Once again, the
emissaries of death in the country, under the auspices of Islamist fundamentalists,
Boko Haram, attacked a church, St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Kaduna, on October
28, 2012, just when the Holy Mass was on-going. By the time the dust raised by
this bomb explosion settled, a total number of eight innocent Christians,
including an unfortunate priest, whose offence was just the choice of their
religion and for serving their Creator, were left in the pool of their own blood,
losing their lives to yet another activity of the Boko Haram. And the 146
others had a close shave with death or escaped it by the whiskers, were left to
take a vacation at the hospital beds, in excruciating agonies, caused by the
blast.
Just when Nigerians and the
international community were condemning, in strongest terms, the attacks on
October 28, 2012, on St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Kaduna, and the victims of the
attacks still smarting from its
aftermath, yet, two agents of death, found their way, through the
water-tight security of a military formation to St. Andrew Military Protestant Church, Jaji,
killing 11 and injuring 30, according to military authorities but eye witnesses
claimed to the contrary, as regard the number of casualties, deprived of their precious
souls.
That attack, on the October 28, 2012,
came after the September 23, 2012, on yet another Roman Catholic Church-St. John
Cathedral, Bauchi. A hell-bound suicide bomber, who took delight in dying for a
wrong cause-religious fanaticism, decided to get some hapless Christians as his
escorts to heaven. He rammed his Bomb-laden car into the church building and
innocent Christians and before anybody could know what was happening three
innocent Christians have been killed, with chunks of human flesh littering the environment.
Other forty-five injured Christians were rushed to the hospital.
In these repeated attacks on God’s
holy place, that has over the years, in Nigeria, turned into a slaughter slab-cathedral
that is earlier known to be a safe and holy place has been turned into a burial
ground of sorts, where bodies of innocent Christians, are buried in rubbles.
Each time (they strike),they left ,in their trail, several agonies ,losses of
human precious lives and destruction of hard-earned property, that cause the
bereaved and the victims everlasting
sadness. One most disturbing things about these devilish attacks is that they
follow the same pattern-ramming the vehicles on church building and sporadic
shootings of every thing on sight.
For too long now, the Christendom in
Nigeria, had remained too silent and grossly inactive, hoping that someday,
reason will prevail and that governments-will on their own, rise against these
inhuman and barbaric attacks against the church. That government will
compensate or alleviate the agonies of the victims and the bereaved families
and rebuild those demolished church building, home and lives.
In March, 2010, clashes killed no
fewer than 200 people, the majority of whom were Christians. In similar clash,
in 2008, more than 300 were killed. The grievous of all these was the December
25, 2011, Christmas Day attacks on five churches across the country on the same
day. The worst of all the five coordinated attacks was the bombing of St.
Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, Suleja, Niger State. Their offence- for being
Christians; for choosing to follow Christ and the agents of death chose to sadden
their joy.
Beyond the usual outright verbal and
media condemnations, that usually follows, from the powerful and the mighty,
from both outside and within the country, what else follow? Does this stop
further attacks on Churches? Does it stop Christians from being shot at, right
in the church, as it happened recently in Okene, Kogi State? The victims are
shortly left to bear the brunt of what they know nothing about. They are often
left in the lurch, left to fend for themselves and continue life, with no
assistance coming from the governments, who, besides picking up the initial
medical expenses for the survivors, left them to their fate.
With the way things are going and Catholic
Church becoming a major focus of Boko Haram attacks, one cannot but be forced
to ask what offence has the Roman Catholic church in Nigeria committed, to
warrant this constant carnages that often take away the lives of its innocent parishioners. One cannot but be
forced to ask why Christians should be frequently killed for what they know
nothing about; for what they too, suffer from-bad governance and failed
leadership?
In all these attacks, generations
have been wiped out. Families had been exterminated. Many lives have been
massacred. The worst hit has always been the Church and not the government, the
Islamist sect claims they fight. The Church
has watched lives snuffed out of its members, agonizingly. The Church has lost
its members, hence depopulation has sent into the Christendom. In Northern
Nigeria, Christians are worshipping God in fears-a contravention of the
country’s constitutional provisions that gives some freedoms and rights to its
citizenry, among which we have these fundamental (human) rights to education,
expression and religion. This development has ranked Nigeria, Northern Nigeria,
as one of the places in the world, with high persecution of Christians.
