Being an excerpt from the Presidential Address by Bishop of Lagos West Diocese, Rt. Rev. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi, at the recently concluded First Session of the Fifth Synod of the Diocese in Lagos.The EclipseDESPITE the various political and religious riots and killings of the past, the menace of the Boko Haram sect has almost eclipsed the peace hitherto present in the most parts of Nigeria in recent times. The untold havoc wreaked on the psyche of Nigerians has had an untold effect on every part of the country. Boko Haram appears to be the hidden agenda of a group being made manifest at a time when the political climate of the country is confusing. Many leaders in the North, and who are mostly Muslims, have continued to deny the fact that Boko Haram is a religious organisation. On the other hand however, the group has consistently maintained that it is made up of Muslims, that they are against Western education and that they hate Christianity, which they consider a by-product of Western education.If Boko Haram has nothing to do with Islamist expansion and agenda, why does it consistently bomb only churches' More than five churches have been torched by the sect till date. Hundreds of lives have been lost in church. The logical question to ask at this stage is: how many mosques have been bombed at the last count and how many Moslems have been killed in the affected mosques'It is our hope that the deceit will be over soonest and those behind this evil agenda will have a re-think because no persecution, however severe, can successfully eliminate any one religion from any part of the country.Religious HarmonyIN order to promote religious harmony in the country, it will not be a bad idea for the people of the North to learn a few lessons from those in the South, where we are first brothers and sisters, before religion is considered. For instance, I am a Bishop and a Christian, but the Chief Imam of my town is my cousin. At my consecration as bishop in 1993, he contributed immensely to all the arrangements and the Muslims in my town did not only give me gifts, they were with me in the church for thanksgiving. Such Moslems can never plan or organise any evil against me because I am useful to them. When the fence of the town mosque collapsed, I contributed to re-building it. We are happy with one another as one indivisible family. Both religions originated from the East, from the same place and each one of us only accepted the one we wanted. Why then should we kill ourselves, when in Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was born, the Church of Nativity stands side by side with a mosque.On Christmas Eve, when the Church of Nativity is filled up, the doors of the mosque were always flung open for Christians to worship. Some intelligent people should be able to tell fanatics in Nigeria that God created us all ' Christians, Muslims and animists and has never given any man licence to kill others for any reason whatsoever. It is also important to note that every one of us shall stand before the judgment throne of God and be judged according to our deeds while on earth.Let us therefore continue to pray for the families of those who have lost lives in these senseless adventures embarked upon by the Boko Haram sect as well as those who had wrecked untold havoc on the nation before them. After all, the extermination of non-Muslims has been going on long before the sudden emergence of Boko Haram. May the souls of the departed, by the mercy of God, rest in perfect peace.
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