Muslims Have a Right to Islamise Nigeria - Catholic Bishop of Oyo, Badejo

Bishop Adetoyese Badejo

 

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, while reacting to questions about claims that there were plans to Islamise Nigeria following the Sukuk loan acquisition, the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Most Reverend (Dr) Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, stated that Muslims have a right to Islamise Nigeria because one of them is in power.The influential cleric lambasted Christians crying foul, noting that they had the opportunity to ‘christainize’ Nigeria but failed to do so, adding that Christians in high offices only know how to engage in bickering and fight for positions, leaving out policies that would favour them.

“I’ve always shared the view of one of our leaders, John Cardinal Onaiyekan. I believe that Muslims have an Islamisation agenda, and they have a right to have it. Do Christians have a Christianisation agenda? Yes, I hope so and we have a right to have it. The Muslims are pursuing an agenda; why are we not pursuing ours?

“Nigeria, for many many years, had a larger number of Christians in power. We failed when we should have worked, and that even now, instead of trying to catch up on our lapses, we’re busy pointing fingers.

“It’s part of Islam to Islamise; is it not part of our own programme too to evangelise? How much of it are we doing? The education curriculum, which caused so much row recently, was approved when a Christian was chair of the body.

“Christians are not an insignificant population in Nigeria. The next question to ask is: what kind of Christians? A large part of Christians today are Christians in name, who pursue power, position, privileges. That’s not Christianity.

“And that’s where I come to the issue of the prosperity gospel. We have not yet done research on how much damage prosperity gospel has done to the psyche of Christianity in our country.

“Prosperity gospel provides cheap solutions to complex realities of life and so many people have heard it. They believe that it is actually possible to have cancer and pray it away, when doctors are actually available; that it is possible to fail exams, and still become the director of a bank, if you pray enough,” he told Tribune.