They Treat Christian As Second Hand class citizen-Oritsejafor

Oritsejafor bared his concerns on what he
described as the treatment of Christians
as second class citizens in their own
country. He also spoke on Boko Haram,
amnesty for the Islamists, their victims,
and gay marriage. Excerpts:
You are now in your second term as the
President of Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN). What were the challenges
you faced during your first tenure and
what is your agenda for the second?
One major challenge was to try to
reposition the Church in Nigeria to make
sure that it is at par with other religions in
this country. This is because what I saw
was a situation where Christians were like
second class citizens in a country where
probably more than half of its citizens are
Christians, yet Christian were like second
class citizens.
Islamic banks illegal but functioning So it
was a big challenge and it is a challenge
that we must continue to tackle. It is also a
major goal that I intend to work on, to
ensure that Christians are treated as true
citizens of this country. Because of my
efforts to address this challenge, I am
probably one of the most misunderstood
persons in Nigeria today. I faced it for
three years and I am hoping that in the
next three years, probably many people
will begin to understand me in this respect,
especially when they gradually begin to
discover the reality of the things that are
happening in this country.
For example, the most recent one is when
the Chairman of the so called Presidential
Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful
Resolution of Security Challenges in the
North came out to say that they had met
and struck a deal with the Boko Haram
Islamic sect and I said 'which Boko Haram?'
We have had experiences in the past
where Boko Haram will come out to say
they will stop the killings and the next day
people were killed! When I heard what the
Chairman of the committee said, I said, 'Let
us wait and see because Shekau (the leader
of Boko Haram) is going to come out to tell
us what the real thing is, whether they had
a deal or not'.
It didn't take time; Shekau came out and
contradicted everything the Chairman of
the committee said. He said they are
working in the vineyard of Allah and that
they will continue (with their attacks) until
they establish Islamic state in Nigeria. My
believe is that with time, they will begin to
see that I have no hatred for any group of
people in Nigeria. Anything I say is not
coming out of hatred, it is coming out of
love and love does not hate truth. Love is a
foundation for truth. The Bible says "tell
the truth in love".
So I believe that within a short time, a lot of
those who really thought I hated some
people would begin to see that I have no
hatred for anybody. I will love to work
with Muslims, live together and do things
together but that should not negate truth.
There are few things we are doing in CAN.
We are building a Jubilee Centre that will
have 50 bedrooms where people can come
and pay a little money to be able to spend
the night while in Abuja. At the same time,
it will make some money for CAN because
the association needs money to run its
affairs.
The Centre has a conference hall and
different kinds of facilities. We believe God
that, this year, we would be able to
dedicate the Centre. We will continue to
strengthen Christian unity among us
because, as Christians, that will not stop
until Jesus returns.
You spoke about Christians being treated
as second class citizens in Nigeria. In what
ways are Christians treated as second class
citizens?
Actually, in my opinion, Christians are being
treated as second class citizens in virtually
every way! Let me give you some
examples because if I begin to tell you
everything, you will not even have space
to publish it. In the education sector,
Almajiri schools are being built everywhere
in many states of the North. I don't know
how many of such schools, but everybody
knows that in 2012, the Federal
Government spent N5 billion to construct
Almajiri schools. The Almajiri schools are
exclusively for Muslim children.
There are millions of Christian children who
cannot go to those schools. How are we
giving those Christian children the same
opportunity to be educated? So
automatically they have been made second
class citizens. Don't forget that the schools
which Christians used their money to build
were taken over by government and the
same government is using public funds to
build special schools for Almajiri Muslims.
That shows that Christians are just second
class citizens. Government is running all
those schools taken from Christians the
way they want. Both Christians and Muslim
go to those schools but the Almajiri schools
are exclusively for Muslim children only.
When you go to the judiciary, it is the same
story. I read what a lawyer, Mr. Olisa
Agbakoba, said in the newspapers recently.
He noted that the constitution is being
reviewed and there are provisions for
Sharia for Nigerian Muslims, there is
customary court, what is the provision for
Christians? The general courts are shared
by both Christians and Muslims. When
Christians have very knotty issues that are
purely Christian in nature, where will they
go to? The regular courts may not have
clear solution to such cases. So Agbakoba
has come out to say he may sue the
Federal Government and the National
Assembly.
This, to me, is a very interesting move. I
just hope that our Muslim brothers will
appreciate what I am trying to explain. In
the Sharia courts which are funded with
public funds, only Muslims are employed
there. From the cleane

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