By Seun Opejobi
The Northern West zone of the
Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, on Saturday raised alarm over alleged
plot to annihilate the Christian community in the region through continuous
demolition of churches.
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| The CAN North West zone press briefing. |
The alarm was raised by the zonal
Chairman of CAN, Bishop David Bakare.
Worried by the continuous
demolition of churches, Bakare asked, “Do we still have rights to exist as a
church in northern Nigeria? Is religion still part of the fundamental human
rights guaranteed by the United Nations and our own Nigerian constitution? Do
we have any right to practice our religion where we live?
“We need to be told all these things
for us to know what is illegal and legal.”
Bakare claimed that on January
11, 2017, “two churches were demolished in Jigawa State capital, Dutse. They
included The Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, and The Lord’s Chosen
Charismatic Renewal Ministry. These are big churches.
“The reason for the demolition
was that the buildings were located in residential areas though the said
buildings have been on that same position for well over 17 years.
“Besides that, there are also
mosques in these same locations. How come the churches were demolished and the
mosques were not demolished? Beyond this, it is important to note that five
more churches have been marked for further demolition in the same location.
“The worst part of the matter is
that the churches were not notified either in writing or any other form for an
intended demolition. They were simply there to see caterpillars which began to
demolish their churches.”
The clergy man, while dismissing
claim that the church buildings were pulled down because they were located on
residential areas, wondered why the residential houses attached to the churches
were also demolished.
He said, “There are even personal
houses attached to these buildings, like the Chosen Church has three bedrooms
flats. The Redeemed had another one.
“The churches were demolished
alongside the residential houses. All these issues beg for answers,
particularly issues that have to do with religion at a time like this in
Nigeria. The Christian Association of Nigeria, particularly in the North West
is worried because this same time last year, churches were demolished in
Zamfara. Anglican churches, Catholic churches were demolished for similar
excuses and nothing has happened and barely one year after, another set is
being demolished in Jigawa.
“There is crisis going on in
Southern Kaduna; who knows where and what is going to happen to who next and
where. CAN in North West Nigeria is asking that should the churches in the
region go extinct because we are Christiane? Do we still have rights to exist
as a church in northern Nigeria?
“How come nobody is giving
answers to these matters? How come its now a yearly ritual to demolish churches
built with hard earned money for years. In any case, is religion still part of
the fundamental human right guaranteed by the United Nations and our own
Nigeria constitution? Do we have any right to practice our religion where we
live?
“We need to be told all these
things for us to know what is illegal and legal.
“It is time to stop this yearly
ritual of demolishing churches in the north west Nigeria.
“We are peace loving people. We
want to live in peace and we need somebody to tell us what we have done wrong.
As citizens we need to know what exactly is the reason why before demolition,
during demolition after demolition, nobody is told what is happening.
“Uptill now, the government of
Jigawa State has refused to meet the Christian leaders to discuss the matter in
any form.
“These things are begging for
questions and they are becoming too worrisome for us in North West Nigeria. We
appeal to the authority to note that these are dangerous times that can worsen
the situation that Nigeria is already going through and everybody responsible
for these need to be called to order.”
* Source: Daily Post
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