many of them ran across the bridge. They passed through the Niger Bridge and crossed over to Asaba. I heard of it here in Warri. I bought relief materials and drove to Asaba. I located them and gave them relief materials. I apologised to them. I told them that they should understand it was the pain of seeing corpses of their people that made our people to react the way they did. I also added money to the relief materials. A man who hates Muslims would not do that. Nobody tells that part of my story. I have still not seen any Muslim leader that has done what I did and just said. If there is any, please I would like to know them. I hope they have seen the number of structures being bombed and destroyed. A Catholic seminary was just destroyed in Maiduguri. The businesses of Christians are being destroyed everyday. Schools and children of Christians are being killed and maimed. Many widows and orphans are killed almost every hour. I am still waiting to see when some of our well-to-do Muslim clerics, political leaders, and religious leaders would have a change of attitude to all these. I am waiting to see when traditional leaders would come out and approach these Christians who have been displaced and say let us do these to help out. I was reading in the papers that the men that killed a religious leader in Zaria had been apprehended. Within the last nine months, many Christian clerics have been killed and I don’t say this to take away from the fact that what those men did by killing that Muslim cleric in Zaria was bad. They killed him, killed his son and even killed his wife. It is a terrible thing for anybody to do. I pray that God would continue to comfort their family members that are still alive. But what I am trying to say is that in the last nine months, many Christian clerics in the North have been butchered and slaughtered. We know it is Boko Haram, but nobody has been apprehended. One of the victims was the secretary of CAN in Borno State. They went to his house, in the presence of his daughter, and slaughtered him. They sliced his throat despite pleas from his daughter. This was just barely a year ago. Just about a month ago now, the chairman of CAN in Kastina Local Government Area, Katsina State, was killed. They said they saw the corpse of a child close to his house. They went into his house, beat him until he became unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital, yet they mobilised and went after him in the hospital where he was eventually killed. The police keep telling us they are on top of the situation. I cannot hate Muslims. They are my brothers. We are all Nigerians. What I am asking for is justice. Everyone should be treated equally in a nation that belongs to all of us. That’s all I am saying.
Do you think the declaration of state of emergency by the Federal Government is working?
I think it is working because all we have to do is look back to when the state of emergency had not been declared. We were all aware that Boko Haram had taken more than half of all the local government areas in Borno State, literally. In fact, it had brought down the Nigerian flag and hoisted its own flag in those local government areas. The governor of Borno State was governing less than half of the state before the state of emergency. But today, at least you can say he is the governor of the whole state. I just showed you about six or seven constraints confronting the military as at today. If those problems were not looked into, solving them would be almost impossible. Mainly, many of the people who are active in Boko Haram today are from the Republic of Chad. There are some from Niger and Cameroon. How are they entering Nigeria? These are the questions. They are recruiting some local people as well. The point is that a lot of these people are coming from outside.
Does CAN have any programme in place for orphans, widows and widowers from Boko Haram onslaught?
It is very shameful that the umbrella organisation of Christians in Nigeria has no money. I run CAN generally with my own money. It may shock you and some religious leaders, but it is the truth. CAN doesn’t even pay my hotel bills when I go to Abuja. CAN has no place for me to stay. I had to furnish my own office in CAN with personal funds. I do most of the things I do by myself without help from anywhere. Some of the richest people in Nigeria today are Christians, but they refuse to finance their own religion. It is a shame. But let me tell you that on my own, I have tried to reach out. For example, I told you just now of the CAN secretary in Borno State that was killed. Right now, as we speak, we are in the process of relocating his wife somewhere else that I can’t mention now. The first Christian cleric that was slaughtered was a gentleman by the name Oje. He was from Benue State. The Muslims talk about the founder of Boko Haram, Yusuf, who the police killed, but nobody talks about the people he (Yusuf) killed. I single-handedly relocated Oje’s family from Maiduguri to somewhere else – his wife and three children. I paid house rent for them for two years, bought her a car, a generator and established a little business for her. I also helped with the children’s school fees. As we speak, I still send them money constantly, especially during festive seasons. There are churches that are doing the same thing. It is not just me. But the point is, as an organisation, we have not started doing that directly. CAN consists of different denominations and some of these denominations are also making their contributions. If you look at it from that angle, you could say CAN is doing something. But as a body, we still do not have that means.
People claim churches milk the poor and live big on them. What’s your take on this?
