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Stephen Ojapah MSP
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets” (Mathew 7:12). This passage of the Scripture, is often referred to as the Golden Rule. A traditional English phrasing of this is “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s easy for modern readers to forget how much Christ’s teachings changed the world, and how ingrained some of His ideas became part of the western culture. This statement is vaguely similar to remarks made by other spiritual leaders in history, but it comes with a drastically different perspective.
Jesus was not the first to commend evaluating behavior in light of how you would want to be treated. Earlier Jewish and Greek teachers offer it, as well, as a negative statement; some form of don’t do to anyone what you would not want done to you. In almost all cases, this mostly implies that one ought to do no harm, meaning not to actively do evil. Jesus’ phrasing goes much further: positive action is part of the rule. God expects us to do- to actively pursue- that which we would like to see from others. This idea is the expanded in Jesus’s later comments about the commandments of God (Mathew 22: 34-40).
The fact that Jesus taught the Golden Rule endorses this principle as the will of God. Jesus also teaches here that this was the proper explanation behind the Law of Moses and God’s word to Israel through the prophets. God wants his people to treat others as they want to be treated. This is an incredibly helpful maxim, since it can be applied to most situations in life without need for a specific rule for every possible incident. It is a maxim that is found in most religions and cultures. It can be considered an ethic of reciprocity in some religions, although different religions treat it differently. The maxim may appear as a positive or negative injunction governing conduct: (a) Treat others as you would like others to treat you (positive or directive form). (b) Do not treat others in ways that you would not like to be treated (negative or prohibitive form). (c) What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself (empathetic or responsive form).
In Nigeria, for decades now, there has been this understanding that the North West is predominantly Muslim, and the South -East and South -South is predominantly Christian. The Igbo tribe all across Nigeria are seen to be Christians while the Hausa tribe are equally seen to be Muslims. Successive governments and elites of these two tribes have portrayed an image of a single religion in their various states. In the case of the Hausa tribe, the political and traditional elites in Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Yobe, Bauch etc will always want to present Islam as the only or the dominant religion, and that the indigenes of such states do not practice Christianity. Well sorry, time has passed and changed. The same goes to our Muslim brothers in the South- East and South -South. For years, the political and traditional elites in the South East and South-South, have always presented Christianity as the only dominant religion, sorry too, time has passed and things have certainly changed.
From the 17th to the 20th of May 2021, Daily Trust Newspaper published an exclusive news report on the plight of Igbo Muslims, in the South East. I commend Tadaferua Ujorha, the journalist who wrote the report. He did an excellent job. He gave a brief history of Islam in the region as a religion that has been there for decades. He highlighted the persecution many of the Igbo Muslims are facing right now, and how many have been forced to relocate to the north, because many of their Igbo brothers and sisters became hostile to them. Disu Kamor, Executive Chairman, Muslim Public Affairs Center (MPAC), explains, “The worsening situation of the Muslims living in the South East, especially with regards to their personal security, freedom of religion and constant demonization, shows that being a Muslim in that part of the country carries a price tag, and that the hatred they face is institutional. Igbo Muslims are especially targeted for their faith, in their homeland, because they are seen as ‘enemies within’ and betrayers of their tribe. Igbo Muslims are largely excluded from government appointments and jobs, their communities and leadership are mostly avoided by politicians during campaign and election periods”
I find the above comment quite interesting, and I hope it truly forms a major topic in our national conversation. Religion in Nigeria, is a very big issue. Our elites have understood, the manipulative power of religion, and they deploy it all the time to divide the people they are meant to unite. I have lived in northern Nigeria all my life. And for the past eight years I have been working as a priest in Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi and Katsina States. All the concerns raised by Disu Kamor is exactly the concerns faced by Hausa Christians. The Hausa Christian communities in Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto are not regarded as indigenes because of their Christian faith. Mr Samai Bulam (not real name) has been a teacher with Katsina State government for just ten years. He noticed that his salary has not been paid to him for two months, on getting to the office to enquire the delay in his salaries, he noticed that his file in the office cannot be traced anywhere and the only file that was later found, indicated he is now retired. Mr Samai Bulam is just one out of the thousands of the Hausa Christians whose basic rights are been infringed upon on the basis of their faith. Mr Disu talked about politicians avoiding Muslim Communities in the East. I live with that reality everyday too in the north.
In Zamfara State there is a community called Gidan Zalla in Bungundu local government area. Fifty years ago, the community was predominantly Christian. Christians were up to 90%. They have now been reduced to about 0.5%, most of them left because their farm lands were confiscated through very dubious means and policies by the local government authorities, and living conditions were made unbearable for the Christian community. The few that dared to stay had no access to school, no light, no road, no potable water etc. Another community also called Kwatta, in Bungudu Local Government Area had over a hundred families that were Christians fifty years ago, now there are only about two or three families that are Christians and are residing there. The vast majority of them left Kwatta under very similar situation like that of Gidan Zalla.
In another community called Bakin Laraba, there are currently just three families that are Christians from the ECWA Church. And another Family in Dashi all in Bungudu Local Government Area, during the government of Ahmed Sani Yerima as the governor of Zamfara State, lots of pressure was put on the Christian Community in Dashi, and, a lot of the people were forced out of the community and the church there has been converted into an Islamic School. Ideal Nursery and Primary school too in Funtua, Katsina State, has been converted into an Islamic school in 2015 after some misunderstanding with a youth corps member on an allegation of blasphemy.
In a country like Nigeria, where religion is a big deal, it is important we pay attention to how we treat the minorities within our communities. A minority in your community is a majority in another community. We appeal to preachers of hate in our societies, those who glory in the persecution of minorities within their territories, to realize the harm they are doing to our quest for national integration. Do not do unto others what you would not want done to you (Mathew 12:7).
Fr Stephen Ojapah is a priest of the Missionary Society of St Paul. He is equally the director for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism for the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, a member of IDFP. He is also a KAICIID Fellow. ([email protected])