You are Marginalising Christians, Fani-Kayode Tells Buhari

By Jide Afolabi, Jos

Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari is marginalising Christians in the country.

Fani-Kayode who was the keynote speaker at a conference organised by the Fellowship of Christian Churches in Nigeria popularly known as TEKAN on the theme: “Good Governance in Nigeria: the Crucial Role of the Church” held at the Nigeria Bible Translation Trust (NBTT) in Jos, Plateau State today, Tuesday also alleged that 3, 400 persons have been killed in Nigeria by Fulani herdsmen from January to August this year, warning Nigerians especially, Christians, to take former president Olusegun Obasanjo seriously over his claim of the plan to Islamise and Fulanise Nigeria.

He said: “Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is very careful of what he says especially when it has to do with religious and ethnic divide. So when he talked about Islamisation and Fulanisation, he knows what he was saying. Obasanjo also talked about Nigeria going the way of Rwanda. I advise Christians and Nigerians to take his warning seriously.”

The former Minister challenged Christians to rise up to their responsibilities saying that, “As Christians, we are the salt of the earth. Our role is absolutely crucial, especially you Christians in the North who are faced with several persecutions for over 50 years in this country.”

Commenting on the marginalisation of Christians, the Ife born Chief noted that of the 17 heads of security agencies in Nigeria, including the Police, Army, Air Force, Navy, State Security Service (SSS) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), only the Chief of Naval Staff is a Christian, all others are Muslims. “How do you want me to feel as a Christian,” He asked.

“Christian community has been the target in this country. They must rise up and stand against evil. They must come together as one, show care for one another, and ensure that they are not marginalised and tormented. We must speak truth to power; stand up as one for the weak. There is evil in the land. You cannot get governance until you are ready to stand up and speak against evil.”

The former Minister expressed concerns over a Minister-designate, Sheik Ibrahim Pantami, and warned him to stop fanning the embers of religious discord, saying having such a man as minister of the Federal Republic is a shame.

Fani-Kayode said: “I am deeply concerned that a man that has been nominated for a ministerial position and has passed through the Senate will record an inciting video against Christian faith, so much that he even threatened an attack on Christians, and wept in the video.

“For such a man, it will be a disgrace to have him as a Minister. We must learn to have respect for one another. He must be cautioned to stop threatening an attack on Christian.”

On the anti-corruption campaign of President Buhari, he noted that it is one-sided alleging that those being prosecuted and persecuted are majorly Christians stating that the aim was to “weaken, destroy and crush Christians to make it appear as if they have no God to save them.”

On Leah Sharibu, he said our girl was not released to spite Christians. “We must resist and our resistance must be peaceful.”

He concluded that he had not come to the conference to “incite and provoke anyone but to speak the truth.”