As the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, His Grace, Most Rev. (Dr)
Alfred Adewale Martins, the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, has
urged Christians to remember Leah Sharibu and all those who are in captivity.
Martins, said Christians should remember those in captivity and unable to
enjoy the freedom of being with their families.
In a press release signed by the Acting Director of Social
Communications, Rev (Fr) Anthony Godonu, Martins singled out the plight
of Leah Sharibu, a young Christian girl who has remained, for over two years,
in the hands of her Boko Haram abductors saying her continuous
incarceration remains a sore point in the celebration of the yuletide.
While calling on all Nigerians to remember her as well as others who are
in captivity, either of Boko Haram or kidnappers in their prayers, he
implored President Muhammadu
Buhari to urgently work on fulfilling his promise of effecting the release
of the young Leah Sharibu so that she can be reunited with her family and
loved ones as soon as possible.
“It is very sad that Leah Sharibu is still in detention for over two
years for the single reason that she refused to jettison her Christian
faith. It is a thing of pain, not only for her parents but for most people
especially because of the values she represents: loyalty to faith,
dependability, focus and maturity. It leaves a sour taste in the mouth and a
dark mark on the celebration when one realizes that she may not be able to
join her family to celebrate Christmas again this year. All people of
goodwill must keep on insisting that this girl must not be forgotten, we
must continue to put her matter on the front burner.
“Our government must never forget that until she is released, the whole
country is on tenterhooks. I want to appeal to the President, in
particular, to do all he can to bring back Leah so that she can be reunited
with her family once again,” Martins stated.
On the issue of a perceived agenda for the Islamization of the country,
Archbishop Martins argued that the onus is on government to disabuse the
minds of people if there is indeed no such agenda.
“The allegation that there is an agenda for the Islamization of Nigeria;
that is being played out by the present administration, has been a
recurring one for a while now. Government officials have always denied
this and have even gone further to say it is not possible. However, the
truth of the matter is that some actions and appointments of government as
well as utterances of some government officials leave people with the
impression that there is some truth in the allegation. It therefore
behoves government to disabuse the minds of the people not just by words
but by clear actions to reassure Nigerians. For instance, if the head of
the National Assembly, the Judiciary and the Executive are all of the same
religion, it makes people nervous especially since the balance that we
have experienced in past governments seems to have been jettisoned. If you
couple that with the statement credited to the Chief Justice of Nigeria,
the head of the Judiciary, that the constitution of the country should be
amended so that more elements of the sharia law can be included, one
cannot but conclude that indeed there is an Islamization agenda.
“That becomes more worrisome when the argument is based on the
presumption that the greater population of Nigeria is Muslim. If that is
coming from the CJN who knows that
Nigeria by constitution is a secular state; it is not surprising that the
idea of an Islamization agenda resurfaces with more force. If the heads of
military, para-military and other powerful and influential government
institutions are skewed in such a way that it is manifestly in favor of
one religion, it is only to be expected that people of other religions and
other fair-minded people would be concerned,” he said.
Martins urged President Buhari to work towards clearing the concerns
of all Nigerians in the coming year, 2020, most especially of Christians, by
taking actions and decisions that give everyone a sense of belonging. Such
a disposition and direction of action will allow him to leave a legacy of
uniting the country rather than the division that is so palpable in the
country now.
While wishing Nigerians a merry Christmas, he urged them to be hopeful
and never to despair because of the hardships that are being experienced
all over the nation. “We should remain positive and never slack in our
prayers knowing that God will never turn His back on them. He challenged
Nigerians to also reach out to the poor and the needy and share what they have
with them so as to share the joy of Christmas with everyone.”
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