The Anglican Church Bishop of Wusasa, Zaria, Kaduna State, Bishop Buba Lamido, has thrown his weight behind the proposed amnesty being planned for Boko Haram.
Stating that as a Christian, he does not have any problem with granting amnesty to anybody, he called on Nigerians to give the amnesty a trial despite its cost.
While imploring Christians and other Nigerians who are opposed to amnesty for members of the Boko Haram by the Federal Government to have a change of heart, the Bishop said the lesson of Easter has further strengthened his resolve to forgive, maintaining that an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will leave us all blind and toothless.
“I see Jesus Christ hanging on the cross and still calling on the Father to forgive His crucifiers as a monumental lesson in forgiveness. During His earthly ministry he taught his disciples how to pray. In the prayer He said, they should pray “forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” the Bishop said.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Bishop Lamido said the lesson of Easter should be instructive to every Christian.
“As a Christian, I don’t think that forgiveness is an elective. We must forgive no matter the gravity or magnitude of the offence. It is not a sign of weakness but rather that of strength to forgive. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will leave us all blind and toothless.
“So it really breaks my heart when revered men of God are postulating that some people should not be forgiven. I am of the opinion that it is negation of our Christian principles and a bad advertisement to the gospel,” he said.
The Bishop said though the arguments of those opposed to amnesty for Boko Haram are quite strong and looked logical at face value, “ If I am not a Christian or somebody who is resident in the North, I would have been swayed by their arguments.”
He said his first concern with the individuals and groups that are against the amnesty to Boko Haram is that, although they expressed in very clear terms their opposition to the amnesty, none of them has proffered any solution to ending the insecurity problem.”
Wondering what to do to stop the bloodletting and destruction being perpetrated by the sect members, the Bishop lamented that the security agencies do not seem to have a solution to the insurgency, adding “The Chief of Army Staff confirmed the sophistication with which the group carries out its attacks.”
He however said : “The government should be seen to be sincere and transparent in engaging the Boko Haram. By amnesty, nobody is saying that the government should just dole out money to some miscreants.
There should be a proper negotiations and peace deals reached before the amnesty will be employed.”
Bishop Lamido’s statement read in full: “The issue of amnesty to Boko Haram has continued to generate reactions that oscillate from the sublime to the burlesque. Knowing the way Nigerians react to things one would have gloss over the issue and not make any comment. However, with responsible and revered people and organisations like CAN and Northern Christians Elders Forum taking and making their stand public one cannot but lend his voice on the debate.
Bishop Lamido’s statement read in full: “The issue of amnesty to Boko Haram has continued to generate reactions that oscillate from the sublime to the burlesque. Knowing the way Nigerians react to things one would have gloss over the issue and not make any comment. However, with responsible and revered people and organisations like CAN and Northern Christians Elders Forum taking and making their stand public one cannot but lend his voice on the debate.
“The CAN and Northern Christian Elders Forum saw amnesty to Boko Haram as a great disservice to justice. It does not make sense to give amnesty to people who have destroyed too many innocent people, churches and properties. They, like the government, claimed that the Boko Haram members are “ghosts.” That is to say that they are anonymous. They are different from the Niger Delta militants whose members are known and their demands were very clear.
“The arguments are quite strong and looked logical at face value. If I am not a Christian or somebody who is resident in the North, I would have been swayed by their arguments. My first concern with the individuals and groups that are against the amnesty to Boko Haram is that, although they expressed in very clear terms their opposition to the amnesty but none of them has proffered any solution to ending the insecurity problem. What are we going to do to stop this bloodletting and destruction of property.
“Our security agencies do not seem to have a solution to this insurgency. The Chief of Army Staff confirmed the sophistication with which the group carries out its attacks.
“In other words, it is not something that they can contend with in the nearest future. So, what do we do?
The argument that Boko Haram members are not known is bunkum.
“Like somebody rightly say, ghost cannot manufacture or plant bombs. For the fact that the JTF has claimed arresting the commanders of Boko Haram is a proof that the members of Boko Haram are not ghosts. Kabiru Sokoto, for sure, cannot have been a ghost. So also the other commanders.
“I am really surprised that with all the arrests carried out by our security agencies, they are still finding it difficult to unmask the sponsors of Boko Haram. Could this be true? Or is the whole thing political? We need to know. Every Nigerian wants to know.
As a Christian I don’t have any qualms with granting amnesty to anybody.
“The lesson of Easter has further strengthened my resolve to forgive. I see Jesus Christ hanging on the cross and still calling on the Father to forgive His crucifiers as a monumental lesson in forgiveness. During His earthly ministry he taught his disciples how to pray. In the prayer He said, they should pray “forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”.
“This is quite instructive. As a Christian I don’t think that forgiveness is an elective. We must forgive no matter the gravity or magnitude of the offence. It is not a sign of weakness but rather that of strength to forgive. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will leave us all blind and toothless. So it really breaks my heart when revered men of God are postulating that some people should not be forgiven. I am of the opinion that it is negation of our Christian principles and a bad advertisement to the gospel.
“I strongly agree with the Northern Christian Elders that churches and Christians who were affected by the Boko Haram crises should be compensated. I feel not only Christians but all those who affected should be compensated. It is only fair for the government to do that. This must be a major part of amnesty discussion.
I am very much of the opinion that what the government should do is to engage the Boko Haram in meaningful dialogue.
“The government should be seen to be sincere and transparent in engaging the Boko Haram. By amnesty, nobody is saying that the government should just dole out money to some miscreants. There should be a proper negotiations and peace deals reached before the amnesty will be employed.
“The recent position taken by JNI, that more Muslims have been killed than Christians, is not what we really need for now. The truth is that many Nigerians have been killed whether they are Muslims or Christians. I think the way forward is not the issue of who and who have been killed but how to move forward. This pogrom must end.
I feel that as Nigerians we must all be committed to making sure that there is peace in every nook and cranny of this country. We cannot continue this way. The crises going on in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria are enough to motivate us to want to make peace. If we continue this way, we may wake up one day and discover that there is no Nigeria to live in. The price might be high but it is worth our trying.”
Source: The Will
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