For a long time, the relationship
between Christians and Muslims have been stained, with the killings of the Christians becoming the
delight of some Islamist extremists .This has become rampant since 1999.The
2010 Jos riots saw clashes between Muslim herders against Christians farmers
near the volatile city of Jos, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Officials
estimated that 500 people were killed in those nocturnal raids by the rampaging
Muslim gangs. Similar subsequent attacks till 2012 had seen lives snuff out of
unfortunate Christians whose offence was nothing but their religion. The years
2011 and 2012 have both witnessed various attacks on Christians and church buildings.
From December 2011 till date, the countries as well as the entire Christendom,
in Nigeria, have lost count of these life-taking attacks and the correct
statistics of casualties remain grossly unknown. The shooting spree; an
operation shoot-anybody-on-sight at the Deeper life Church, on innocent Christians,
right in the heart of their churches was nothing but barbaric.
The most pertinent question, as it appears,
the Church is quite being silent on the growing and unabated attacks on the
Church is, is it this the way Christians are going to keep their hands in
akimbo and watch with gusto fellow Christians being killed? Would we continue
to fold our hands and watch, before our very eyes Christians overwhelming
population of over 70 million dwindle by the day-with the opposite religion
having its population increased in leaps and bounds? We must stand to confront
this hydra-headed monster that has chosen to eradicate Christianity, in unison.
We must condemn it unanimously, as being indifferent and unconcerned might be
too dangerous, as nobody knows who the next victims will be. The
Christians/Church leadership has more to do, in this regard. It behooves,
urgently on them, to mobilize their followers for a spiritual warfare against
the kingdom that stands to eradicate Christianity in Nigeria. CAN, PFN and
other numerous Christian organizations should sue the government, for the
constant mindless killings of Christians by a Muslim fundamental sect, Boko Haram.
That the Church can no longer condone the wanton killings of its innocent
Christians. The leadership of the Church should meet with governments, giving
the government an ultimatum that if this could repeat itself, there would be a
legal action instituted against them.
The constant holy advice from church
leadership of no reprisal attacks does not mean stupidity. How would somebody
come to one’s house or church wanting to deprive one of one’s souls in an
agonizing manner because of one’s religious belief? Christians must protect
themselves and beef up security around themselves. Life has no duplicate.
The Church has been grossly indifferent,
even in the face of the growing attacks and massacres often carried on it by
Boko Haram. Some Christians have been unperturbed about it because it is not
happening in a region they consider faraway from them. That it is happening to
a particular denomination to which they are members. That it is happening to in
a region or part of the country to where they are not residents. Government officials,
who are Christians, are rather unconcerned about it because the churches where
they worship are well protected, with loads of security men manning them.
One’s region may seem presently
immune to these gruesome attacks, purposefully aimed at followers of Christ, it
may seen insulated but what about our hapless fellow Christians, who are
trapped, by providence, in the midst of these attacks and subsequent ones? What
about when we or our relatives travel to these troubled regions for one thing
or the other only for one to get killed?
The indifference and nonchalant
attitude often assumed by Christian, towards the attacks on the Church and
fellow Christians, towards the attacks on the Church and fellow Christians
accentuate the growing disunity and lack of love in the Christendom-in a Christendom
that has given itself to selfishness, narrow and parochial interests. A
Christendom that takes delight in emphasizing doctrines and denominations
rather than the emphasis on the Body of Christ as a whole body is also is affected.
The unfortunate deaths of those hapless Christian in the North become our grief
for two reasons: for being Christians (as we are) and for being human beings
like we are, as a Yoruba adage goes:’’ The death that deprived one’s relative
of his soul, is invariably sending a warning signal to one, to get ready too,
as one may be the next in line’’. For this not to be our lot, the Church –the
Christians and its leadership must rise.
While we hail the CAN President,
Pastor Ayo Oritsajafor, for his prompt condemnation and attacks on opposing
Muslim community, wherever there was Boko Haram attacks, this is far away from
solving the problem. One would have expected, owing to constant attacks on
Christians and Church, that would not have been left to degenerate to this very
sorry state, as tight security measures would have been put in place that would
either stop or reduce the damage and loss of lives and prosperity.
The Church’s deafening silence has
made the attacks to continue unabatedly. Besides the initial condemnation, what
decisive measures are put in place to forestall a recurrence?
The situation where Christians are
executed like convicts for no just cause, make mockery of the nation’s justice system.
