The National Christian Elders’ Forum, NCEF, has insisted that the
Federal Government was planning to Islamise Nigeria through Jihad.
In a statement entitled, “Jihad in Nigeria: Burying The Head in
Sand,” and signed by NCEF chairman, Solomon Asemota, SAN, the group
contended that Islamists have been interfering in the governance of the
country, using “Taqiyya” (approved deception) as “Stealth/Civilization
Jihad.”
The eminent Christian elders had in July this year, alleged that the real problem with the country was that a Jihad had been launched in Nigeria.
According to the statement, “The objective of the Islamists
(political Islam) is to supplant the constitution of Nigeria with Sharia
ideology as the source of legislation in the nation.
“The conflict between democracy as national ideology and Sharia as a
usurping ideology is responsible for the crisis unfolding in Nigeria.
The nation is in the throes of Jihad.”
The the NCEF added that it was committed to the unity of Nigeria,
stressing that the duty of the leadership of the nation was to ensure
that this unity was not sacrificed on the altar of sectarian interests
and biases.
The statement added, “The NCEF is fully aware of the seriousness of
these issues and wishes to share this information for the consideration
of serious minds desirous of providing solutions to the myriad of
problems confronting Nigeria.
“The NCEF has taken on this onerous task, not for the interest of the
present Christian elders, most of whom are in the boarding lounge to
eternity, but in the interest of the coming generations.”
It also challenged Muslim leaders, who were debunking the existence
of a jihad in the Nigeria to clarify certain pronouncements over the
issue, including declaration by Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, in
one of his videos in 2012 that the war they were prosecuting was not
political but religious.
The group recalled Shekau saying
“It is between Muslims and
unbelievers (arna). It will stop when Islamic religion is the
determinant in governance in Nigeria or, in the alternative, when all
fighters are annihilated and no one is left to continue the fight.
“I warn all Muslims at this juncture that any Muslim who assists an
unbeliever in this war should consider himself an unbeliever and should
consider himself dead.”
It concluded that “If the above statement is not a declaration of Jihad, could Muslim leaders explain what this means?’’