3rd July, 2014
Kazeem Ugbodaga
Former Nigerian Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) and the National President, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Ayo Oritsejafor have charged Muslim leaders in the country to engage in superior dialogue with the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram in order to end carnage in the country.
The duo spoke at the 10th Annual Luncheon and Awards of the Bible Societies of Nigeria, BSN, held at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Thursday.
According to Gowon, the country is certainly going through critical period due to incessant killings and bombing by Boko Haram, saying that there was the need for Muslim leaders, especially in north to engage this Islamic sect in a bid to end the unwarranted carnage in the country.
He said he and other former heads of state had met with President Goodluck Jonathan on the possible way forward, saying that he was optimistic that the insurgent would soon be defeated.
“We do see the president, either on private basis and as the former heads of state, we use to discuss the problems of the country and certainly, that is what we did recently. We are concerned about the security problem we are having in the country. It is not an easy thing to resolve overnight.
“People were expecting the civil war to end overnight, but it did not. No matter how weak the opposition is, it will take sometimes to resolve the problem. I can assure you that I know the president is doing everything possible to end this crisis,” he said.
Gowon stated that good will overcome evil. “I want to assure the people of Nigeria that it can be done. We should use force when necessary and diplomacy when necessary to resolve the issue.”
He said Boko Haram is carrying out its dangerous act using the name of Islam, thus giving the religion a very bad name. He urged religious leaders in the nation to come together to arrive at a solution to nip in the bud, the current crisis.
“Religious leaders should come together to deal with this problem. The group terrorising the country does it in the name of Islam. We have Muslims in other part of the country and they will not contribute to what these people are doing. These people are giving Islam a very bad name. It is the duty of our Muslim brothers to do something about it to persuade them to stop. I assure you that something is being done, but we should not politicise this issue and once we do that, you will be making a mistake and creating problem for the whole country,” he said.
CAN President, Oritsejafor said if not for God and the gallant soldiers fighting the insurgents in the north, they would have declared Borno an Islamic State by now and “from there, it will be a base to launch out, but somehow, they have not been able to do it, that is the annoyance they have because that is what they wanted to do.”
“That is why we are appealing, not just telling us that they are not Muslims; it is not good enough because it is the Quran they use which they are quoting all the time, so you have to merge it with superior and ideological argument,” he said.
Oritsejafor argued that it was only Muslim leaders in the north who could defeat Boko Haram through a superior ideology since the group is operating under an ideology to Islamise the nation which was not going to be possible.
He urged Muslim leaders to engage Boko Haram in a superior argument and convince them that Islam did not permit shedding of blood and made them see reasons why they should embrace peace and dialogue.
“This superior argument has to be taken to an intellectual level; from what I heard, they love to discuss the Quran, so we are appealing to Muslim clerics, I don’t know anything about the Quran, they will not listen to me; so, that is why we are appealing to Muslim cleric and Muslim traditional and political leaders to come together to engage Boko Haram.
“We have our Muslims brothers who are religious leaders, they know them and know how to reach them to lay down their arms, we did it in the Niger Delta, we should come together and forgive one another, you cannot be killing in the name of God. I believe that these leaders can do it, we have to please, do something. We know that an ideology must be marched with superior ideology,” he stated.