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Before The Church Tenders Another Apology.


In recent times,we have witnessed lots of apologies coming from groups and individual as continuing tensions mounts in our nation today. First it was PDP that apologized for embezzling our national resources for 16 years. An apology received by Nigerians with mixed feelings. Then Vanguard apologized for calling Yorubas moron for supporting Buhari while CAN apologized for misleading Nigerians. The last was Premium Times that apologized for lying against Meyetti Allah. These are clear indications that the problem of the nation emanates from the politicians, religious bigotry and the press as clearly represented by PDP,CAN, Vanguard and Premium Times.

Hate and bitterness has taken over every nooks and crannies of every aspect of the Nigerian society and it's unfortunate that it's coming directly from the pulpit. With the exception of few churches, Sunday sermons are all centered on fueling the most sensitive and burning issues in Nigeria. In the past, it was common knowledge that violent protests breaks out after Friday prayers in the north but that seem not to be the trend these days. Now, fake news litters our social media after Sunday services. It's either that gates of hell are be opened for political opponents of parties or curses pronounced on those who are perceived as enemies of the state and perpetrators of violent acts.
In all these, there is a very big difference between free and hate speech. Hate speech precedes genocide which I consider the greatest tragedy in human history. They are inflammatory and inciting opinions directed at tribes, races, and religions and there are enough evidence from history on dangers and consequences of embarking on that road.
With fake news and daily drums of ethnic and religious hatred getting louder by the day and coming from very popular quarters, God forbid, but it won't be long before we drift into a state of anarchy and Ruwanda will be a child's play. In Britain and Wales, you risk a seven-year jail term or a fine or both for expressions of hatred toward someone on account of that person’s colour, race, disability, nationality (including citizenship, ethnic or national origin, religion, or sexual orientations). Unfortunately, we have no such laws here.
It should be recalled that the genocide in Rwanda which started on 7th April 1994 untill July 1994 saw the death of more than 800,000 people. The Hutu-led government with the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi militias perpetrated this genocide against the Tutsi population, Twa, and moderate Hutus. It is very sad to note that the Rwandan churches were the main culprit in the escalation of this crime against humanity and coupled with the establishment of hate Radio stations like the radio Biafra we have here. They were warned then and cautioned as we are doing at the moment here, but the Biblical injunction of "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm" will not let us do that. When you caution a brother or a sister to redress his or her steps, you have not touched his anointing. I understand the grave dangers of insulting an anointed servant of God and honestly, the consequences are immeasurable.
In Rwanda dozens of Catholic priests were believed to have been complicit in the killings. You could imagine that several massacres were carried out in churches where people sought sanctuary. This prompted Pope Francis in March 2017 to publically ask for "God's forgiveness" for the "sins and failings" of the Roman Catholic Church at the time of the Rwandan genocide.
In Nigeria, we must avoid hate speeches and inflammatory statements in our churches. We must say no to fake news. Just recently, BBC reported on how fake news aggravated herders/farmers crises in in the North central. Hate speeches are crowd pullers and something should be done quick. Public apology can be avoided when the deeds are done if we put a stop to all these and be well guided by wisdom in dishing out words from the pulpit.
Nnaemeka Ikerionwu
Email: meganaija12@gmail.com

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