Don’t start religious war you can’t end, el-Rufai, northern Govs warned

Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and his northern counterparts have been warned against starting another religious war in the country.

The warning is coming from a former Presidential Candidate and Primate of Aladura Church, Dr. Olapade Agoro who observed that globally that most of those who started wars particularly senseless ones, either never lived to see the end of those wars and or were unable to see the end of the wars started by them.

In a statement over plans by Governor el-Rufai to censor preaching by Christians clerics in the state, he said the unfortunate part of the ugly story is that only the innocents are made to carry the brunt, bruise and pains ‘of those wars started by idiots, wicked and senseless animals in human skin’.

Agoro lamented that it hurts to point out the reality of the fact that of the wars of  attrition fought ages past and currently still being fought any where in the world, the most atrociously fought are religious wars claiming many lives of the innocents and particularly those who could not even tell why those wars are being fought.

“Nigeria has the past 12 years or so been embroiled in a sad scenario of Boko Haram war insensitively and senselessly started by reckless decision makers who instead of using rat baits to trap and kill the menacing rats decided to bomb them out to hell.

“If only those then in power in Nigeria had known the extent to which their unwise action would for years hurtfully carry the nation, care possibly would have been taken”, he said.

According to him, that Mallam El- Rufai currently embroiled in the unresolved Shiite Muslim religious war in the state which has claimed so many lives of the innocents would be at the head of 19 Northern States governors coming up with the decision of ordering religious organizations and preachers in all the states of the Northern geo political zone to first obtain licences before embarking on religious propagation is confounding.

Observing that no nation or state can afford to engage in two frontal wars at a time, he warned el-Rufai and others that the mirage of problems currently being faced by Nigeria and particularly in Kaduna State are just too many not to talk of adding a religious war.

“Albeit the unhidden fact that Mallam El-Rufai’ and his cohorts’ game plan on this ‘Issue of Permit for Preaching licence’ is targeted at the increasing spread of Christianity in the Northern States, let it be noted hereby that any further assault by anybody irrespective of how highly or lowly placed at Constitutional right guaranteed to all as freedom of worship and association shall be met with very stiff resistance the type the nation has never seen or known before”, he warned.

He stressed that the “unholy, unwholesome, wicked and unjust decision of ‘Shackles placement in the legs of Religious Freedom’ shall be challenged with all forms of opposition including dragging the hot headed governors to the International Court of Justice.

“Let it also be a reminder that what past great leaders of Nigeria from the Northern geo political zone like Sir Ahmadu Bello the late Sadauna of Sokoto and Sir Tafawa Balawa, the former Prime Minister of Federal Republic of Nigeria both of blessed memory never tinkered with curbing religious freedom particularly of Christians, attempts being now made to fight Christ Body by El-Rufai and his cohorts shall not only be thwarted but curtailed to a logical end; enough is enough”, he stressed.