By Gilbert Ekezie
The Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka-Uche, has frowned at the gruesome murder of a 200-level student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Samuel, by some Islamic extremists in Sokoto recently.
He said incessant killing of Christians will no longer be condoned and called on the National Assembly to promulgate a bill that would discourage the barbaric killing in the name of religion.
He stated this during his Apostolic/Valedictory tour of the Lagos Archdiocese at Wesley Chapel, Lekki.
Uche expressed serious concern over the present state of the nation and blamed Christians at the National Assembly for not having the interest of Christians at heart. According to him, “it is unfortunate that our Christian law makers are not representing us well. They should promulgate a bill that nobody should be killed on the basis of religion, and if the president signs it, then it becomes law.”
The Prelate insisted that killing in the name of religion is a crude and uncivilised lifestyle, advising that Nigerians should promote love and harmony among one another.
He also condemned those calling for “a particular tribe” to leave the country, saying that, those who are told to live are even more Nigerians than those asking them to leave.
“There is need to shun ethnicity, tribalism and religious extremism. The Methodist Church has always preached love and egalitarianism. Those who want to annihilate us, will end up killing themselves.”
Uche, who will be retiring at the end of November this year, advised political parties to allow the best people to emerge as candidates during the ongoing primaries, saying that the worst undoing of this is to allow criminals, jobbers and those who do not have good antecedents to assume the office of President, governors, senators, members of House of Representatives/states House of Assembly, local government area chairman and councillors.
He said: “We want the best, but that may have been defeated when they have commercialised the whole thing, by asking presidential aspirants to pay N100 million for form. With that, they are bringing hooligans and wolves to lead the country, and that will not augur well for us.
“But if they insist on doing that, we do not want consensus candidates, everybody should go to the poll during the primaries, and the votes should be counted openly.”
Uche, who is the first Igbo to become a Prelate of the Methodist Church, Nigeria after 121 years, also admonished the electorates to cast their votes wisely for candidates of their choice during the 2023 general election.
“Voters should vote according to their conscience and not mortgage their future and that of their children by collecting money and voting for the wrong people,” he said.