President Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has broken his silence after leaders of
the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN protested the killing of its
Chairman, Lawan Andimi, from Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa
State by Boko Haram.
Buhari expressed pains over the death of Andimi.
Recall that some leaders of CAN alongside the General Overseer of
the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, had protested over the
killing of Christians in the Northeast and the country.
However, Buhari in a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu said CAN leaders reserved the right to protest.
He said: “The actions of the Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) in recent days represent the peaceful right of all Nigerians to
protest and express their views on matters of religion, ethics, politics
and society.
“The origination of their protests is the shocking,
unacceptable death of Pastor Lawan Andimi at the hands of Boko Haram.
The President feels their pain, and that of his family, for his loss.
“The President believes, as does every member of his
administration, both Christian and Muslim in the words of CAN’s
placards: “All life is sacred.”
Buhari said either as a Christian or Muslim, all Nigerians and their beliefs must be respected.
“The duty of all of us is to uphold the rights of others to
worship according their faith – and to respect the rights of each other
to do so freely in the spirit of brotherhood and respect – and without
interference.
“This means, however, that we must stop false claims that only
serve to divide one community against the other. There is no place in
Nigeria for those who politicise religion. This is the President’s
message to both Muslim and Christian communities alike.
“In the light of this, the CAN-inspired prayers and street
enlightenment in our cities are much welcome as sensitizers to the need
for ALL CITIZENS irrespective of faith, religion or language to accept
their duty and role in law enforcement, to prevent crime in all its
manifestations, be it corruption, theft, terrorism, banditry or
kidnapping. Without citizen involvement, there is no miracle with which
less than half-a-million policemen can effectively protect a population
of 200 million.
“CAN is right to arouse popular consciousness to this duty to the state.
“One more thing is this: it is the added need for
citizen-consciousness to stand up for nation. Nigerians, only Nigerians
can defend their nation against these abhorrent killings and all sorts
of crimes worrying us as a nation.
“From the prayers and advocacy by CAN, citizens need to take an
important lesson, which is, that our people must rally around the flag.
Together, they rise to defeat the enemy and defend the state. In
Nigeria, some groups rally against the government instead of the enemy.
This is not right. It has the effect of playing into the hands of the
enemy of the state.
“We will not defeat the terrorists, nor speed the return for
those citizens, young and old taken by them by division in our own
ranks. To pull apart is to play into the hands of the terrorists: this
is what they want,” he added.