Vice-President warns religious leaders over comments about insurgency

chika ebuzor

September 28, 2015 5:31 AM

Bagobiri said Babangida and other Muslim clerics refused to condemn the group's actions, until massive damage had been done.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in an event, chided religious leaders over their comments about Boko-Haram.

He said this, in response to a comment made by Catholic Bishop of Kafachan, Kaduna State, Rev. Joseph Bagobiri.

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Bagobiri blamed prominent Northern leaders like General Ibrahim Babangida for the spread of Boko-Haram. He said Babangida and other Muslim clerics refused to condemn the group's actions, until massive damage had been done.

In his response, Osinbajo said “Muslim and Christian leaders must know something; It is our duty not to pursue wrong narratives. For Christians, it is our duty to ensure that we do not create further divisions by our words. Jesus Christ did not come to establish religion. Men did that."

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Adding that “We must recognise that the first order for the church is unity. That also applies for our nation. Our nation is divided and it has been so for long. It is divided along religious and tribal line. The moment we are divided, nothing works. We must speak about the unity of our country as we speak about the unity of the church."

“The North East is where I have traveled to. I have seen the dead, wounded and the sick. These victims are in their hundreds and they were Muslims and Christians. Poverty was one thing that united them. Our major problem in Nigeria is that we play politics with everything. When a bomb goes off in Borno, it does not ask if you are a Christian or a Muslim," Osinbajo said.

chika ebuzor