In the face of mounting tension across the country, Nigeria’s international evangelist and President of Uma Ukpai Evangelist Association, Rev (Dr) Uma Ukpai has passionately called on Nigerians to always apply the principle and philosophy of non-violence as a signpost in their agitation and struggles.
Rev. Ukpai, who made this appeal during an interaction with newsmen recently, asserted that the fulcrum of the philosophy of non-violence is a personal practice of being harmless to one self and others under every condition.
The international evangelist, who made reference to the political ideology of Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan that “his political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian,” postulated that the call for non-violence has become imperative.
He stressed that the most important thing is that life should not be wasted on the platform of any agitation or area of interest.
“In the attempt to express yourself don’t harm anybody in whatever form. You can agitate and express your heart desires but don’t harm anybody.
“Let us value life, let us love one another, nobody can claim to the a leader if he does not love us and we need the evidence of that love,” Rev Uma Ukpai said.
Specking passionately, he asserted that when you kill somebody and claim you love him or her, and you want to rule over him, that in itself is being dishonest.
Explaining further Rev Ukpai, who is the visitor of Uma Ukpai College of Business and Theology, stated that in the bid to struggle and express yourself, you might disagree but such disagreement must be laced with maturity and a show of love for one another.
He further stated that anybody who cannot tolerate the difference of opinion and other people’s views cannot be our leader.
The Reverend, who is the founder of King of Kings hospital and Uma Ukpai Polytechnic in Asaga, Ohafia in Abia State, described life as “greatly great,” reiterating the fact that nobody should be killed over any forms of disagreement because life was too precious to be wasted on the altar of all classification of differences.
He added that, in the struggle to express yourself nobody should be killed for whatever reasons.
“I have nobody in mind. I just have all of us in Nigeria in mind. Let nobody be wounded or killed. It doesn’t speak well if us as African. It makes the watching world think we don’t have value for human lifes and for each other,” he said.