The Catholic Archbishop
of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Martins, has advised the Kaduna State Government to
listen to the key stakeholders in the state before it introduces its proposed
religious bill.
Martins gave the advice
in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
He was speaking against
the background of the Kaduna State government's introduction of an executive
Bill with the title: “A Bill to substitute the Kaduna State Religious Preaching
Law of 1984”.
When passed into Law by
the Kaduna State House of Assembly, it will enable the state government to
regulate, monitor, supervise, handle, take the helm of, oversee and control all
religious activities (Christian or Muslim) in the State.
The bill, among other
things, also seeks to stop the playing or circulation of ``all cassettes, CDs,
flash drives or any other communication gadget containing religious recordings
from accredited preachers.
The Archbishop stated
that because Nigeria is practicing a democratic system of government with a
constitution that guarantees its citizens the freedom of worship, the state
governor must listen to what the people have to say about his proposed law.
``One thing we know is
that the constitution of the country guarantees freedom of worship.
``If there is any side
law that is going to restrict freedom of worship that bill certainly should not
see the light of day.
``I hope that the
governor and the government of Kaduna state will listen to what the people of
the state have to say and will take seriously what they have to say because
democracy is about the people and the good of the people and it is necessary
for government to listen to what the people have to say and not just ram things
down their throat.
``There may be good
intentions behind the law, but it is important that in making the law for the
people, let the people be able have a say so that the law can be effective in
the first instance and will be a just law.’’ (NAN)
No comments:
Post a Comment