Governor Nasir Elrufai of Kaduna State has promised to provide
additional land for building of Methodists church in Kafanchan, Southern
Kaduna The governor who made the promise when he received the prelate
of the Methodist Church Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche in his office
also urged the Church not relocate from their present location.
He said: “I visited your church in Kafanchan after the violence. We
are willing to give you another plot of land in Kafanchan, but please
consider using it to build an additional church. We request that you do
not abandon or relocate the church from your present site. Let us not
succumb to the agents of blackmail and division.
“Your neighbors in Kafanchan must accept the right of that church
to remain there. The current church should be rebuilt and maintained as a
symbol of the right to worship freely.” Malam El-Rufai said that the
government is committed to securing the area and promoting a return to
normalcy. He disclosed that 10 mobile police squadrons are now deployed
to the affected local governments, along with two battalions of the
army.
He further requested that the religious leaders should discourage
the tendency to allow criminals to hide behind religion. “When
individuals have problems or disputes, they should not be allowed to
mobilize emotions by escalating their differences into an ethnic or
religious conflict.” Malam El-Rufai thanked the Methodists for showing
solidarity with the people and government of Kaduna State in this trying
moment.
Earlier in his remarks, the prelate of the Methodist Church Dr.
Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche urged Governor El-Rufai not to relent in
his quest to restore peace and security in southern Kaduna. Dr. Uche,
who was speaking when he visited Malam El-Rufai in Kaduna, told the
governor that he should take the blames flying around as the price of
leadership.
“We note that you are being blamed over the violence in southern
Kaduna. Please take that as the price of leadership. We know that the
issue has been happening before your government. I remember the 1987
events vividly. “We call on the people of Kaduna State to accept each
other, to be tolerant, and to say no to violence. I have served in Kano.
I do not see why we should fight each other. Nobody can Christianise or
Islamise Nigeria. Let us learn to live together in peace. Religion
should preserve lives. Anybody who kills is a criminal. Those who
sponsor killings should be arrested.”
Dr. Uche, who was accompanied by the Methodist Bishops of Kaduna
and Kano, said he came in solidarity with the people of Kaduna State. He
informed Malam El-Rufai that the MedtodistChurch in Kafanchan was
vandalized during the 19th December 2016 riot in Kafanchan. He requested
for a new plot of land so that they can relocate the church. “My church
is affected by the violence in Kafanchan. We want your assistance with
land to relocate the church and to rebuild it. We thank you for the
plots of land you allocated to the Methodist Church in Abuja. I have
seen your signature on the certificates of occupancy, and I know that
you have nothing against the Church.”