EL-RUFAI’S DEMOLITION IN KADUNA HAS NO RELIGIOUS MOTIVE – Joseph Hayab, PRO CAN, Northern states.

EL-RUFAI’S DEMOLITION IN GBAGYI, KADUNA HAS NO RELIGIOUS MOTIVE EVEN AS THE BILL IS NOT TOTALLY EVIL AS CLAIMED AND THE KIDNAPPING OF DR. DZIGGAU IS A CRIMINAL ACT – Joseph Hayab, PRO CAN, Northern states.

Recently, Rev (Dr.) Emmanuel N. Dziggau, the president of the HEKAN Churches and Chairman of ECWA/TEKAN block in the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) and two other people, were kidnapped in a move that a Church leader has described as being masterminded by some insiders in the CAN. This happened just as Gbagyi, a community in Kaduna town populated mainly by Christians is facing demolition of so many structures by the Kaduna state government, a matter that has been politicized along Christian /Muslims lines. All these coming at the wake of the bill proposed by the Kaduna State governor, El-Rufai to curb religious excesses in state which some Christian leaders across Nigeria have described as an affront to the faith. Pastor John Joseph Hayab, the PRO of CAN for Northern states, also the former Secretary General for the Kaduna State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was the Special Advisor on Religious Matters to the late Governor Yakowa of Kaduna State. In this interview, Hayab speaks on all the issues mentioned and posits that the demolition in Gbagyi has no religious undertone and  Christians should tell the truth at all times, not only when it is convenient. He also speaks on the kidnapping of Dr. Emmanuel Dziggau and dispels the CAN angle, and, taking a critical look at the bill by El-Rufai, confirms that the bill is not totally bad as being claimed by a section of Christian community in Kaduna state. Interview was conducted by Bola Adewara, editor of Elifeonline.

i

The information we have in the Southern parts of Nigeria is that El-Rufai or the Muslim APC government is persecuting the Christians in Kaduna state. What is the true situation about the Gbagyi matter? Is it a case of Islam persecuting Christianity?
Well you see, as a pastor and as a Christian, the bible tells me to tell the truth and that the devil is the father of all lies. I am a Christian and will never tell lies. The truth is that Gbagyi matter has nothing to do with Christianity or Islam. Yes, those who live in Gbagyi are Christians but the issue is not about Christianity or Islam. They should tell the truth.
People went to sell land that does not belong to them. The way and manner those land were acquired and sold were criminal. The land belongs to Kaduna Polytechnic. The time this land was sold, the first acting Rector of the Polytechnic was a Christian. He was even the one that raised the alarm. He was the one who led Governor Yakowa (now late) to intervene in the matter. Yakowa asked the Polytechnic to fence the remaining part so that they can resolve the matter or if possible find another land for the Polytechnic. When Yakowa died, these processes were not completed and the people did not take advantage of the Christian governor to regularized the land. So when the new Kaduna state government now try to retrieve the land that belong to government, the Polytechnic now went to the government to say their land too were encroached upon. Government now try to find a way out of this by setting up a body and the body wrote to the people. I think the people should have gone to the government and speak on the matter. Rather than do that, they are raising an alarm the governor is persecuting them.
I am a pastor. If I have a pastor who goes to buy land in that kind of a place because he wants to build a church, I will tell him not to buy that kind of land so that one day someone will not come and demolish it. We have to do things right. When Jesus said we should give to Caeser what is of Caeser, what He is saying is that when we are faced with issues that have to do with the law, let us give to the law what is of the law. For anybody to politicize it that it has to do with persecution of Christians, I think it is wrong. We should stand for our faith and our faith is about standing for the truth. Only when we tell the truth can our enemies stumble. If our ways pleases God, He would make our enemies to be at peace with us.

