By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
A group under the auspices of Northern Christian Youth Network, has called on the the Department of State Services (DSS), the police and other security agencies to apprehend anybody or group of persons using hate speech to cause disaffection among Nigerians.
Addressing newsmen in Kaduna today, Abdulsalam John Tanko, President of the group, lamented that it is disheartening and disappointing at the recent hateful and segregational statements that have trailed the confirmation of former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, among other comments which are inciting.
He said, “It is no longer news that following his inauguration as the FCT Minister, renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Gumi in a viral video, described Wike as a hater of Northern Nigeria and an infidel, however, what is news is the layed back approach at which some individuals have accepted this hate speech and divisive rhetoric, which seeks to sow seeds of discord among Nigerians and reignite religious crises which have taking a back seat for a long time.”
He added that similar statements by some Islamic fundamentalists have also saturated the media space and very worrying and horrible that In 21st century Nigeria, saying that those trusted with uniting the different religions are instead taking Nigerians through the harrowing journey of barbarism and promulgating bigotry.
The President vehemently kicked against such individuals that want to tarnish the image of Wike and that of President Bola Tinubu, not on the basis of competence, but because of religion and selfish agenda, saying that Nigerians must uphold the principle that the country belongs to all its citizens, regardless of religious, ethnic, or political affiliations, as the unity and cooperation among all regions are important to our country’s progress and development.
He explained that Nigerians should desist from judging Wike or any other minister on the basis of his or her religion and the region he comes from and rather provide evidence against his competence and qualifications as to why he is not fit to man the FCT and produce the required changes the area and the country at large yarns for.
He said that the FCT that became the official capital of Nigeria in 1999 has had only Hausa/Fulani Muslims as Minister of the territory which is a far cry to what inclusiveness in governance entails.
He said, “Nigeria belongs to Christians, Muslims and even traditionalists, and so bigotry and zealotism must not be tolerated and should be condemned in strong terms. We encourage the media not to relent in her efforts of broadcasting factual contents and it should also keep upholding its statues as the “Fourth Estate of the Realm”.”
“Having explicitly made it clear that this country (Nigeria) does not belong to Muslims alone, we, therefore, call on the relevant authorities such as; the DSS, the police and others to call these unscrupulous elements to order, arrest them if need be and advice them against brewing trouble in our nation Nigeria, just as we urge Christians to continually preach peace and harmonous coexistence,” he explained.