The situation where Christians are killed innocently for serving their Creator,
make nonsense of the statutory provision of some civic rights and freedom, as
enshrined in the nation’s statute book. The tradition of constant invasions of
churches with bomb-laden vehicles that cause a blast that kill and injure many
does not project Nigeria as an ideal country. In fact, it shows the country as
a country of barbarians and inhumane religious extremists, as it equally projects
the nation’s failure of governance and political leadership, on a large scale
to the international community, hence the blacklist of the country as a
terrorist state.
While we are not in support of
reprisals, as this will lead into full-fledge civil war-the objective of these
merchants of death, it is, however, advisable, to beef up security, especially
the one that would spot or kill any suicide bomber before the damage is done.
Government should install bomb-detecting mechanisms, on our major roads,
especially where there are speed bumps, with a detachment of law enforcers. The
leeway given to Boko Haram, without being tracked down, by driving through the major
parts of the cities, to reach their targets successfully, often make mockery of
the country’s security system despite huge budgetary allocations.
Speaking recently, at the just-concluded
Holy Congress, Pastor Enoch Adeboye said one morning when he was praying to God
to help terrorize those who terrorize His Church. He said God replies him by saying;
‘What is the Church itself doing to terrorize those who rise up against it?
Truly, the Church has been mute for
long, watching these attacks lingering on the Church and Christians, without
doing anything to curb them. The Church has been quite indifferent. How many
denominations have organized special revivals, exclusive open-air crusades and
church services to specially pray, against these attacks? How many prayer
points have been specially raised among Christians, against those who terrorize
the Church for years now? The Church has been trapped to a corner, like a rat;
it needs to fight back by the way of bloodless reprisals and resistance. The
Church needs to frustrate their diabolical schemes and life-wasting agenda, if not,
this will continue. Hence, the Church should rise, in holy anger, to pray, fast
and organize special revivals and crusades that will force God to arise and
scatter His enemy.
They are never tired because the
Church never acted, hence the recurrence. God has not risen against them
because Christians have not invited God. It took the groaning of the Israelites
for God to rise against their oppressors (Exodus6:5-6). God arose in their case
when the Israelites groaned-to tell God they never liked the bondage they were
in (Exodus 2:23-24). It also took Hezekiah some weeping and prayers to have God
elongate his lifespan (Isaiah 38)
It is when the Church arise; it is
when it groans to God, telling Him it never like these deadly attacks that God,
whose ears are not deaf, will rise up in His Majesty to fight His battle.
Therefore, the Church should rise in unison to call and invoke the destroying
wrath of God on the persecutors of His Church.
If they refuse to stop, as they have always,
fasting, prayers and vigils should all be organized among the Christian folk to
force God to arise and destroy His ene
mies. If the Church refuses to do something,
God may never rise to terrorize the enemies of the Church. The battle is not physical;
it is spiritual. The battle is not political as we are earlier made to believe;
it is religious.
It is high time the Church stood to
act promptly, to end this era of blood-letting of the innocent in our churches.
The usual and constant blame game between CAN and the Muslims can only achieve
only a little. The real issues must be faced and tackled headlong.
It is high time the church
denominations arose to partake in this fight by the way of issuing press releases,
organizing press briefings and conferences, where they will collectively, and
individually make their positions on the constant attacks on Christians known.
It is not only CAN, PFN or Catholic Bishop’s Conference and a few other church
denominations, should be the only ones doing this. Every church, no matter its status
or population, should also issue press releases and address the media, in their
own little way. Church denominations and individual Christians can also lend
their voices by the way of sponsoring the on-going campaign against Attacks on
Christians/Churches in The Christendom Newspaper. This will go a long way in
curbing the incessant unholy attacks.
It is high time the Church risen in
unison, ignoring their doctrinal/denominational differences, as we are all one
in Christ. Anything that happens to one should automatically affect the other.
It is by so doing, the cause, welfare, unity and progress of the Church will be
speedily advanced.
The time to act is now! The time to
wake up from our deep slumber that is making our enemies to keep sowing tares
among our wheat is now. This slumber and our prolonged silence have proven to
be more destructive. The devil terrorizing the church has not been sleeping; it
is frequently on the prowl devouring innocent Christians, then, why should the
Church decides to fall into a deep slumber?
This has made the devil to constantly
catch the Church unawares and make nonsense of its members. It is high time the
Church/Christian acted, to stop this rampaging devil of bomb blasts and
unnecessary carnages on our numerous citadels of worship-God’s holy place that
forbids the spilling of human precious blood. The time to act is now!
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