Don’t Relent in Restoring Peace in Southern Kaduna, Methodist Church Urges El-Rufai  John Shiklam in Kaduna


The prelate of the Methodist Church, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche, has urged Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai not to relent in his quest to restore peace and security in southern Kaduna.

Uche, who was speaking when he visited el-Rufai in Kaduna, told the governor that he should take the blames flying around as the price of leadership.

“We note that you are being blamed for the violence in southern Kaduna. Please take that as the price of leadership. We know that the issue has been happening before your government. I remember the 1987 events vividly.

“We call on the people of the state to accept each other, to be tolerant, and to say no to violence. I have served in Kano. I do not see why we should fight each other. Nobody can Christianise or Islamise Nigeria. Let us learn to live together in peace. Religion should preserve lives. Anybody who kills is a criminal. Those who sponsor killings should be arrested.”

Uche, who was accompanied by the Methodist Bishops of Kaduna and Kano, said he came in solidarity with the people of the state.

He informed el-Rufai that the Methodist Church in Kafanchan was vandalised during the December 19, 2016 riot in Kafanchan.

He requested for a new plot of land so that they can relocate the church.
“My church is affected by the violence in Kafanchan. We want your assistance with land to relocate the church and to rebuild it. We thank you for the plots of land you allocated to the Methodist Church in Abuja. I have seen your signature on the certificates of occupancy, and I know that you have nothing against the Church.”

El-Rufai thanked the Methodists for showing solidarity with the people and government of the state in this trying moment.

He told the delegation that the government will give another plot of land to the Methodist Church in Kafanchan, but he urged that they should not relocate from their present site.

“I visited your church in Kafanchan after the violence. We are willing to give you another plot of land in Kafanchan, but please consider using it to build an additional church. We request that you do not abandon or relocate the church from your present site. Let us not succumb to the agents of blackmail and division.

“Your neighbours in Kafanchan must accept the right of that church to remain there. The current church should be rebuilt and maintained as a symbol of the right to worship freely.”

El-Rufai said the government is committed to securing the area and promoting a return to normalcy.

He disclosed that 10 mobile police squadrons are now deployed to the affected local governments, along with two battalions of the army.

He further requested that the religious leaders should discourage the tendency to allow criminals to hide behind religion.

“When individuals have problems or disputes, they should not be allowed to mobilise emotions by escalating their differences into an ethnic or religious conflict.”