The Director of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) Prof Is-haq Lakin Akintola and Executive Secretary of the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN), Prof Muslih Yahya have reacted to the rallies held on Sunday by Christian leaders in the country, saying it has political undertone.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye was among the leaders who led the Christians in the rally.
Prof Yahya warned the leadership of Christians in the country to stop acting as opposition to the Federal government.
“They are politicising the insecurity issue on one part and also diving the nation along religious line. This is unhealthy for our nation. That rally is more political than religious. Christian leaders behave more like opposition than religious people. It looks like they have an agenda that is different from protesting over the security issues. There is no sincerity in the rally,” he said.
According to him, religious leaders have ways of reaching out to the government instead of doing it through a rally.
Read Also: RCCG GO, Adeboye Leads Protest Against Insecurity
The rally, he said, was not the way to go about the issue.
“I believe there is a hidden agenda underneath. It has a political undertone. This is calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it. The rally organisers are not sincere. We need to be careful,” Prof Yahya said.
Prof Akintola said the Christian leaders are exaggerating the issue and trying to discredit the government.
He said: “There is an orchestrated attempt to de-market the government. Our Christian neighbours, particularly their leaders are giving the impression that the government is not doing anything. That is not fair. Insecurity was worst six years ago before Muhammadu Buhari’s administration came on board. The Christians are exaggerating the issue. There is another agenda to it.
“The organisers of the rally are not objective and it is ungodly. When a government performs, you need to credit it. When the government does not perform, you can speak up but in my own opinion, this government is addressing the issue of insecurity squarely unlike previous administrations. We are not saying the situation is perfect but we should not exaggerate and overblown the situation. We are scaring the citizenry and the Christian leadership should act responsibly.
“There is no cause for alarm; the kind of alarm they are raising does not call for it…I don’t know where that (rally) leads to. Rallying against insecurity does not stop criminals. Let the Christian leaders and their Muslim counterparts go back to their churches and mosques to speak to their congregation. Those who kidnap, rob are either from the church or the mosque but if their messages sink to their congregation, the rate of crime will reduce.
“Even when they rally and they ask their people to join them, the robbers among them will also join the rally. Rallies don’t stop crime… It is enough to tell the government to step up the fight against security, to step up the funding of security agencies but to hold rallies against insecurity means holding a rally against the government.” (The Nation)
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