A recent interview granted by the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Borno state Chapter, caught my interest not solely because of the content but also the name the interviewee bears. The former head of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) goes by the name Naga Williams Mohammed. I would have sworn that there was a mix-up somewhere. But I remembered the cleric named Rev. Canon H. O. Mohammed who preceded him several years ago.
Canon Mohammed, now late, hailed from Wusasa in Zaria. However, the late Canon is remembered more for his service to mankind as the chief commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission and later chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau than the sermons he rendered on the pulpit.
It was the first time a Christian and prominent Nigerian cleric for that matter was known to share the same name as Prophet Mohammed (SAW) and founder of Islam.
When Canon Mohammed passed on, we were hugely relieved of the curiosity of someone bearing a combination of Muslim/Christian name for many years until Bishop Williams Mohammed emerged on the scene to continue where the Wusasa-born Canon left off.
In the said interview, Bishop Williams Mohammed, a native of Gwoza in Borno state, dwelt on the healthy mix between Muslims and Christians in Southern Borno. Small wonder, the Boko Haram insurgents were quick to declare the hilly town as their caliphate the moment it was captured.
Speaking about the union that (curiously) fused Williams and Mohammed into one body, the fiery bishop known for his frank and radical preaching, said his father was a devout Muslim and his mother was a dedicated Christian…. an instance of two extremes finding a common ground! He recalled how they were living in the same house, eating the same food. When it was Christmas, his mum would give money to his Muslim dad to buy whatever animal for them to slaughter. And when it was time for Eid el Kabir (Sallah) celebration, his dad would buy ram for the family to slaughter. They lived together in harmony and nobody talked of being a Christian or Muslim in those days. He argued that the fact that he is a religious leader would not make him delete Mohammed from his name because it is an Islamic name.
“My father’s name is Mohammed and this is my identity that I am his son,” Bishop Mohammed was quoted as saying.
When asked about the religious harmony in his family and how he would compare that with the instances of religious suspicion all over Nigeria today, he said that in the past, there was absolute tolerance to the extent that nobody knew which camp anyone belonged to. He said while he was growing up, he was raised to see Muslims from a positive light. Muslims were doing what they were supposed to do and vice versa in terms of worship and coexistence in their communities.
Muslims constitute the larger population of Borno state. But the southern part has a sizeable number of Christians mixed with their Muslim counterparts. Little wonder, the Boko Haram terrorists pounded the area so mercilessly, killing, maiming and abducting anyone they set their eyes on. It was when they conquered the entire local government areas in that axis that they extended their frontiers to the other parts of the state, save the Maiduguri metropolis until Buhari emerged on the scene.
The Borno CAN boss was quick to narrate how Christians in the state have suffered persecution in recent times. He recalled the pre-Boko Haram mayhem of February 2006 precipitated by an atheist Danish cartoonist who portrayed Prophet Mohammed (SAW) in a bad light. Protests erupted in faraway Maiduguri and the innocent Christians received the repercussion. A total of 56 churches were razed in Borno, and so many shops belonging to Christians were vandalised. No compensation came from the then state government headed by Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff after he had promised to do so, except a pastor who got about N150,000 to raise his church which was razed to the ground.
But the worst was yet to come. Three years later, the Boko Haram insurgency surfaced still under Sheriff’s watch. The terrorists stalked the state like tsunami, destroying everything and anyone on their paths. Because of the ideology they propagated, even Muslims were not safe. By the time the last territory was recaptured, you could count the number of mosques or churches on the tips of your fingers.
However, according to the bishop, the situation is far better now under Governor Kashim Shettima’s watch. He noted that in the history of Borno state, there is no governor that has been fair to the Christian community as Shettima and described him as the only (non-Christian) governor alive who has sponsored the highest number of Christian pilgrims every year since he mounted the saddle in 2011.
Shettima’s favourable disposition to Christians was further demonstrated when Gwoza people, mostly Christians, were sacked from their ancestral homes, and they fled to Maiduguri. The governor personally came to CAN Centre in (Local) Jerusalem ward located in Maiduguri twice between June and July 2014 and donated N10m for their upkeep. By the end of October 2014, the population of IDPs from Gwoza rose to 42,000 in the Jerusalem camp alone. Governor Shettima came again and shelled another N10m to them. He also gave an additional N5m for Christians from Borno who fled to Cameroon to be brought back home. He then gave another N5m for non-indigenes of the state who fled to Cameroon to return to Nigeria.
When Shettima visited Gwoza, Askira-Uba and Chibok local government areas last year, he was appalled by the level of destructions, among them churches that were razed to the ground. In fact, some churches were not only pulled down, the terrorists also used bulldozers to level the structures and subsequently evacuated the debris.
Consequently, Shettima set up a committee headed by a permanent secretary, Mr. Justus Zare. He immediately released the sum of N100m for the first phase of the reconstruction exercise in the liberated areas and immediately followed up with another release of N105m for the second phase. So far, about 11 key church structures have sprung back to life.
Another first which Shettima has recorded in the annals of Borno state was the approval for the sponsorship of all the pastors in the local government areas to participate in the 2017 Jerusalem Pilgrimage. He has also approved the allocation of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) and land for church buildings in the state.
This has never happened in the history of Borno since 1979. When Archbishop Emmanuel Kana Mani, Bishop Mohammed’s immediate predecessor died, Shettima did not only visit the family in Maiduguri but also supported them for the burial ceremony and was equally represented.
There was also a time that CAN requested for an additional permanent secretary to the existing one. But Shettima shocked them by obliging their request and added three more, bringing the total number to five. His government has given Christians the opportunity to even run a programme on Borno Radio and Television Corporation which had never happened in the state.
Indeed, the Shettima administration has engendered religious harmony in the state by his words and deeds. This reminds me of the (abortive) crusade I launched in Jos in my early teens to bring Christians and Muslims to worship their Creator under the same roof. I had sauntered into the church auditorium of the First Baptist Church located at Adebayo Street, Jos, with my cap on. As I bounced along the aisle looking sideways (like a table tennis spectator) in search of where to fix my bumbum, my head suddenly became empty. On swinging around, I saw the oversized cap retreating on the tip of the janitor’s stick.
I became thoroughly embarrassed as the whole congregation and the pastor took time off to laugh at me. I retrieved the cap and stormed out of the building. By entering the auditorium in cap and shoes, I had sought to unify the two religions: Christians worship with empty heads, while the Muslims worship shoeless. Religious intolerance was later to cause serious crises in different parts of the country. Anytime such tragic incidents occur, I just turn down both ends of my mouth and shrug my shoulders. After all, what did I get as a reward for my unification effort? Disgrace and mockery!
