Community leader cautions religious leaders on hate speech, religious intolerance
Mojisola Lawal
Head of Otumara community in Lagos Mainland Local Government of Lagos state, High chief Kehinde Kalejaiye has advised religious leaders not to overheat the polity with the statements.
He cautioned them against making statements that incite violence and segregation between Muslims and Christians in the country.
Kalejaiye gave this advice following the statement made by the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah on Tuesday alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari favours Muslims over Christians in his administration.
Speaking to newsexplorersng.com, he said there is no denying the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari is an unbiased leader the country ever had, noting that in matters of appointments, he is fair as representative of all the six regions are represented in his government.
He said, “Apart from the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo who is a Christian, among the service chiefs are Christians and Muslims. The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai is a Muslim just as the country’s Chief of Air Staff, Air vice Marshal Gabriel Olonisakin.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor Godwin Emefiele is also a Christian and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha is a Christian.
There are many heads of Ministries, parastatals and government agencies that are Christians, so, why would anyone wrongly accuse the president of being one-sided in his appointments?”
Considering the volatile nature of the country, Kalejaiye said religious leaders has a big role to play to ensure that peace and harmony reign supreme among adherents of different religions.
He said, “Religion is a tool to unifying the country therefore religious leaders must focus on things that unite Nigerians and not what separate us and cause disharmony among them. Both Muslims and Christians are one.
Although they may be different in their style of worshipping, they nonetheless worship one and the same God.
Since Christianity and Islam preach love of onw another, I want to appeal to our religious leaders to shun religious intolerance, hate speech and promote love, peace and harmony. I want to appeal to them to pray for our political leaders because Nigeria of our dream can only be achieved in an atmosphere of peace and unity.”
Views: 0
