Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Its Provocative Bigotry

20 July 2017

By A. S. M Jimoh

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is supposedly a religious body which we think its objective is to spread the correct teaching of Christ and protect its members’ interest. In doing so, especially in the matter of its members’ interest, it is expected to be sincere in its purpose. However, over the years, CAN’s presence is seen more in the political space than it is on the pulpit, constantly beating the drum of disunity. It has often issued statements and carry out body languages that have the potential of precipitating religious crisis. It is so obsessed with the Nigerian Muslims that one begins to think whether CAN’s sole objective is to disparage everything that has to do with Muslim, Islam and Arabic language. However, its obsession is frequently so puerile that one cannot see any relation between Islam or Muslim and the matters over which CAN is protesting except needless bigotry. Currently, it is about the Arabic language in the Nigeria education curriculum that CAN is inviting the holy ghost fire. But before I go into the current issue over which CAN is beating the drum of war again, I will highlight events in recent past where CAN has mischievously objected to issues that have or have nothing to do with Islam and Muslims.

In the yore years, it had problem with ex-military ruler Ibrahim Babangida over his use of the word “In Sha Allah” when he speaks. A phrase that simply mean “God Willing”. CAN saw that as an attempt to Islamize Nigeria! Arab Christians utter this same word when they submit to the power of the Lord as one with ultimate capability. This is just the prelude.

From the time of Lamido Sanusi’s banking reforms to the present administration, CAN has carried itself more like a political party than a religious body. Sanusi predecessor, Charles Soludo, had allowed an array of rogue bankers who lived in unexplained and immoral opulence. When Sanusi Lamido, being the chief banker, opened the account book of some of the banks of such bankers, what he found was putrid mess. Therefore, he asked the management to render account of the public trust kept with them. However, CAN saw Sanusi’s action as threat to their illegal cash inflow because some of the corrupt bankers are officiating pastors and ministers in the temple of CAN who were also making huge donations of illegal cash to churches from public savings. Disguisedly, CAN had to be up in arm against Lamido Sanusi, and it did not take time for the former to play its usual religious card, accusing the latter of an Islamization agenda.

CAN’s war against Sanusi knew no border in the peddling of falsehood. Its highest leadership openly lied that Sanusi had introduced the Arabic script back into the naira note in his attempt to Islamize Nigeria. The Arabic script in the naira was anything but Islam. Although, this issue has been explained several time, yet I would flog it again. It was an Arabic transliteration of naira denominations in the Hausa language to assist the Hausa-Fulani speaking population, who had long been literate in Arabic script for more than a century before the British amalgamation of the North and South. However, CAN’s relentless campaign had it removed through Charles Soludo as a measure to de-islamize the naira. The falsehood of re-introduction was only a disguised ground to escalate the war against Sanusi having stifled them of their source of corrupt enrichment and immoral life style.

Then came the issue of interest-free banking which is a different brand of financing to cater for customers who are not well at home with interest-based banking. CAN again jumped into the polity campaigning tireless for two things- stop the non-interest banking, which it christened sharia banking, and have Lamido Sanusi removed. Today, the so-called sharia bank has Christians as both shareholders and customers. Let us even agree for once that the non-interest banking was to cater for the Muslims alone. Is non-interest banking on (un)Christian? Let us peruse through some verses of the Holy Bible:

“You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest.” Deuteronomy 23:19

“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.” Exodus 22:25“Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.” Leviticus 25:36-37.All Emphasis are mine and all quotations directly lifted from the English Standard Version of the Holy Bible. These holy bible verses are too lucid that they require no explanation. There are other inferential verses in the holy bible where interest is despised. The question is thus why would CAN be opposed to an implementation of holy bible’s verses. The answer was simple. Lamido Sanusi is a Muslim and a Hausa-Fulani-a tribe combination CAN as equated to Islam.

CAN’s hypocrisy and political identity became more open during the administration of ex-President Jonathan. From current revelation so far, it would seems that regime is the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria. We expect true religious body to speak against the inequities of any corrupt regime or keep silent. Rather, CAN cozied well with that regime because it served its interest of divisive politics. CAN’s highest leadership, like the then ruling party politicians, were regular visitors at the Aso Rock seat of power. With time, it became difficult to differentiate politicians from CAN clerics or to make a distinction between statements issued by Sunday Oibe of CAN and Olisah Metuh of the then ruling party. It appeared that the then ruling party had a religious wing served dutifully by CAN. The then President Jonathan traversed the pulpits of different churches than he was seen at gatherings discussing socio-economic policies. There was no cry of Christianization from Muslims Organizations.

