…Says prayer for Nigeria’s unity must stop in our churches from February 2
A pro-Biafra group, the Biafran Restoration Movement, BRM, has dared the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, against praying for the unity of the country across churches in the region it described as ‘Biafra territory.’
In a letter addressed to the CAN President, Rev. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, by the group’s Publicity Secretary, Mazi Uwalaka Maduka, BRM lambasted the religious body for not rising in defence of persecuted and slaughtered Christians agitating for a free State in Nigeria.
BRM said CAN failed to condemn the proscription and designation of the indigenous people of Biafra as terrorists, adding that the implication of the action of the government implies that any person who hails from the defunct Eastern and Mid-Western region known as Biafra territory has been classified as terrorists.
It, therefore, gave out a directive with effect from February 2, demanding “a total and unconditional stoppage to any request for or any call for a prayer point for Nigeria’s unity in ALL churches in the country and even in Diaspora that a Biafran is found.”
According to the letter from the group: “Please kindly permit us to start by thanking you and your organization, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for standing akimbo, looking and possibly hailing the actions of the APC-led Fulani Federal Government of Nigeria when a whole nation was proscribed. We mean when the terrorist Fulani Federal Government tagged ALL the Indigenous Persons/Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) terrorists and even went ahead to gazette that terrorism tags on ALL Biafrans.
“In case, CAN and the terrorist Fulani FG do not understand the consequences of the action she took, then let’s break it down. The gospel truth is that the terrorist tag is on everyone from that region(s) of the country because WE ARE ALL the Indigenous Persons/Peoples of Biafra (IPOB). It does not matter the interpretation the government, CAN or anyone gives to it.
“The reality is that the FG has by her actions classified ALL of us as ‘’terrorists’’ of which we have grown to become very proud of our terrorism tags by the Fulani FG. Why won’t we be proud? When the sane world was with us and made the terrorist Nigerian government to understand that we are not terrorists to them but freedom fighters fighting for justice for all and most importantly to extricate ourselves from the terroristic Nigerian contraption.
“What Nigeria failed to recognize is that IPOB is NOT a group but an ‘’align’’ of ALL the Indigenous Persons/Peoples from the Biafran territory. It does not even matter that some people have today ‘’groupnized’’ what the original concept of IPOB represents. What the terrorist FG and CAN must have missed is that we are ALL Indigenous Biafrans which thus makes us IPOB. Therefore, it’s surprising we got so labeled and all we got from CAN was a total silence. Not even a condemnation!
“We equally thank you again now that all the roads leading to our region of the country and in fact our region have today become the ‘’Eastern Cash Centers (ECC)’’ A.K.A terrorist Nigerian Police checkpoints cum stop and search cum roadblocks cum toll gates of the terrorists Nigeria uniform outfits. Of course, you are also silent because the wellbeing of Christians from the East does not matter.
“Once again, we thank you for protesting the killings of Christian Youths from our region whose only crime was that they dare to demand for the right to self determination through referendum to be extended to Biafra. This is same demand that the Fulani President of Nigeria made before the United Nations for the Islamic territories of Palestine and Western Sahara.
“Note that from August 30th, 2015 to date, over 2000 Christian youths from our region have been slaughtered by the terrorists Nigerian Army, Police, DSS and their other sister outfits. Lots of these killings were even caught on camera including the day light killings at National Primary School at Aba and the videos trended. Did CAN even condemn the killings?
“The only time we are useful to CAN is when there is the need to fight for or make donations to the ‘’Persecuted Christians in the North’’. The most painful thing about the Persecuted Christians of the North is they will rather be in bed with their Muslim persecutors than condemn evils against Christian Biafrans, support their freedom or join them to form an unbreakable bond. Ditto for the South West Christians. In the height of the killings, we even got a condemnation and solidarity note from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) also known as the Shiites. But once again, it was total silence from ‘CAN in the North, South West Christians and the mother CAN’
“CAN, the truth is that at the end of the day, we will not only remember these killings of our innocent Youths but we will never forget your silence and that of others like you (like the previously ever out speaking South West based Human Rights Organizations that ALL went into a deep sleep at the height of these killings).
“Based on the above, we have however come to the conclusion that starting from February 02, 2020 that we demand a total and unconditional stoppage to any request for or any call for a prayer point for Nigeria’s Unity in ALL churches in the country and even in Diaspora that a Biafran is found. We will no longer accept such call for the Unity of such a murderous entity that tagged ALL of us terrorists and also gives us the 5 percenters’ treatment at will for committing no crime apart from the fact that we are unfortunate enough to come from the avowed must-be-dealt-with 5 percent region.