It is cheap to criticise; even to criticise what you don’t understand. Let me put it this way, in every good thing, you would always find some bad people. The church is the greatest institution that has made the country today. If you look back, you would find out that the church brought education to Nigeria. The church brought hospital to Nigeria. I think the church should be given credit for that. People don’t understand what they say about the church milking the poor. Can a poor man have money to pay tithe? A man who has no job, can he pay tithe? No, he won’t be able to pay. So how do you milk a man who has no milk? In a church, you have both the poor and the rich. It is generally not the poor that finance the church. It is those with the means. A man, for example, who earns N10,000, how much is his tithe? His tithe is N1,000. A man who earns N500,000, how much is his tithe? His tithe is 10 per cent which is N50,000. How much would you milk from a man who pays a tithe of N1000? We won’t say things like this usually because the church is a level-playing ground. Whether you are poor or you are rich, God sees everybody as equal. It is because of a question like this that sometimes, we have to take time to analyse things. I even hear people say that the poor give money to start schools, but their children cannot go to the schools. How will they give this money when they are poor? The truth is that, the people who actually give this money are those who have the means to do so. Those people make it possible for churches to start schools. Now again, why do churches charge high fees in school? You didn’t ask me that, but I’m just throwing that in free. People must understand that there is a standard. The church wants to maintain the standard. In those days, some people will say that when missionaries started school, it was free. Don’t forget that those missionaries were being financed from different places. Who is financing us today? We are financing ourselves. If I got free financing, why won’t we make education free? You must also understand that at the time, the cost of living was not the way it is today. The educational system of Nigeria is in serious trouble, so we need to up the standards. And to do that, you should be able to hire the best hands. If you hire the best, how do you pay them? Where do you get the money to pay them? How do you put the right infrastructure in place? How do you do many of the things that need to be done? How do you run the generators?
Why do you think we have so many poor people in the church and many rich pastors?
Remember that the pastors are pasturing both the poor and the rich. They are all in the same assembly. Both the poor and the rich, those who have the means in the church take time to be kind to their pastors. That is something most people don’t realise. They give their pastors money, food and different things. For example, a member of the church goes to his pastor and says, ‘I feel led to give you a car. Take this car.’ Now the pastor has a car. Did he steal it? As I sit here talking to you now, I can tell you that I am training almost 100 people in institutions of higher learning. Nobody is going to broadcast that. On every 26th of December, I organise what I call poverty alleviation. I have been doing it now for about eight years.
Your children in the ministry bought aircraft for you recently, but Mallam Nasir el-Rufai claimed it was a gift from the President. How do you feel about this?
I am glad that there are people who challenged him. I would only be dignifying him if a person at my level starts exchanging words with a small person like el-Rufai. He is too small. I will not dignify him with a response. People responded. They told him that since he knew who gave the gift, he should provide the proof, which he hasn’t done till today. Obviously, he didn’t have any proof. That is the problem with Nigeria. We continue to celebrate people like el-Rufai. He is too small for me.
Are you considering legal actions against him?
If I did that, I would be giving him publicity. el-Rufai is too small for that. I shouldn’t have anything to do with him. If there are other Nigerians who will want to take him to court, they are free, but not for me. Going to court with who? el-Rufai? el-Rufai is too small. I won’t waste my time on him.
How do you feel when people accuse you of fraternising with the President?
I am ashamed of people who say that. I am a Nigerian and Mr. President is a Nigerian. I wonder why no one has ever made a comment on Muslim presidents who are close to Muslim clerics. So, why is it an issue with President Goodluck Jonathan? Why is it an issue with Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor? President Jonathan goes to every church now and people are criticising him for doing that. Sometimes, when I have a reason to give a report, I don’t get the opportunity to meet with President Jonathan. Mr. President goes to the churches of other clerics, so why aren’t they criticised for it? Some even said that I don’t criticise Jonathan. I was not called to the altar to criticise. I was called to preach the gospel. There are things the Federal Government has done that I criticised. Last year, at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, I made a statement and no newspaper carried it. I said I was appealing to all elected and appointed leaders in this country to donate half of their salaries for one year and that it should be put into a joint account. I said credible Nigerians should be allowed to manage the account for people to start small and medium scale businesses. If that statement had been highlighted in newspaper editorials and opinion articles, all these people would have accepted it by now. There are certain people who own the press and they use that to create certain perception about people like us who the press don’t like. These same people attacked the President last year for going to pray in Israel. What is so bad about the President going to the origin of his faith to pray?
