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Article of Faith

Of Sheik El-Zakzakky and Apostle Suleiman -By Philip Agbese

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Johnson Suleiman

Apostle Johnson Suleiman

 

Leader of of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky remains in detention after he was arrested late 2015 following attacks on the military by his followers who are largely believed to have acted out his incitement to violence. If El-Zakyzaky, a Muslim could be arrested under a Muslim President by law enforcement officers who are predominantly of the same faith then no Nigerian of any faith should take to crime and expect to get a free pass.

Death spewing Auchi-based General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleiman recently had a video of him go viral in which he openly ordered his members to kill any Fulani they found on the church premises. In the video, which Suleiman has not disputed, not that he can, he could be heard saying, “I have told them in the church here that any Fulani herdsman that just enters by mistake and want to pretend, kill him. Kill him. Cut his head. If they are busy killing Christians and nothing is happening, we will kill them and nothing will happen.”

The Apostle is not new to making threats of death. In 2016, he declared that Kaduna state governor, Nasir el-Rufai would die for daring to come up with a legislation to curb hate preaching. It should be noted that what Suleiman wanted by kicking against passage of that law was a country where hate and extreme views himself and the likes of the IMN favour can go unchallenged. But even for someone with such mindset, his new call for a pogrom sets the standard for a new low.

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It is therefore not a surprise that the Department of State Services (DSS) tried to do their job by taking Apostle Suleiman in for questioning. Unfortunately, they made that attempt in a wrong venue, in Ekiti state where the treasonable governor, Ayo Fayose is known to block federal law enforcement agents from doing their work. They should have formally invited him to clarify his inciting comments and only seek to take him in where he fails to honour the invitation.

When a pastor-prenuer finds himself rounding off his crusades at the government house occupied by a Fayose whose elections as financed with money meant for buying arms that would have fought the killer herdsmen then he should realize that he is partaking of blood money. He has reduced himself to “the Man of God from Judah” as recounted in 1 Kings Chapter 13, who dines with people he should make to see the truth. May his end not be like that of the prophet in that story.

This is why his followers must look out for the instructive aspects of the unfolding scenario. Much as he cited the idea of David killing Goliath in spurring his followers to kill “any Fulani” that as much as strayed into their premises, he knew deep within him that there was nothing scriptural in his call to war neither was he able to attribute it to God. All he offered by way of retort was to suggest no spirituality was needed to kill other humans. “Didn’t David kill Goliath? Was that spiritual?” was his justification in the video. There was consequently nothing Godly in that call.

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Secondly, for a man who talks his followers into waiting on God, not only did he owned up to having an over-bloated team of goons that he calls his personal security – they were the first line in thwarting his arrest- he also figured out that there was no point in allowing God take charge of the situation when his host, Fayose could easily break the law to prevent him ((Suleiman) from answering for his utterances. He personally stated that “So when the men of DSS came in the middle of the night I knew their mission and I had to call the Governor (Fayose) because if they arrest me, they will put this country in fire”.

As an aside, it must be noted that Pentecostal clergies are now on a path that is not different from Boko Haram. They have before now repudiated the statehood of Nigeria by refusing to recognize the laws that govern us as a secular nation as seen in their recent objection to the Corporate Governance Code. Suleiman’s call to begin killing people, which was reportedly preceded by a similar call by another preacher with large following, has completed the circle for the emergence of a Christian version of Boko Haram. They both harbour the state, the reject the authority of government institutions and they jointly advocate killing of humans to make their point.

This by no means implies that the killing of helpless villagers in Kaduna, Benue, Plateau or any other parts of the country by alleged iterant herdsmen is permissible. Well meaning Nigerians had made several calls on the federal government to apprehend these killers and make examples of them. There have been reports in the past that identified persons of other ethnicity among those apprehended for these heinous crimes, which raises the prospects that herders that have no connections with the killings may themselves end up murdered when Suleiman’s crazy call is heeded.

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Does anyone have a practical solution to the killings? It doesn’t seem so, at least the security agency that should unleash the fury of hell on the killers are forced into helplessness by saboteurs that will scream “human rights violation” once the killers get snuffed out during exchange of gunfire. This does not however call for such irresponsible act on the part of any clergy, irrespective of the person’s faith.

El-Zakyzaky tried it and is cooling off his heels somewhere. Suleiman should expect no less if he persists along this line and it will amaze him that his being jailed for hate speech would not set the country on fire but rather would mean a safer nation with one less fanatic on the loose.

If he is as powerful as himself and his followers assume him to be then he would have prayed for those carrying out the killings and anyone supporting them to be exposed. Nigeria will be on fire when the are exposed and nothing is done about it. Apostle Suleiman should have also considered playing the role of the coordinator that brought other notable clergies to pressure the federal government to acting – such initiative could just work where the other politicized religious bodies have failed to have the desired impacts.

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Not to be left out is the expectation that his Omega Fire Ministries International, which is registered as charity can for real carry out charitable work at the locations affected by these senseless killings and destruction instead of spending same on business and first class flight tickets and five star hotel rooms. Perhaps, such missions would open his eyes to the ugly tolls that killings take on humanity and he will also come to the consciousness that what he is asking for is not like the secret cult killings of his undergraduate days.

As a postscript, I expect that Apostle Suleiman could, like El-Zakyzaky, mount his pulpit to sentence me to death as he did el-Rufai and his brainwashed followers and those of other denominations will take on me for daring to speak to the human component of their newfound deity. But let it be known to the Apostle and his minions that when that happens I will take solace in Luke 21:17-19, “17

Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.” And I stand firm because at a time when preachers sell their messages to the highest bidder or pitch to the funkiest concept in town, even as a Bishop in my own shrine, I dare to present this different perspective.

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Agbese writes from the United Kingdom.

 

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