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| Leah Sharibu |
It is no longer news that
Islamists have arrogated to themselves the right to convert people of other
faiths to their religion by use of force. Using techniques ranging from subtle
intimidations to outright physical massacres, Islamists in Nigeria have
stridently pushed on with Usman dan Fodio’s agenda seeking “to dip the Koran
into the Sea,” and bringing the entire nation under the Sokoto Caliphate by the
blade of the sword.
Apologists
however have always had alternative narratives for all the scheming and violence. When not met with outright denials,
persecution of Christians can always be explained away as inter-ethnic tension,
religion-neutral assaults by Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen, regular geo-politics,
war against corruption, or some other cliché.
In April 2014,
276 girls were abducted from the Christian village of Chibok in North East
Nigeria. They couldn’t have been targeted for being Christians, we were
told. And as if to confirm that, there
was a shameful repeat abduction of another set of female students, this time
from the largely moslem community of Dapchi in February 2018. However, unlike the Chibok case, where 112
still remain in captivity till date, all the abducted girls from Dapchi were
released within 4 weeks, reportedly unmolested and laden with gifts. All of them, that is, except the only single
Christian girl involved – Leah Sharibu!
Both
government negotiators and the released peers of Leah confirm that the singular
reason the 14 year old was not released was her refusal to renounce her
Christian faith for Islam. Watch here on our blog, the moving musical video by Amir
Shata demanding that all concerned should rise and secure the release of this
precious Jewel of the Lord
On a
related note, the latest national hero in Nigeria is the Imam who saved
the lives of 300 Christians in Barkin Ladi, Plateau state by hiding them in his
mosque and introducing them as Moslems to the rampaging mujahedeen. However,
while not detracting from the courageous and innate humaneness of Imam Abdullahi
Abubakar, we will like to observe that the story pointedly belied the official government
claim that the killers were not after Christians!
And come
to think of it, there is only a thin line between requiring a Christian to keep
mute on being introduced as a Moslem, and requiring him to use his/her own
mouth to claim being Moslem. We recall
the story of Pastors Sabo
Yakubu, Sylvester Akpan, and Rev George Orji
who in
2009 refused to hide their Christian identities even in the face of the
jihadist’s blade (see http://churcharise.blogspot.com/2009/10/tell-my-people-i-died-well-rev-george.html
While we
thank God that the 300 in Plateau state were spared, we must be concerned that
such situations are being taken as normal in present-day Nigeria. Even in a situation that saw over 200 Christians
massacred by Islamists, the only focus and talk-point is the compassionate Imam,
while the long-suffering faceless Christians, with their dead and maimed,
remain mere statistics.
Now, what
if the murderous mujahedeen had not trusted the Imam sufficiently to accept his
word on behalf of the Christians? A
simple announcement that all Moslems move to one side into liberty would have
resulted in a Leah Sharibu situation!
Meanwhile
abductions and forceful marriage of Christian girls under the sponsorship of
Islamic authorities continue unabatedly in Nigeria. Mostly in the north, but
not limited to it. (Recall the infamous case of Ese Oruru abducted from Bayelsa state to Kano
by Yunusa “Yellow” Dahiru in 2016). Thank God for the Hausa Christian Foundation,
HACFO, which is now systematically bringing these cases to light and fighting
them within the limits of the resources available to the Foundation. Thank God also for the spate of successes in
recent times. Please see moving details
at www.hacfo.org. Contacts: Voice of Hausa Christians.ng@gmail.com; +234 805 754 3004
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