The Federal Government has advised religious leaders in the country to
avoid igniting the embers of hatred and disunity.
The Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed said this in a statement issued in Lagos on Saturday and was made available to newsmen.
He warned that
resorting to scorched-earth rhetoric at this time could trigger
unintended consequences.
”While religious leaders have a responsibility to speak truth to
power, such truth must not come wrapped in anger, hatred, disunity and
religious disharmony,”
The minister noted that it is extremely graceless and impious for any
religious leader to use the period of Christmas to stoke the embers of hatred, sectarian strife, and national
disunity adding that Christmas season is known for peace.
”Calling for a violent overthrow of a democratically-elected
government, no matter how disguised such a call is, and casting a
particular religion as violent is not what any religious leader should
engage in, and certainly not in a season of peace,”
Alhaji Mohammed
also said that instigating regime change outside the ballot box is
not only unconstitutional but also an open call to anarchy.
The minister revealed that while some religious leaders, being human, may not be able to disguise their national leadership preference, they should refrain
from stigmatizing the leader they have never supported anyway, using
well-worn and disproved allegations of nepotism or whatever.
He however revealed that
the problems of Nigeria can be handled when all leaders work together, adding that arrogantly engaging in
name-calling and finger-pointing most especially in critical times like this, will not move the country forward.
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