Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city, to save it… 2 Kings19: 32-33. 

Recent developments in the polity call for serious concern. The unbridled shedding of innocent blood can only turn Nigeria into a killing field and nobody would be sure of who the next victim would be. This is more so because of leadership failure, whereby those entrusted with power are either incompetent to stem the ugly trend or unwilling or are themselves promoters of this evil.

However, I do not subscribe to the idea that Christians should take up arms against Muslims; neither do I condone the wanton wastage of Christian lives by Muslims. Christians have a higher calling and are trained on the sanctity of life. If we descend to the bestial level of shedding blood, what will differentiate us as a nobler tribe?

The Muslim creed is somehow confusing. We are told they kill for Allah in quest of utopian virgins in paradise. Knowledgeable Muslims also counter that Islam is a religion of peace that forbids shedding of blood. Although this is contrary to available facts, and even if it can be accepted reluctantly as truth, Islamic leaders have not done enough to put their adherents on the right path and this belies all doubts about their sincerity.

To this end, therefore, one is hard put to challenge the Muslim ulamah, led by venerable Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad, to rein in the goons desecrating image of their religion. I describe the Sultan as venerable because the Muslim faithful revere him and so far, the man has been right on point in condemning the killings and rebuking indolent authorities who stand by as Rome burns.

Unfortunately, other leaders up North do not share the spirit and enthusiasm of the sultan. It is insulting to common sense for northern governors to claim that those killing Nigerians are from Mali and Senegal, not Fulani herdsmen. Of course, it is tempting to feel relieved that it is not the Fulani herdsmen that are wreaking havoc across the land. However, having identified the true identity of the killers, how come these governors have not apprehended them? Is it to their credit that foreigners would swoop on their territories, wreck both life and property and get away unchallenged? Obviously, they are not telling themselves the truth, not to talk of convincing Nigerians. It is such aloofness that has fueled the call on Christians for self-defence.

Sometime today, Apostle Johnson Suleiman of Omega Fire Ministries shall be guest to the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly inciting statements. Strangely, the DSS has never deemed it fit to summon people that had made worse statements and even carried out their threats against Christians. Even the trending resurrected video of Bishop David Oyedepo is more relevant today than when it was first preached but nothing was done to address the slide to anarchy.

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So, let our leaders purge themselves of duplicity and any similitude of evil; anything capable of bringing Nigeria to ruins because anybody, who nurses the idea of Islamising Nigeria is living in a fool’s paradise. People should be allowed to profess their faith unhindered, Christian or Muslim. We already have one leg inside national self-annihilation and it would do us all a world of good to retrace it NOW before it is too late.

I don’t buy into killing Fulani herdsmen. Good enough, Apostle Suleiman has situated the context of his alleged call; therefore, his botched abduction in Ekiti and today’s invitation is uncalled for. Of course, nobody should be misled to take up arms against anybody. However, much as no Christian should go out of his way to kill anybody, defending oneself from being killed is not a crime.

There is this trending video of how people are slaughtered like animals in southern Kaduna and I shudder at such savagery. I do not think that God means that a Christian should just lie down and allow his head to be chopped off like Salah ram.

Sadly, that was how the atrocities that razed Rwanda to the ground started. Because a particular tribe, backed by state power, made mince meat of others, constraining the victim tribe to fight back. Today, history is about to repeat itself, as the world’s most populous black nation, Nigeria, is a mere bus-stop away to Rwanda. No matter how peaceful Christians are, those clamouring for self-defence are justified because, before long, Nigeria could become another Turkey, a once-upon-a-time Christian nation that metamorphosed into something else because of sloppiness on the part of the Christians.

Christians are yet to realise their true potentials. The Christian conquest is built on the prevailing blood of Jesus. We are more than conquerors if only we realise and rightly utilise weapon of our warfare, which is not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).

 The strongholds of the devil seem rock-solid because we have turned our back to the rule of engagement. We have neglected the substance to chase shadows. God seems to have turned His back on us. Until we humble ourselves and pray, and seek His face, forsaking our wicked ways, the Lord may neither hear us nor forgive our sin, and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). That is why forbidden Assyrians seem to be firing shots in the city of the Lord, the Church. But no, the Lord will do just what He promised. Nevertheless, it is not about organising fasting and jamboree prayer meetings; it is about the church returning to the ancient landmark.

It would be of interest to the bloodsuckers that the fast-changing world would no more sit askance, watching as Christians and defenceless Biafra agitators are cut down as game. That ghoulish pleasure will no longer be tolerated by a civilised world. Sooner than later, the world will surely ask questions of those at the helm of affairs and they must provide answers.