The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, has stated that the time for Nigerians to jointly fight terrorism to a standstill and placate the aggrieved has come.
He stated this while receiving the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Wale Oke, at the Olubadan Palace, Oke Aremo, in the Ibadan North Local Government Area, Oyo State.
A statement by his media aide, Adeola Oloko, in Ibadan, the state capital, on Sunday, said it was over a decade ago, specifically, since the twilight of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2014, that Nigeria has been battling with the scourge of terrorism.
Ladoja said, “Many people have been killed and property worth an inestimable amount of money destroyed. Multitudes of families, particularly women and children, have been displaced. Kidnappings have taken place.
“Successive administrations have spent trillions to fight insecurity. When you look at this scenario over the past 10 years, people are bound to feel aggrieved and resort to self-help.
“Former President Jonathan has tried. Former President Muhammadu Buhari has tried. President Bola Tinubu is trying. But I want to caution that terrorists don’t know the difference between Muslims and Christians.
“They see everybody as prey, while they are the predator. This is why as the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, a constituent part of CAN, we are appealing to you to please help us to placate our Christian brethren who are understandably aggrieved that these times will pass.”
The monarch stated that in South-Western Nigeria, where he is more familiar with people from different religious backgrounds who enjoy harmonious relationships, he wonders why such a display of love is hard to come by in other parts of the country.
Earlier, the PFN President, Oke, congratulated Ladoja on his emergence as the 44th Olubadan, praying to God to give him wisdom, knowledge and understanding to discharge his obligations as Olubadan to the satisfaction of God and humanity.
Meanwhile, the President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Oke, has advised Tinubu to partner with US President Donald Trump in tackling the scourge of killings and attacks on several communities across Nigeria, especially in the northern part of the country.
Trump had, penultimate week, designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” over incessant killing across the country, and vowed to deal with the situation.
Trump’s statement has generated a heated argument between the Federal Government and some stakeholders in Nigeria.
Oke, who therefore cautioned Trump against any invasion, and called for more support and cooperation with the Nigerian government, gave this advice while addressing journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Saturday.
He said, “There is Christian genocide in Nigeria. There is no other name to call it. No Christian group is attacking Muslims. Patience of the church is being stretched.”
The president clarified that the violence was perpetrated by radical groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and their splinter factions, who profess Islam during the onslaught, and not by the Muslim community at large.
Oke, who listed killings such as that of “Deborah Samuel, as well as the abduction of Leah Sharibu, the Chibok girls, and attacks in Benue, Taraba, Southern Kaduna, Owo in Ondo State, Niger, and Plateau states,” lamented that hundreds of Christians and pastors had been massacred.
Oke, therefore, thanked Trump for raising concerns over the plight of Christians, urging him against any invasion, and called for more support and cooperation with the Nigerian government.
“Tinubu should ask for the cooperation of Trump, instead of opposing him. The President should root out radical groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP. Work together so that Nigerians can live in peace.
“Government should stand up and not play politics with it. Tinubu and the Federal Government need to cooperate with Trump to deal with this cancer,” he stressed.