Bishop of Nsukka Catholic Diocese, Rt Rev Prof Godfrey Onah, has decried the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
This is even as he urged those in government positions to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians, especially Christians, not just sending them mere Easter wishes.
Onah, who likened the sufferings of Christians to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, in his Easter homily delivered on Sunday at the St Theresa's Cathedral, Nsukka, Enugu State, lamented that Christians were being provoked and targeted without any arrest or prosecution.
“At some point, Christians have been pushed to the wall, as if to say, our faith is meaningless.
“When Mary ran to the tomb in the reading of the gospel this morning, the tomb was empty. In panic, she ran back to the apostles, just like saying they have taken the Lord away, just like saying, the tragedy is not over here. They have taken the Lord away. They have taken his body away.
“A number of things Christians have suffered in this country can be compared to the crucifixion of the Lord. Do we talk about the takeover of all Christian schools, all mission schools by Nigerian government?
“They took over those schools, destroyed them, turned our educational institutions into houses of formation of criminals and mediocre, people who can't write simple letters, who can't speak any language correctly, who can't solve their own problems and won't pass any exam without cheating.
“And that is like crucifying, because that is a house. The school is a house of formation of character. They have taken the body away. They have removed all signs of His death.
“Since after the takeover of schools, who has the correct statistics of the number of churches that have been burnt down this country? Who knows how many Christians have been killed in this country because they are Christians, some right inside the church?,” Onah said.
The bishop further called out the Nigerian government for its selective persecution of Christians whom he said are at the receiving end of the criminal attacks in the country.
“Some will tell you these are criminals, they are not just targeting Christians. Take it easy. How many of those who perpetrate these crimes have been arrested and prosecuted? How many of them are in jail? How many of them have faced the death penalty? The Catholic Church is against the death penalty. I'm talking about Nigerian law.
“But we know that if anything happens to some of those who perpetrate this crime, either in self defense or in resistance, the government stands up. There is outrage everywhere, in all levels of government.
“This selective outrage of government,
this selective outrage of the police, of the Army, of the security agencies when innocent citizens are massacred. and when criminals are repelled, and in the repelling they die, this selective outrage is like it's not only that they have killed him, they've taken the body away.
“They want to wipe off every trace,
and some Christians are being provoked legitimately, to react anytime any of them react, they are said to be taking the laws into their hands. But all those who trample the law where their feet trample upon the law, they kill, they reap, they maim. They sack farmers.
“They have harvested crops of farmers and fed it to their cattle. And when you say, no, why are you doing this? It is death.
And when they do that, they record it and post it to government to see. If you ask them question, you are killed. If you chase them away and while running away, they die, you'll be condemned to death. This,
permit me to say, is pure, sheer provocation.”
Onah said that Nigerians, as well as Christians, like the Israelites escaping from slavery, must learn to do certain things differently.
He added, “We cannot continue in our selfish indifference. We have to bring the values of the gospel into our individual and collective lives. That is the only hope we have for survival while pleading with those whose responsibility it is to govern and to protect us today, many of them will go online in television and their official handles, social media handles to wish Nigerians, especially Christians, Happy Easter.
“Oga, keep your wish. Don't wish me happy Easter. Protect my life. Don't wish me happy Easter. Do your job. Because this cloud that is gathering, this darkness that is gathering, if it is allowed, to extinguish the light of faith of Christians this country will be launched into total darkness. And successive governments that have stood idly by and watched while this is happening should only blame themselves and not any other person, If anything like that happens.
“But today is Easter. Our prayer is that as Christians, we learn really to live the life of the risen Lord, and that even those who are not Christians, looking at us, should learn that the only hope for the salvation after life and even for peace in this world is living out the commandments of Christ, of God, summarized by Christ – loving God and loving your neighbor.”
