The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Saturday charged religious leaders in the country to refrain from stoking the embers of hatred and disunity.
Mohammed in a statement warned that this period of christmas should not be used for causing disaffection amongs the citizens.
He said the season is a season of peace and not one for scorched-earth rhetoric that 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,” Mohammed said.
He said it is particularly graceless and impious for any
religious leader to use the period of Christmas, which is a season of
peace, to stoke the embers of hatred, sectarian strife and national
disunity.
”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
said, adding that instigating regime change outside the ballot box is
not only unconstitutional but also an open call to anarchy.
He said 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.
The Minister said whatever challenges Nigeria may be going through at
this moment can only be tackled when all leaders and indeed all
Nigerians come together, not when some people arrogantly engage in
name-calling and finger-pointing.
