Federal Govt, CAN bicker – TheNigerialawyer

* Freedom of worship exists, says minister
* Activists accuse U.S. of undue interference

A row has broken out over the United States (U.S.)
classification of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over
religious freedom.

The U.S. Department of State in a statement at the weekend
placed Nigeria and six other countries on a watch-list over their
approach to religious freedom.

The other countries are: Sudan, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua and
Comoros Island. The U.S. also designated some terrorist groups
including Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS and the Taliban as “Entities
of Concern”.

The U.S. State Department said Nigeria trended negatively in
2018, adding that the Federal Government “failed to prevent or stop
violence or hold perpetrators to account”.

It also condemned the detention of Ibraheem EL-Zakzaky along
with his wife and hundreds of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN)
members.

But the Federal Government dismissed the report as unfortunate
and incorrect, “stemming from an orchestrated narrative that had
long been discredited.”

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) and some activists supported
the government’s position but the Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) faulted the defence by the government.

Senator Sabi Abdullahi sponsor of the also said the Hate-Speech
Bill, said if passed, it will end religious and ethnic tension in
the country.

Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said “the good
people of Nigeria enjoy unfettered freedom to practice their
religion, and blamed failed politicians and disgruntled elements –
some of them supposedly-respected leaders – for latching on to
religion as their trump card, especially in the run up to the last
general election, to oust the Buhari administration.”

He said it is unfortunate that the U.S. fell for the antics of
the “discontented and the unpatriotic few, who will not hesitate to
hang Nigeria out to dry on the altar of their inordinate ambition
and their sheer animosity towards the administration.”

The minister said the government is “acutely aware of how the
political opposition, in particular, had spared no resources in
deriving political capital from the various security challenges in
the country.

‘’The deliberate effort to give religious coloration to the
farmers-herders clashes and the Boko Haram insurgency, in
particular, has undoubtedly helped to mislead the U.S. into
concluding that the government is doing little or nothing to
guarantee religious freedom in the country.

‘’But, as we have always said, the farmers-herders clashes have
nothing to do with religion but everything to do with environmental
and socio-economic realities. The religious tag given to the
clashes has no basis in fact, but is very convenient for those who
will very easily give the dog a bad name just to hang it. On its
part, the Boko Haram terrorists are extreme fanatics who do not
subscribe to the tenets of any religion, in spite of their pretence
to Islamic adherence,’’ he said.

Mohammed said the government had succeeded in curbing the
farmers-herders clashes through the implementation of proactive and
multi-dimensional strategy, which is yielding remarkable results,
just as it had largely defeated the Boko Haram insurgency.

The government described the El-Zakzaky issue, which was
referred to in the report by the U.S. government, as purely a
criminal matter, which is being handled by a court of competent
jurisdiction.”

The minister said the government “rejects any attempt to sow the
seed of mistrust among the various religious groups in the
country.”

CAN said in a statement by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special
Assistant (Media & Communications) to the association’s
President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle: “The reasons given by the U.S. are
too glaring to be disputed.”

The association went on to “commend the U.S. for standing on the
side of the oppressed and the truth” and urged the government to
implement its policies based on the dictates of the
constitution.

It said: “The bitter truth is Christians are yet to be given any
sense of belonging since this government came on board. Our prayers
include wisdom and the courage for President Muhammadu Buhari to
give all citizens a sense of belonging, irrespective of their
religious, tribal and political affiliations.

“The President should govern the country as the father of the
nation.

“CAN welcomes the placing of the country on a special watch list
by the U.S. despite the fact that we were not contacted before the
decision was taken.

“We are not happy that our country is being listed among the
nations where religious intolerance is one of their hallmarks but
it gladdens our hearts.

“The U.S., like every other country, has an embassy here that
monitors and reports back what the country is going through and the
approach being adopted by the government to addressing the
situation.

“Is it not true that ‘the Nigerian Federal Government failed to
implement effective strategies to prevent or stop such violence or
to hold perpetrators accountable,” as noted by the U.S.
Government?

“The leadership of CAN has made this known to President Buhari
in all our meetings with him to see the whole country as his
constituency and to avoid nepotism as much as possible.

“The CJN, few days ago, called for amendment to the Constitution
with a view to adding more Sharia contents. Since the Chief Justice
has not denied the story and the government has failed to call him
to order, it is crystal clear that the U.S. government has more
facts than the government thinks.

“If the government is sensitive to our yearnings and
aspirations, how come no Christian is heading any of the three arms
of government in the present dispensation? This is unprecedented in
the history of this country since Independence.

It also accused the Buhari-led government of appointing only
people from one part of the country as members of the National
Security Council.

The Director of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) Prof Is-haq Lakin
Akintola cautioned the United States against bullying other
countries.

Prof Akintola queried whose authority the American government is
acting by placing an independent nation on a watch-list.

“Who made the U.S. government the police of the world? The U.S.
is simply bullying Nigeria and that has to stop. They should watch
their foreign policies. A country that does not practice democracy
at the United Nations level cannot claim moral right over other
countries,” he said.

Akintola described American government’s action as “arrogant and
we reject it totally. We know that average Americans are not on the
same page with the White House policies. Humanity has long departed
the White House”.

He wondered how the U.S. could be talking about religious
persecution by closing her eyes to the killings of Muslims by Boko
Haram in some parts of the north.

“What has U.S. got to say about the discrimination against
Muslim girls and women because of hijab? Were the people in the
White House not informed by their Ambassador in Nigeria stories of
oppression of Muslim women in Hijab? They should drop their
double-standard policies,” he said.

Akintola added: “Can you imagine the same U.S. government
talking about human rights? What about the U.S. needless invasion
of Iraq and Afghanistan? Till today, the American government is yet
to show the world the weapons of mass destruction they accused
Saddam Hussein of building for invading the country.

“In Spain, leaders of the Catalonia have been sent to jail. Why
is the U.S. not taking any action? So, what offence has Nigeria
committed to deserve such action?,” he added.

The Federal Government received the support of activist groups
which accused the U.S. of hypocrisy and interference.

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL),
Centre for Health, Equity and Justice (CEHEJ) and the Nigeria 2015
Group (N2015G) said the U.S. had no moral right to police
Nigeria.

CACOL’s Executive Director Debo Adeniran said although the
President Buhari administration had its shortcomings, Nigerians
were capable of resolving them through the ballot.

He said: “For America to continue to play the policeman of the
world should not be acceptable to developing countries. The same
Western countries that receive stolen, illicit transfers from
Africa, are the ones that are still castigating those who have to
run a country under difficult circumstances that the western
countries have aided to destroy its economy, social and political
systems.”

CEHEJ Director, Timothy Adewale said Nigeria was not doing badly
on religious freedom “apart from the El-Zakzaky issue.”

“What remained before the Shiite issue was to strengthen and
expand the frontiers of religious freedom on issues like hijab and
corps members being able to wear skirts according to the dictates
of their religion. We think that what went wrong was the way the
Shiites issues were handled which has brought Nigeria’s religious
freedom record into disrepute,” he stated.

N2015G’s Director of Strategy, Africa & North America Dr
Timi Asuelime suggested that the U.S. list was borne out of envy
and of no effect.

Asuelime said: “When we had cozy relations with USA, the
European Union (EU) and their institutions – IMF and World Bank –
we went into debt with nothing to show for it. But now that we are
cozy with South East Asia & China with Highways, Airports,
Railroads and an Agricultural Revolution to show, Capitalist West
and recently impeached (President Donald) Trump government is not
happy.

“The Impeached government of President Trump has no moral
superiority in placing Nigeria on their Religious intolerance watch
list which in any case has no effect on Nigeria.”