The then CAN’s president, Ayo Oritsejafor, uttered statements and carry out body languages that had the potential of setting the country on religious warpath. He had called for the arrest of the then opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari. He also asked its flock to bear arms to create a Christian army to defend itself purportedly against BokoHaram. However, as we later came to know, the funds that could have catered for security against the then rampaging army of the devious Bokoharam, were pocketed by individuals, majority of whom are members of the Church.

CAN romanticized the regime so intimately that it precipitated scandals in the church, so much so that men of honour, especially those of the Catholics faith had go on hiatus from CAN for some times. They seemed to realize that the body of Christ had since fled CAN. In one such scandal, CAN President’s private jet was caught laundering raw cashes of dollar in South Africa. When that happened, the then ruling party and CAN came out ferociously defending its own whose hands was caught in the cookies’ jar. CAN delivered strong-worded statement, in the tone of a political party, where it saw no wrong in using the jet that was purportedly donated for God’s work, to carry cash in Pablo Escobar’s style of moving illegal drug money.

Now, let us reverse the particular case in the preceding paragraph. Imagine a situation where the Sultan’s camel was found ferrying naira across the Nigeria-Niger desert (Muslim being poor, we might only be able to donate camel to Sultan for Islamization). The sort of alarm CAN would have raised would be loud enough to invite the US to bomb all the Nigeria Muslims. Because CAN would have tagged all the Nigerian Muslims as Boko Haram. Simple. Until today, the true status surrounding the money is yet unknown and it appears the wisdom of the current administration has allowed the matter to remain in the cooler.

While the CAN National secretariat was not short of delivering alarms and falsehood to cause mischief, the states’ wings do not spare states’ governors of their viciousness. Governor Aregbesola with all his sincerity for religious freedom, the day CAN came for his head, it was then he realized that an opposition party or politician could never be pleased. In one popular episode, CAN instructed her poor flock to start wearing religious garment to schools in protest of a competent court order allowing female students to wear hijab-the head cover for female Muslim-to school. When such order was made against Muslim in Lagos state, they rightly went on appeal as any responsible citizen or organization should do. However, CAN chapter in Osun state asked its mass to protest such an order in a way that breach public peace as it as well accused Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of trying to Islamize Osun state. CAN, Haba! If there was any governor one could accuse of religious bias, it would not be the secular man of the state of
Osun who allow all religions, including traditionalists to practice their rituals unhindered. One cannot help but pity Raphael (Aregbesola’s Christian name for creating an atmosphere religious freedom) the day he was lamenting the attack he had to endure just because he wanted to be a better Muslim. It was like Saul, Saul, why thou persecute me.

Moreover, within the Hausa-Fulani Muslim North, as CAN would make us believe, the states’ chapters are not short of issuing inciting statements tending to portray it as being under an Islamic state while also always playing the victim in all crises. CAN unguarded statements have only helped to raise tensions in states like Kaduna, Nasarawa, Taraba, Gombe, Plateau, Bauchi and Borno. More often than not, crisis in these states that CAN or a section of it always tag religious war are in fact ethnical.

More so, CAN has not spared President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration of savage campaign. Prior to the inception of the current administration, CAN and the then ruling party had dressed the Muhammadu Buhari and his party in the garb of an Islamic candidate and Islamist party. Some influential members of the Church were seen and heard threatening their Church members with fire of Hell if they voted for the party and its candidates. When their blackmail failed, CAN ante its role in playing the opposition since the purportedly opposition party is enmeshed in crisis. That is why it is surprising that CAN has continued to keep a certificate of registration from Corporate Affairs of Nigeria (CAC), instead of asking for one from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), because it has all the attributes of a Nigeria political party, including allegations of election rigging and imposition of candidates in the selection of its leadership.

In September 2016, a section of CAN falsely accused the government of transferring the power to declare public holiday to Sultan-head of the Nigerian Muslim population. In fact, no such thing ever happened. It was just the usual bigoted campaign against the President. What the Sultan did was just the usual tradition of informing his Muslim flock of the day for the Muslim festival. He had done that several times under Christian President.

Now to the current issue. CAN is all over the place again misleading its poor masses. It has been peddling falsehood that Christian Religious Studies (CRS) has been banned in Nigerian schools while Christian pupils/students are being forced to take Arabic language in an attempt to Islamize Nigeria. However, as we speak, CAN has not presented one single student who was barred from taking CRS while Arabic was imposed on him/her. Despite contrary evidence which abound, CAN has continue to grandstand, threatening fire and hell.

