Kaduna, Nigeria - The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has threatened to mobilise Christians nationwide to boycott the forthcoming national population census,if religion and ethnicity are not included in the census questionnaire.
CAN National Secretary, Mr. Samuel Salisu, who addressed a press conference in Kaduna on Friday also attributed some of the socio-political problems plaguing the nation to what he described as President Olusegun Obasanjo's infidelity.
According to Salisu, “let him go back to God and God will begin to fight his (Obasanjo’s) battle for him”.
The CAN scribe explained that Obasanjo had actually embraced God when he came to power in 1999 regretting that somewhere along the line, the President backslid.
Salisu said, “when people think they are very comfortable, they backslide and think they know everything. Once you do that, God will backpedal and leave you alone and that is why there are cultists everywhere today and confusion has returned to the country.
“CAN is in a position to advise the President to go back to God. He should follow God righteously.
“Today, he dresses like a Mullah, tomorrow he is in a shrine and the next Sunday he is in the church, carrying a Bible. Who is he deceiving?”
According to Salisu, CAN had already initiated various processes towards enlightening all Christian denominations not to participate in the census programme.
He said that the national executive committee of CAN along with the President-in-Council, comprising the leadership of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), the Catholic, the Pentecostal Fellowship, the Evangelical Church of West Africa and the Organization of African Independent Churches, took the decision to protest the alteration of religion and ethnicity in the census questionnaire.
He alleged that the Sultan of Sokoto had stampeded Obasanjo into deleting religion and ethnicity without consulting CAN.
According to him, “during the initial planning, the National Population Commission had included ethnicity and religion in the questionnaire under columns eight and nine. But somewhere along the line, they were changed to origin and disability.
“CAN had tried to find out why and information got to us that the Sultan of Sokoto, along with some Emirs went and sat down with Mr. President and threatened him to remove ethnicity and religion failing which Muslims would not take part in the census.
“The church is going to boycott the census totally. They intimidated the President and that is exactly what happened too when Obasanjo hurriedly imposed a state of emergency in Plateau state due to threats from the Sultan.
“The President-in-Council has vowed that Christians should not participate in the census and we are going to mobilise all Christian denominations to comply.”
Salisu also faulted Federal Government's anti-corruption crusade describing it as not all-encompassing.He said that CAN had already begun independent investigations into various areas of corrupt practices.
He said,"we already have some documents and at the appropriate time we will release them and I assure you the Presidency will not be spared"
In a separate development, the Anglican Archbishop of Kaduna Diocese, Most Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has commended the Zamfara state governor, Alhaji Ahmad Sani, for his commitment to the implementation of Sharia in his state.
Fearon spoke on Friday when he led a delegation of some Christian and Muslim leaders on a visit to Sani at the Zamfara state lodge in Kaduna.
According to him, “the governor gives everybody his respect but it is unfortunate that he is misunderstood in the implementation of Sharia.
“In spite of grumblings from some Christians in your state, God made you governor for Christians and Muslims.
“I urge you to abide strictly by the principles of implementation of Sharia so that Christians will not be in doubt of your commitment and sincerity.”
Responding, Sani explained that implementation of the Sharia law was part of his campaign promises prior to his election, noting however that, “I did not envisage that Sharia was going to be a national issue.
“I am careful of how I handle affairs of all people in my state and I do what I do because someday I will give an account of it to God.The people who misrepresent the implementation of sharia do so for selfish political considerations”.
Those on the delegation also included, the deputy Imam at the Abuja national mosque, Sheikh Abubakar Imam, and Kaduna state CAN Secretary, Rev. Joseph Hayab, as well as a former governor of Abia State, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, among others.