CAN tackles Islamic council over NIREC leadership

The crisis rocking the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council deepened on Thursday with the Christian Association of Nigeria alleging that the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs had scuttled every effort to hold meetings.

The organisation specifically faulted the exclusion of Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi; astute Islamic preacher, Sheikh El-Zaki Zaki; and the President, Supreme Council for Islamic Preachers in Nigeria, Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Nurain, from an umbrella body of religious leaders like NIREC, whereas CAN comprises all Christians in the country.

A statement by the Director of National Issues in CAN, Mr. Sunday Oibe, claimed that the Secretary-General of NSCIA and ex-Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar 111, had decided not to allow the meeting of NIREC to hold, “until the expiration of the tenure of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor as CAN President.”

Several calls, e-mail and SMS to Oloyede to respond to CAN’s allegation were not responded to.
Oloyede had, in an interview, said Christians in Nigeria were unduly dragged into \politics for their selfish reasons.

He had also alleged that if not for the maturity of NSCIA, Muslims would have had a serious confrontation with their Christian counterparts over the last general elections.

The UNILORIN ex-VC added that the 2014 National Conference was skewed to favour Christians over Muslims on 70:30 ratio.

Oibe, however, said, “We have decided to speak because perception can be made stronger than reality. We can no longer continue to keep quiet because we are in a society that is gullible and where people swallow lies hook, line and sinker. The continuous attempt by Oloyede to mislead the public should not be allowed to succeed this time around.

“Oloyede has been giving an impression that every Christian leader in Nigeria, except his two friends, were dragged into the 2015 partisan politics. But good enough, he contradicted himself by saying that Muslim leaders, under NSCIA, decided to gang up against ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

“He had claimed he is not a religious leader and this is just the problem the NIREC has been facing.”

According to him, NIREC cannot function because it is a conglomeration of religious leaders from one group and a mix-grill of politicians and traditionalists on the other hand.

Oibe added, “The likes of Oloyede have carefully, for his personal interest, with the blessing of his mentor, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar 111, refused the true composition of religious leaders, thereby making NIREC ineffective. How do we explain the exclusion of respected Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi and astute Islamic preachers like Sheikh El-Zaki Zaki, and an amiable President of Supreme Council for Islamic Preachers in Nigeria, Sheikh Mohammed Ahmed Ibn Nurain, from an umbrella body of religious leaders like NIREC, whereas CAN comprises all Christians in the country?”

The association appealed that having admitted that he was not a religious leader, Oloyede should honourably resign as the National Coordinator of NIREC for the organisation to move forward.

CAN said Christians did not raise any objection to the position Oloyede had been occupying for close to 10 years.

(Punch)