There is the need to give a summary of what is purportedly the reason for CAN’s current mischief. In 2012, during the administration of ex-president Jonathan, a Christian, the Nigeria education curriculum was reviewed, as it is the tradition. Both the Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) and Christian Religious Studies (CRS) were placed under a subject head called religious and national values. While the civil education subject is compulsory for all students, religious studies are taken according to the student’s religious belief. Nyeson Wike, a Christian, then education minister and current governor of Rivers state signed the forward to the redesigned curriculum.

Even if CAN does not feel comfortable with the content of the CRS, why does it have to wait for five years to raise the issue. Meanwhile, when the curriculum was being developed, Christians had representatives in the persons of Ray Chukwura of ECWA Goodnews and Dominick Oleagbe from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, according to a statement released by Mrs. Kate Nwufo, the acting Executive Secretary of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

The claim by CAN that Arabic language has been made compulsory and is being enforced on Christian students is false in its entirety. Arabic language is and has ever been an optional subject even under the current Nigeria education curriculum from where CAN derives its false anger. It has never been a compulsory subject even for Muslims, let alone for Christians in a country where religion is a sensitive matter. The problem CAN has with Arabic is because the Muslim’s Holy Book is written with and preserved in it. However, if CAN wants to ban Arabic in Nigeria, it should do it in totality including refusing to count its Sunday’s tithe in the digits 0, 1, 2, 3-9 because these are indisputable Arabic numerals. Also, words like ‘Alafiya and akida’ which are used widely in churches across Northern Nigeria is an Arabic word. To further cleanse itself of its hypocrisy, CAN should excommunicate all Christian states down the south seeking Islamic Development Bank loan facilities.

Besides, CAN is yet to prove to us how learning Arabic language automatically convert someone to Islam. Within some of the Nigeria government-owned universities, there are many Arabic language Professors who are Christians. These highly qualified Professors of Arabic have remained Christians and many are respected members of the Church. Muslim students, some of whom who study Arabic for religious purpose, have for years studied and continue to study Arabic under these Professors whom the former also hold in high esteem as their teachers.

Besides, is Arabic equal Islam? The answer is obviously NO, except for mischief-makers. Yes, the Noble Qur’an was revealed, written and is preserved in Arabic, yet it does not mean that Arabic language equals Islam. The simplest clarification is that Arabic is a language while Islam is a religion. In Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and other Middle East and North African countries where Christians are in the minorities, the Bibles are written in the same Arabic that the Qur’an is written. Their word for God is written as ????-which in English transliteration is Allah- the same way it is written in the Holy Qur’an.

So, with such verbose grammars CAN’s clerics speak from the pulpits, it would be surprising to think that they are so ignorant to be unable to distinguish Arabic from Islam. Well, it is not that they are not aware, their aim is to heat the polity and cause deep-seated division.

If the Nigerian Muslims or their representative organizations want to be senselessly bigoted as CAN and view everything from the perspective CAN views it, they would not have accepted Sunday as work-free day while Friday remains a working day. They would equally have said that the Bible is written in English and as such, it should not be a compulsory subject in public schools. Moreover, it was in this so-called secular Nigeria that Sunday church service at the presidential villa was beamed live on National television for at least four years in a country where religion is alleged to be a personal affair. The Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affair never issue a statement let alone shout Christianization.

Indeed, some of the things CAN or a section of it does in this country would be labelled Islamization if it had emanated from the Muslim side. The only two bibles-King James Version and New Testament by Gideons International in my family’s house were given to my elder brothers in public schools. Many Muslim can recite the Lord’s Prayer which were taught them in public schools. Certainly, Armageddon would come earlier than was predicted, if any day a Christian pupil returns from public school with a pamphlet about good behavior written in Arabic.

Like Nigerian politicians, who have their children living abroad or in well-guarded compounds, but incite the poor masses to unrest, CAN clerics equally have their children in secured places but continuously provoke the children of the poor to crisis. In all the politico-religious crises we have seen in this country, there was never a report of where the family of any prominent member of CAN is hurt. It is the families of the poor who are usually pitted against one other from both sides.

The CAN politics of religion is dangerous and the earlier we are sincere in calling a spade a spade, the better for all. Often, CAN make up an issue and links it to a never-existing Islamization agenda. The danger of this is that the veiled drum of war that CAN has been beaten for years may one day syncs with the rhythm of war dancers who will make CAN’s life-long hidden agenda of setting the country on the path of religious war to be achieved.

A. S. M Jimoh. (This writer can be reached on twitter: @anehi2008 and through Gmail: anehi2008@gmail.com) 

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