Obasanjo, Yar’Adua pays Organization of Islamic Countries

[Richard Akindele]

Christians in the northern part of Nigeria on Tuesday expressed shock over payments allegedly made to the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the immediate past president of the country.

Acting under the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Christians demanded an explanation for making payments believed to be arrears of Nigeria’s membership dues since 1986, when Nigeria was said to have joined the organization: They also want to know why such payments were made without the approval of the National Assembly.

CAN also demanded from the present president, Umaru Yar’Adua an explanation to the country why he led a federal delegation to the just concluded meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries in Darkar, Senegal.

We think Nigerians truly need to understand why the two presidents did what they have been alleged to have done. Religion being one of the most sensitive issues all over the world, needed to have been handled with a little more care and openness.

If a timely response is not offered, Nigerians could be tempted to consider any option that may not help the country. Already, the foreign ministry has tried to justify Yar’Adua’s trip with the earlier decision of a Christian president to pay the nation’s membership dues.

Also, the umbrella body of Muslims in Nigeria, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) had said that Nigeria would enjoy enormous economic benefits from belonging to OIC. Maybe, another group would want to say Nigeria cannot exist without OIC. This is sad.

Nigeria has enjoyed reasonable religious tolerance over the years, in spite of occasional religious outbursts, in the north. Even in those cases, it had always been the Muslims targeting Christian over non-issues. If the government must do anything as it stands, it should never make any of the religions feel ignored or despised.

The secularity of Nigeria is even a constitutional issue that gives no president the privilege to corner the country into any organisation. When the idea was first mooted in the 1980s, the controversy it raised was huge. It was then left alone. This should have directed further action.

But for anyone to reduce Nigeria to an Islamic country, without formal approval of the people or their representative, he cannot be said to mean well for this country. It is insulting. In fact, no good Muslim would support this outright falsehood. For the average Christian it is most aweful and the government would need to un-do its steps.

Nigerians did not vote for these presidents to go and force Nigerians into any religious organization. A thing even the military feared to do, is what these civilian governments have done. That they even by-passed the National Assembly and paid such huge sums out at a time poverty was on the rise in Nigeria is inexcusable.

We expect the National Assembly to take up this matter with the two presidents. No Nigerian would want anything other than outright dissociation of Nigeria from OIC and the immediate refund of the said dues. Nigeria has never been and will never be a member of OIC.

Although the West attaches stigma to some religions, we think that the Nigerian Muslim is largely reasonable, agreeable and brotherly. Even so, the Christians or the other religions should not be swallowed up under any guise or ignorance.