Prince PJazz

Buhari meets bishop in Abuja says he doesn't have  religious  agenda

As our nation approaches perhaps the most

crucial election in our history, all true patriots

are called to deeper reflection of the basic

ingredients that bind the nation together- our

common freedom, peace and unity. This

reflection is even more relevant in the face of

the illegal postponement of the general

elections- a feat achieved through various

sinister ploys and with the sole aim of avoiding

the will and verdict of the people. In all of

these, I feel the urgeto communicate some of

my personal vision and thoughts to the people

of our great country, especially on the question

of religion, a sensitive matter for many citizens

that has become the most frequently used tool

by the ruling party. This affordsme an

opportunity to give my response to the ruling

party’s false propaganda and lies against my

person.

Needless to say, we must at all times hold the

unity, peace and progress of our dear nation

paramount and above all other considerations,

especially politics. Those who deliberately

disseminate divisive disinformation and attempt

to stoke primordial sentiments using religion or

ethnicity and create fear in the minds of our

people fail the standard of patriotism this nation

demands of them and deserves from them. The

ruling government and PDP have adopted this

sad divisive and false narrative as their strategy

to prevent the inevitable change that our

country and people desire and require. And they

have succeeded in making some of us victims

of the tales which they invent, propagate and

sell as gospel truth to gullible listeners, while it

is all nothing but a tissue of lies.

I would like to solemnly declare that in spite of

what our detractors say, I am not a religious

fanatic of any sort and I have never been. In all

my life, I have never supported extremism of

any kind, and nowhere in my record of service

to this nation can this false toga, political

opponents have tried so hard to put on me, be

substantiated. Indeed, it is very unfortunate and

I feel extremely sad that I have to give this type

of assurance.

My background is in the army, and there is no

doubt that the military is the most integrated

pan-Nigerian institution. And even today, the

military is one of the institutions that represents

the pride of our nation’s possibilities in unity.

Compatriots from every corner of this country

come together, work and live together, entrust

their lives to each other and integrate their

families. It is a military where many of my

dearest friends, from all faiths and parts of the

country, lost their lives defending the unity of

our nation. That was the military I served in, and

in that military it was impossible to be a bigot.

For me, the issue of religion was, and should

always, be a matter of personal conviction. This

personal conviction approach to religion has

defined my work and interactions all my life,

including my tenure in office as military Head of

State. The religion of all those I worked with

was never a factor in their progress or in what

happened to them. All that mattered then, and

should still matter today, are competence,

integrity and readiness to be fair to all.

I was recently informed that we had a balanced

cabinet with key positions such as Finance,

Energy and Defence occupied by Christians. In

addition, 11 of the 19 governors I appointed

were Christians. My most memorable

recollections of subordinate service was under

Christian bosses, the finest our country had

then, and among the most respected today.

Indeed one of the best appraisals I received in

the course of my military career was from

General T.Y Danjuma.

Government has no business preferring one

religion to the other. The role of government is

to protect lives and properties of citizens and to

respect and protect their constitutional rights.

One critical freedom that every government

must strive to protect is the liberty for citizens

to exercise their respective faiths, Christians

and Muslims or others, in a lawful manner

without fear or hindrance and to prosecute

those who use religion as an excuse to destroy

homes, schools and places of worship. When

governments fail in that duty, they must then

assist in the rebuilding of structures including

destroyed places of worship and giving full

restitution for lost property. We, Nigerians, are a

religious people, and the burning of places of

worship constitutes one of the vilest forms of

abomination to all those who believe in God. It

is the duty of governments to protect this

important sensitivity.

Let me state this categorically, that I,

MuhammaduBuhari, as an individual, and as

president of this great country by the grace of

God, given the opportunity to serve, have no

personal religious agenda. And I will not

entertain, consider or promote the religious

agenda of anyone. I will not condone any

initiative that seeks to promote one religion over

the other. Neither I, nor my party, or any

member of my team has any desire or plan to

Islamize or Christianize Nigeria or support

anyone with such intention.

Although I am a practising Muslim, and I have

been so all my life, I have never belonged to,

nor shared the views of, any extremist group. I

am not even a cleric. I believe that religion is

personal and private. Many of the people close

to me are not of my religion. My cook and driver

for 20 years are Christians, Most of my

bodyguards are Christians. Some were killed

while protecting me in the terrorist attack on my

convoy in Kaduna. If I have not Islamized these

people who serve under me, how will I Islamize

the likes of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,

Ogbonnaya Onu, Governors RochasOkorocha,

Kayode Fayemi, Rotimi Amaechi or Professor

Yemi Osinbajo who is a senior advocate of

Nigeria and a pastor? Or how will I Islamize

Nigeria?

Our constitution, which in many respects, is

similar to the American constitution does not

permit a state religion. The Sharia identified in

the constitution is almost synonymous with

customary law. It is only applicable in matters

of personal status such as marriage, divorce

and inheritance. This has been the case since

the 1979 constitution. Just as no one can make

any customary or any other religious law the

law of Nigeria, so Sharia cannot therefore be

the law of Nigeria.

My record is evidence of this strongly held

belief. Before my tenure, the deadly and violent

extremist radical sect, Maitasine carried out

terrorist activities in the north, especially Kano;

When it erupted again in Yola, during my tenure,

I took direct command, and personally led the

successful effort to eradicate the threat to our

country. Similarly, when some Chadian

insurgents attempted to occupy Nigerian

territory, I led the military confrontation that

eliminated the threat.

For all purposes, we must all learn to live

together as brothers and sisters, because the

problems that bedevil our nation do not

discriminate based on religion or ethnicity.

Poverty and hunger do not know or respect

religion or creed. When a bomb explodes in a

market, it kills and maims without regard for

religion or ethnicity. The millions of the

unemployed youth of our country cut across all

tribes and religions.

Wicked propagandists continue to spread

vicious lies about me for political gain, including

claiming that I once asked Muslims not to vote

for Christians. This must be the height of

absurdity. How could I ever say that, when

whoever voted for me would be voting for the

Christian running with me on the same ticket?

And how could I ever say that of Christians

when my own holy book, the Qur’an, tells me

that in the entire world those that are nearest in

love to me are those who believe in Jesus

Christ [AS]? I ask, who, intending to win any

election, ever does that? How can I choose

southern Christian running mates [Chuba

Okadigbo of blessed memory, Pastor Tunde

Bakare and Pastor YemiOsinbajo] and with them

by my side make such silly utterances?

Because they have no record, they must seek to

destroy our own; and because they have no

integrity, they feel they must impugn our own.

We must reject those who propagate hatred,

ethnicity, divisiveness, sectionalism or seek to

manipulate our religious differences in such

cynical fashion. On our part, we will remain

undeterred: our commitment is to bring about

change in the way we live and think and work in

this nation; and our goal is to ensure a decent

existence for all. And, by the Grace of God, that

is what we will do—we will remain true to our

commitment and we will achieve our goal.

May God bless Nigeria and its people for all

time.