President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that his administration has again averted another religious crisis which would could have broken out yesterday in one of the states of the federation.
Speaking during a special edition of Presidential Media Chat aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)Network Service last night, the president, who did not mention the state where the religious conflict was averted however, said that a religious leader was murdered in the unnamed state. THISDAY checks, however, revealed that the crisis was averted in Bauchi State.
The President said that he received the report on his way to the venue of the media chat, and quickly took steps to ensure that the brewing religious crisis was nipped in the bud.
Noting that the situation has been brought under control to ensure that it does not spill-over to other areas, Obasanjo said that Nigeria has two major religions, namely Christianity and Islam, adding that both religions emphasise brotherly love, peaceful co-existence, service to humanity and contributions to community.
While stressing the need for adherents of all religions in the country to live in harmony, Obasanjo said that there is no religion in the world that says its followers must kill in order to go to heaven.
He added that his administration has been and would continue to take steps to ensure that the relative peace enjoyed in the country is not disrupted by any form of crisis.
Citing Plateau as an example, Obasanjo said that when the incumbent administration "seemed unable, incapable, and unwilling to stem the tide of violence, we declared a state of emergency" in the state.
He added that when violent crisis broke out in Anambra State lately, he was in Tanzania, but immediately directed the police to take action to restore peace.
He said when he was informed that the police were being overwhelmed, he ordered additional police units from neighbouring states, adding that in the process, 19 of the perpetrators of the mayhem were apprehended by the police along with their buses. Obasanjo said that if all the Anambra mob were to be arrested, then it would require all the policemen in the country.
Commenting further on why there are pockets of crisis in different parts of the country, he hinged the development on the prevalence of injustice, arguing that injustice and peace are two strange bedfellows.
According to the President, to ensure peace, justice must be enthroned. He consequently maintained that efforts must be made to ensure that justice is built in the nation's political and social systems.
On the state of the Niger Delta, Obasanjo said that though there might be some genuine reasons for agitations in the zone based on its peculiar terrain which makes the pace of development slow, there are people that think they can hold people hostage or vandalise economic installations in order to extort money.
He said that in his administration's bid to check violence in the Niger Delta, he met with 35 militant youths from the region, who he described as self-confessed murderers. As a result of this meeting, he said government has been able to retrieve almost 1,000 deadly weapons including AK 47 rifles and RPG's rifles from the militant youths.
He however attributed the decadence in the zone to the breakdown of societal and family values.