“CAN MUST henceforth stop washing the Unity of the murderous entity down our throats. Have our lives not been sacrificed enough for the country’s Unity? Is the 6.5 million lives of Igbo Christians and by extension other Easterners slaughtered between 1966 to date not enough deaths for CAN to understand that the terrorist Nigeria’s Unity mantra has been very costly to our people? How can CAN that have never called for justice for our slaughtered youths and those still in various prisons be cajoling us into Unity and Peace Prayers for Nigeria? CAN, can there be Unity and Peace without justice?
“CAN even recently defended the inclusion of Nigeria in the US watch list for Christian Persecution and as expected, the killings of our people didn’t even make the list. Not even a passing mention. Maybe, we are not Christian enough for our intimidation, marginalization, victimization, oppression, maltreatment, strangulation, molestation and murder by this government and Nigerian state to get a mention?
“Do not get us wrong, we are not against Nigeria’s Unity for those that wish to continue with the terrorist contraption. We however make bold to state categorically that we are Biafrans and Biafrans we are. Just like the Holy Book says ‘’we are in the world but we are not of the world’’. In same vein, ‘’we say that we are in Nigeria but we are not Nigerians’’. The truth is that our spirits and souls have since left this contraption.
“Every other day, we see MURIC, NSCIA and other Muslim groups in Nigeria pray and fight for freedom for Islamic territories that are even strangers to them. But what do we get from our CAN and her various blocs?
“And until the right for the opportunity to self determine as President Buhari demanded and advocated for the above named Islamic territories is also extended to we Christians, CAN must continue to count us out of any prayer for the contraption’s Unity in our various churches.
“Therefore, let those that wants Nigeria’s Unity organize special programmes that only their likes will attend as such charades of praying for the terrorist Fulani contraption called Nigeria’s Unity will no longer be allowed during regular service sessions in our churches no matter the name that such session is known in its local denominations. We are not even saying that you shouldn’t collect money as usual to pray for the Nigeria’s Unity when offered; we are saying that you do it different from the scheduled weekly services in all our churches.
“We have asked Biafrans worldwide to peacefully challenge, disturb and disrupt any regular church service that the congregations are asked to pray for Nigeria’s Unity after February 1st, 2020. In fact, Biafrans have equally been asked to note churches and worship centers that disobey this harmless demand for possible ‘Indigenous People of Biafra Treatment’ to be given to them ‘harmlessly’.
“We are sure that there is no Biafran that sucked his/her mother’s breast and not fathered by one of the efulefus that will witness any call for Nigeria’s Unity Prayer that will not immediately peacefully challenge, disturb and disrupt such call or at least call on our harmless devouted volunteers to do the needful except such one is a Big Fool. In fact, our prayer for such one is that his/her life and that of his/her generations to be ruled, governed, administered and ruined like the terrorist Nigerian contraption has been so ruined…….(Can we get an Iseeeeee /Amen?)
“Please we ask that you use your good office to circulate this harmless demand to ALL the blocs that makes up CAN and also kindly assist the blocs to pass the message to denominations under them especially those not copied in this letter.
“Note that we are also in discussion with Biafran Muslims for them to also join suit in stopping Nigerian Unity prayers in their various Mosques especially those situated in Biafraland. However, we are starting with the churches which are our Jerusalem.
“We pledge to continue to support CAN like we have always done in all MUTUAL ramifications provided that she gets all concerned to obey this demand and most importantly, stop the Parasitic Relationship that she has subjected Biafrans to for these past several years.
“Finally, based on this harmless demand, we make bold to state categorically that ‘’we do not seek the Peace that passeth all understanding, we rather ask for the understanding that bringeth all Peace with you on this subject’’. Therefore, we ask that you use your position to get all within your organization to understand, bear with us and obey this demand so that the understanding that bringeth all Peace can reign supreme in our lives.
“Please note that we do not wish for a situation where we will be forced to ask Biafrans to stop giving their offerings and paying their tithes to the churches due to failure to obey this demand as we can’t be guaranteed of any call off date soonest.
“Thanks and remain blessed as always. Please double your efforts to free #Leah Sharibu. Also try and make sure that the persecuted Christians of the North that have become an endangered species are better protected henceforth.
“Prosperous and fruitful 2020 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