People wonder why Nigerian pastors fraternise with politicians believed to be corrupt…
There might be pastors who do that, but there are also others who don’t do that. A church is an open house. Jesus said a church is supposed to be a house for sinners. Church is not just meant for people who have repented, but also for those who need redemption. Giving a corrupt person a position in church is wrong. It must never be accepted. As for anybody coming to church, whether corrupt or not, you can’t stop the person.
What is your assessment of Jonathan’s government?
You asked me if I were a politician and I said ‘No’. Now you are asking me my assessment of President Jonathan’s administration. If I say something here now, you would use it against me tomorrow. But I would say this: President Goodluck Jonathan is the President of Nigeria and Nigerians. In my opinion, given the circumstances surrounding him since he became the President of Nigeria, I will say he has done well. From the day he was announced President, violence broke out and it has remained so. Apart from the religious colouration, it is also political. In the midst of the challenges, he has been able to function. That does not mean it can’t be better. I think he has tried, but things could be better.
Former chief security officer to the late General Sanni Abacha, Al Mustapha, was here with you days back, what was his mission?
He said he came to partner with me and the church to build bridges of peace, love and unity among Nigerians. We had a very fruitful time and discussion. Ensuring justice in the country was also part of our discussion because that is the bridge between peace and unity. I appreciated his coming. We are with him as far as working for the peace and unity of Nigeria is concerned.
How will you react to the decision of Osun State governor to merge Christian schools with Muslim schools in line with the state’s new policy on education?
First of all, Osun is a very important state in the country, so we can’t take events there lightly. There have been governors in Osun but there was never a time we had religious tension in that state, why now? The activities of the present governor are very worrisome. I am not a politician, but one cannot but be concerned when a state that used to be peaceful is now full of religious tension. What does the governor mean by re-classification of schools? I am aware that when the state government handed over mission schools to their owners, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with schools; part of the agreement is that the names of the schools should be left intact. That is why the names of the schools have not been changed. It was agreed that the heritage of the schools should remain intact-whether it is Muslim or Christian heritage. Is the solution to dilapidation of schools in moving Muslims to Christian schools? That’s confusion. Government should either rebuild dilapidated schools or build new ones. This is high level confusion. I believe the governor has an ulterior motive. Students now trek four kilometres to get to school. I learnt a document was signed in 2011 by both Muslims and Christians in Osun State, where it was agreed that Muslims can’t wear hijab to a Christian school. Now if it is true that this document was signed by both Muslims and Christians, is the governor not aware of it. I appeal to the governor to reverse himself which is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of strength. It will be a great mistake to think the tension in Osun is over. There are undercurrents still going on. The way to solve the problem is for the governor to reverse himself. If he doesn’t want to do that, then he should say categorically that Muslims can’t wear hijab to school. There is a case on this in court. These are avoidable problems, things that don’t have to happen. For the sake of peace, the governor should reverse himself.
For some time, there have been reports of Fulani herdsmen killing hundreds of people in Benue and other parts of the country, some people think this is another Boko Haram in the offing, what do you think?
If government at all levels especially the Federal Government do not critically look at the issue of Fulani herdsmen, we may be having a problem bigger than Boko Haram on our hands. They may be a link to Boko Haram. They are everywhere, not only in Benue. It is happening everywhere all over Nigeria-Delta, Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Bayelsa. Who are these Fulanis? When I was growing up, Fulanis carried sticks and knives but today they carry AK 47. Where did they get guns from? Who taught them how to use guns, why is it that they are not being arrested in huge number and prosecuted? Who are the leaders of the Fulani community in Nigeria? We need to ask them what they are doing about this, you can’t forcibly take over another man’s land and expect them to keep quiet. That is unacceptable in any civilised community. What are they doing to tackle the problem? People in London eat meat, they eat meat in Indonesia, Turkey which are Muslim countries, they eat cow but cattle don’t roam the streets. We are aware that modern ranches have been built for these people. These people came from somewhere, why not take them back to where they came from? There are huge hectares of land where they could stay, even schools can be built for them, another business can come out of it. People can own trailers that would be carrying frozen meat to the south, it’s happening all over Europe. Frozen meat is packaged. We don’t need to be leading cows in the 21st century, it is outdated. We will have a worst situation on our hands than Boko Haram if we don’t move fast. This must be tackled immediately. Government must sincerely look at it, government should not be interested in being politically correct. (0)
The two men and the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Hassan Kukah, spoke at the 10th annual luncheon and awards of the Bible Society of Nigeria, BSN, held in Lagos.
The CAN 
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting of the National President of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and the South-West leaders of the body, led by Archbishop Magnus Adeyemi Atilade, held at the weekend in Ikeja, Lagos.