National Conference averts hot religious debate

Christian delegate reeled out figures of faithful killed in Plateau State.

Tempers almost rose at the ongoing National Conference on Tuesday when representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, reeled out figures of Christians killed in the northern part of the country.

The Christian leaders also complained that Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution does not mention Church, Christianity and its founder, Jesus Christ as it does for the Islam and Traditional religion.

The intervention of the presiding officers, however, calmed the situation.

During the resumed debate on the March 17 speech by President Goodluck Jonathan to inaugurate the conference, a delegate representing Christian Leaders, Joseph Bagobiri, a Bishop, said the 1999 Constitution was not fair to Christianity as the religion, its founder, Jesus, and the Church did not get any mention in the document.

He said the Islamic legal code, Sharia, was mentioned 73 times, Islam, 28 times, and Muslim, 10 times, giving the impression that Nigeria was an Islamic State.

Mr. Bagobiri said the Customary Court was also mentioned several times in the Constitution.

Soon after, another Christian leader, Bosun Emmanuel, reeled out the same figures, but went further to disclose the number of widows in a church whose husbands were killed by some people he did not name.

According to the clergyman, in a particular Christian denomination in the north, there were 501 registered widows as at March 2001 while the figure increased to 900 in 2009 and 25,000 in February 2014 because their husbands were killed by some people he did not name.

Mr. Emmanuel was however interrupted by a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Adamu Aliero, who shouted “Point of Order! Point of Order!

When he was eventually recognised by the Deputy Chairman of the Confab, Bolaji Akinyemi, to speak, Mr. Aliero, a Federal Government delegate, who relied on Order 9 (7) of the Conference Rules, complained that Mr. Emmanuel was not addressing issue the president raised in his address.

“The speaker on the floor is bringing issues that are not related to the President’s address,” he said.

Mr. Aliero, who is a former governor of Kebbi State and former senator, asked the presiding officers to direct the clergyman not to go ahead with the issue of religion he was raising, but restrict his contribution to the president’s address.

Although there were shouts of no! no! no! by some delegates disapproving Mr. Aliero’s Point of Order, for a few seconds, the deputy chairman could not rule on it and had to consult the Chairman, Idris Kutigi.

Mr. Akinyemi, after the consultation ruled Mr. Aliero out of order.

“ I cannot uphold your Point of Order,” the deputy chairman said, adding that the way the conference had held its session, delegates had been allowed to speak on issues bothering them and the people or group they were representing.

He, however, appealed to the delegates not to speak in the manner that would offend their colleagues.

After the ruling, Mr. Akinyemi asked Mr. Emmanuel, who was all the while standing, to continue with his contribution.

The clergyman asked the conference to take a closer look at the Constitution with a view to rectifying the religious imbalance in the document.

“We, Christians do not hate the Muslims. I live in the South West and there is peace and we want to see that peace all over Nigeria,” Mr. Emmanuel added.

He told journalists after the session that the figures emanated from the Church of Christ in Nigeria, COCIN.

He said, “In Jos, 7th March, Fulani herdsmen attacked Dogo Nawa and killed 501 Christians in the village, including children. At the Church of Christ In Nigeria, in 2001, the Women Fellowship had 500 widows, but as at 2008, they had 900 widows. But in 2011, they had 25,000 registered widows and that is one denomination in one state.”

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  • mukail

    you are taking about Christian that were kill what about Muslims that were kill. and that worse part of it who attack Muslims in the mosque during sallah period in jos burning their cars and vehicle and even kill some and eat them

  • You see, you don’t know the old, the young or the elders anymore especially on issues of National discourse. As a result, the country is burning with hate speech. The bible says by our speech we overthrow the country. No wonder the violence is escalating.God is the giver of true peace, and does that by His own terms. If we don’t heed to God’s Law and just go on annoying Him by our utterances and our wicked deeds, we will suffer the consequences. What we have seen is CHAPTER ONE of God’s Anger. If we want CHAPTER TWO let us continue with our Childish destruction-spell-bound uttrances and deeds.

  • khaleel

    Why did this man disclosed what he cant bear it in disccussion. Has he forgotten thier majority in the conference

  • The xtians are complaining of mis-rule by muslim leader,but what as Obasanjo. Jonanthan is a xtian has he change anything? instead, he has a cabinet full of corrupt peaple. Let the xtians accept sharia law and see if Nigeria is going to be a better place or not. I know the xtians will never accept sharia law bcos they can not marry two wife but they can go arround with another man wife,they will never accept sharia law bcos they’re will like to cheat others for them to satisfy their own needs and they’re also scared of their hand being cut,becos they want to add what does not belong to them and going it to their own.

    • Where on earth has the adoption and practise of shariah brought peace? Are you saying theeople who ill operate the shariah are not human beings or the same Nigerians who have created the distructions. Or are you saying Shariah will re-create the soul spirit and body as a supreme being? Or the adoption of Shariah in some Northern states has made those better-Violence free,Vice-free etc.?
      Please let us truly repent and do what is right. The North Ruled Nigeria for almost 40years , mostly Moslems and see what especially the North has become.See what they have turned Nigeria into? God is Judging us Yet we have stubbornly maintained our stiff-necks. Nigeria isgrinding to an unpredictable number of Divisions.It is about to scatter into pieces and we are still maintaining our postures. Sorry!

  • Babs

    I don’t see how the number of christians can be matched with that of muslims in this country. With all your baby factories, your number is less than that of the muslims. This is a fact whether you like it or not.

  • Garden-City Boy

    My Emmanuel speaks for himself. about not hating moslems. There is nothing about moslems that any decent human should like.

  • Do cristians have any laws to folow? if there is from where? And why did he say jesus is the founder of cristianity? If jesus is knows cristianity why it is not mention in bible?

  • While I think it is futile being drawn into a needless argument about which religion is the majority, it is obvious the one that has brought more sorrow & anguish

  • Though, you do not have facts and figures as to how the Muslims are more than the Christians, we do not want to enter into any argument with you on that.But you will agree that the number of leaders of the country majority of them were Muslims and yet the country is like this today.If your Muslim leaders had led well there would be no need for this conference.You have destroy this country enough. If you do not want to live together with other religious faith, you are free to separate and go and form your country in peace.Stop killing people in name of religion.Book harams are muslim extremists.

  • Babs

    What imbalance is this man talking about? Doesn’t he see the real imbalance in the composition of the delegates to the conference? Do we have to tell him that the number of christian delegates is far more than that of muslims despite the fact that Muslims are the majority in this country?

    • Which majority r u talking about here,is’t when u count all ur animals among humans that makes u majority?

    • kentash

      Can you give concrete proof that muslims are majority in Nigeria?

      • HAMZA

        NEITHER THE CHRIASTIAN NOR THE MUSLIM HAS BASIS TO SAY WHICH SIDE IS MAJORITY. BUT AT LEAST AT ONE TIME ELDER STATESMAN, BABA OBASANJO SAID IT COULD BE FIFTY-FIFTY. LETS LEAVE IT AT THAT. BUT CHRIASTIAN ARCHITECT OF THE COMPOSITION OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE MEMBERSHIP WOULD DO NIGERIANS GREAT SERVICE IF THEY EXPLAIN THE CRITERIA THEY ADOPTED WHICH RESULTED IN THE NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS IN THE CONFERENCE MORE THAN ALL OTHER RELIGIONS PUT TOGETHER. RECORDS HAVE SHOWN THAT ABOUT 68% OF THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE CONFERENCE IS CHRISTIAN.

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