What is the true situation about the El-Rufai’s Bill now?
The bill has not reached the public hearing stage. We are looking at the entire bill and we want the bill withdrawn so we can discuss the issue first. We don’t heat up the polity unnecessarily. Since the bill is about the people, they need to discuss it and understand why people are clamouring. Many people are complaining.
However, if you look at the bill with an honest mind, without being bias, our people know that it is sensible in some areas. The bill is not entirely rubbish as people say. We have Christians who know that some people will just go and buy house in some residential areas an convert it to a church. When you are sleeping, they raise their loudspeakers and say they are doing all night. If you tell them they are disturbing your peace because the place is a residential area consisting of people who got to sleep and get ready for work the following day, they would say you are an unbeliever, why are you disturbing them from praising God.
Many of them know that what they are doing is wrong. So the bill is attempting to address some of these areas. But because of some areas that are unclear, we feel the bill should be withdrawn. We should discuss it properly with a view to removing the contentious areas and allow the acceptable areas to pass. To say the whole bill is evil is not true. A lot of things about the bill are right. We have so many people who are causing havoc to the church saying they are preaching the gospel.

in all of these, there is a sudden twist. Could you please confirm the kidnapping of Rev (Dr.) Emmanuel N. Dziggau, a Christian leader in the North?
Yes, the news is true though a sad one. He is the president of the HEKAN churches with their headquarter here in Kaduna and he is the chairman of the ECWA/TEKAN block in the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN.
The church is planning to build a Theological seminary and so purchased a field along Kaduna Abuja Road, not too far from the NYSC camp around 18, 20 kilometers away from Kaduna. They went to the farm along with the Vice Chairman, secretary and one member of the church so that they would look at the plan and what they would do. There, the criminals kidnapped them, took them away and have been asking for money.

How many of them were kidnapped?
Three of them were kidnapped, the chairman, the president and one other pastor of the church.

What are they asking for?
They are asking for one hundred million and the church told them they don’t have that kind of money. This is why we are suspecting that this has to do with the effort of the church to build a seminary. I think when the announcement was made in the church that they want to build a seminary, the evil people were in the church that day. When the church said they have no such money, they said what about the money they want to use to build the seminary, they should bring the money. So it suggests they were in Church that Sunday, they are well informed. Up till now, this is the only money they know and they are asking for.

What has the church said about the matter?
The sad situation now is that one of the elders of the church mistakenly connected this saga with the forth coming CAN elections. This is so unfortunate and childish because there is nothing about CAN that has to do with this. Probably he has a hidden motive and he quickly used that to divert the attention of the church. No one knows if he has a hidden agenda for saying that. Instead of the church to come together to demand that the government fish out the criminals, we are now saddled with searching for the kidnappers among CAN and no one is aware of anybody capable of doing such. But right now, the security agencies are working hard to find the kidnappers and bring the people back and secondly, we desire that the kidnappers are caught so we know who are the people behind it.

What CAN elections is being talked about?
The tenure of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is about finishing, another elections would hold by June or July 15. CAN supposed to elect her leaders and I don’t think there is anything about this. CAN’s election is done by Electoral College. The five blocks in CAN would present three people each and the fifteen of them would sit and choose two people amongst those who present themselves and present them to the NEC for elections and the first person would be the president and the second as Vice. So I don’t think this criminal act has anything do with this.

Is Dziggau contesting for CAN presidency?
He is not. That is why so many of are wondering. Probably in the block he is representing some people have interest and those who raised the false alarm have interest. Some of us want to ask questions why this kind of alarm at this time because it is not good for the church.

Is this not a kind of diversion in view of what is happening in Kaduna now, the bill, the Gbagyi demolition that has been sensationalized and politicized…

No. The bill has nothing to do with this issue. There is so much distortion about the bill that has nothing to do with the original thing. The bill has its own problem but there has been so much distortion. People talk of so many things without saying the exact words in the bill. The bill has nothing like if you drive in your car you cannot have the sermons or play music. Complete distortion. That can never be. This kidnapping is a pure criminal act and we are telling ourselves in the church that let us face this now squarely so we can tell the Kaduna state government what we feel about the bill.