The Muslim Community of Oyo State has appealed to religious leaders in the country to be cautious in making provocative statements under the guise of commentary on the Boko Haram insurgency.
In a statement jointly signed by Ishaq Kunle Sanni, Chairman and Murziq Abidemi Siyanbade, Secretary, the group said that such comments can escalate the political tension in the country.
“We particularly condemn the statement credited to Bishop Wale Oke of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries asking the Head of the Nigerian Muslim Community, The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar to “come clean” on the issue of Boko Haram, as a very unguarded vituperation to gain cheap popularity and heat up the polity.
The statement wonders if the Bishop reads newspapers or listens to news in the electronic media in the country, as, according to the group, the Sultan and many Emirs including Islamic religious leaders, at the risk of their lives have commented boldly not only to condemn the notoriety of Boko Haram but went to the extreme extent of declaring them non –Muslim, due to their un-Islamic brutality and genocide.
“Is the Bishop not aware that some Emirs have been killed and there was an attempt on the life of the Emir of Kano last year by this dreaded group?
“So how can anybody now think the Sultan who even is an endangered homo sapiens and who if the Boko Haram have their way could be killed now, be accused of conspiracy with the evil that Boko Haram represents?
“Is it not also on record that more Muslims than Christians have been killed by these blood thirsty infidels masquerading as religious bigots?
The group However says it fervently believe that we should face reality on the deal being proposed by Shekau, the notorious leader of Boko Haram for swapping the girls for some Boko Haram members presently under incarceration.
“We disagree with those opposed to this deal on the basis of not negotiating with terrorists. The lives of these children are more important than going on an ego trip.
“Whether we like it or not, the Nigerian state is at war with Boko Haram and in a war situation, swapping prisoners of war is not an aberration or an alien tradition.
“After the 1948 conflict between Arabs and Israel, all Arab soldiers captured were released in exchange for all Israeli troops captured by the Arabs. In 2011 over one thousand Palestinians were freed in exchange for Giland Shalit, the IDF Tank Gunner,” it said.
The group said that the alternative to swapping these girls with Boko Haram prisoners is an all out military intervention which would definitely endanger the lives of the innocent girls.
“Human lives mean nothing to these people and the earlier the negotiations are done the better for freeing the parents of these children from their psychological trauma. After these girls are freed from the bondage of Boko Haram, then we expect the military to go the whole hog and flush them out of the forests where they are hibernating.
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