Hate Speech: Between Enenche and El-rufai

BY DAVID YUSUF 
I was amused when Governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai of Kaduna state was recently reported to have accused the Founder and Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre of peddling “hate speech” which led to reprisal attacks over the killings that rocked Kasuwan Magani in the state.

The governor, who is known for his verbal diarrhea far more than his actions, seems to have swallowed more than he can chew. Who is el-Rufai to threaten Dr Enenche whose footprints brought together movers and shakers of the nation, including global political and spiritual leaders, to dedicate the 100,000-seat auditorium called Dunamis Glory Dome? Can a canary threaten an eagle? I am happy that the respected cleric has not dignified the governor’s baseless threat with a response.

For those who are not conversant with the main crux of the issue and be carried away by the demagoguery of the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, I find it expedient to address some significant issues that have clearly shown that el-Rufai and not Dr Enenche is the real hate speech advocate. 

During a recent visit to his office in Kaduna by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the governor had threatened to arraign the preacher to face justice. According to el-Rufai whose administration has brought unspeakable bloodshed of monumental proportion, Enenche’s video on the killings had led to reprisal attacks that claimed scores of lives and raised tension in some parts of the state.

Not even the repudiation of Enenche’s message by the Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Arch Bala Barnabas Bantex, through a press conference on the platform of ‘Christian elders in the Kaduna State Government’ could fault the message as contained in the video clip that went viral on many social media platforms.

Unlike el-Rufai who is a constant peddler of hate speech, the Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre is known for his passion for humanity. He is also an advocate of peaceful co-existence amongst people across ethnic and religious divide beyond national confines. As a pastor who ministers to millions of Christians across the globe, Enenche is, no doubt, pained at the intense, unspeakable horror that trailed the Kasuwan Magani massacre and subsequent punishing curfew that followed. 

In the video clip that has been viewed by millions of people across the globe, Dr Enenche delivered a scorching condemnation of the Kaduna State Government in the manner it calculatingly imposed sufferings on Christians in the state.

While a church in Kawo located in the northern part of Kaduna city was completely destroyed during the curfew hours, and non-Muslims attacked, movement of people in the southern axis of Kaduna town, mostly inhabited by Christians, was curtailed. 

Having pocketed the traditional media in the state to cover up the loathsome tyranny of the el-Rufai-led Government, those who are supposed to speak up have embraced lethargy and embarrassing silence. As a pastor who enjoys large followership across denominational divide, Dr Enenche had received distress calls from besieged members following the imposition of the curfew in Kaduna state during and after the violence. During the killings and complete lockdown of the state, people were thrown into dire situations, with food shortages and other essential commodities posing grave dangers. 

For the first time in the history of the state, Christians were barred from attending Sunday services, forcing many Christians to resort to television/radio broadcasts as a painful option.

In such a situation, how could the Senior Pastor be silent over this horrific suffering and emasculation of rights? Should the shepherd embrace silence in order to please the powers that be and risk the destruction of the sheep? It was against this background that Dr Enenche mounted a searing condemnation of the Kaduna State Government over its deliberate policy of subjugating Christians under the emirate system.

Unlike others who may be comfortable in embracing silence and allow the sheep to suffer pangs of injustice, Dr Enenche accused the state government of being behind the atrocious reign of terror on Christian communities. He said there were attempts by demonic agents in the state to force Christian communities come under the rule of the newly created emirates.

He declared that the slain monarch of the Adara Chiefdom, Agom Adara, Dr Maiwada Raphael Galadima, was abducted by bandits after a meeting with the state governor. All these incidents have highlighted by the Adara People who have accused the state government of being complicit in the killing of their monarch.

Why should the truth be described as “hate speech” just because it does not serve the interest of the hearers? Is the el-Rufai government not doing everything to recolonise some areas of southern Kaduna by subjecting them under the rule of emirate system?

Long before the emergence of el-Rufai as governor in 2015, Col Lawal Jafaru Isah as military administrator of the state had commenced emancipation of Christian communities from feudal imperialism. He created the Bajju Chiefdom that had waged many years of struggle from the shackles of the Zazzau Emirate.

The dawn of democracy in 1999 brought total freedom to ethnic nationalities in the southern axis as chiefdoms were created for ethnic groups in the southern parts of the state. However, the current administration headed by el-Rufai seems poised to return past chains of oppression by creating emirates out of chiefdoms. 

Lere, Kagarko and Kajuru chiefdoms all in Southern Kaduna have since been renamed emirates on what the government claimed as hinged on “popular demands.” The Adara Chiefdom that was created by former Governor Mohammed Ahmed Makarfi had been abolished few weeks after the brutal assassination of the monarch. While the Adara people have been confined to Kachia, the Kajuru chiefdom has been renamed an emirate with the sole purpose of ensuring that non-Muslims are barred from becoming monarch. 

Not wanting to be swallowed by this deliberate ploy of subjugation as scripted by the Kaduna State Government under el-Rufai, the Adara people have commenced legal fireworks and challenging the law abolishing their chiefdom. Indeed, the ruse that the return of feudal institution on the free people of affected Chiefdoms was due to ‘popular demands’ cannot stand as major Christian enclaves under the Zaria Emirate in many LGAs in the northern part of the state are still under the emirate system.

Since becoming governor in 2015, el-Rufai has embarked on adversarial attitude to deal with people he perceived as constituting impediments to his comeback bid. He recently told Christian clerics in Kafanchan that he was not unaware of their opposition to his re-election, but boasted that he would be re-elected in 2019.

He reportedly accused Christian leaders in the state of playing the role of conflict entrepreneurs through receipt of huge financial aids from foreign organisations in the pretext of rebuilding destroyed churches. 

However, when challenged to back up his claim with evidences, he kept a surly silence. el-Rufai is so pained at Enenche’s video clip opened up the sepulcher of his government and its determination to foist injustice on Christians in the state. 

The truth is that the little man from Zaria cannot sustain the “hate speech” he preferred against Dr Enenche. To massage his over bloated ego, he needs to be seen saying something. The complex-ridden governor lives in a world of a grandeur illusion where he sees himself as an emperor whose actions should never be challenged.

The video clip from the Dunamis Founder has flawed the erroneous impression people have about el-Rufai’s footprints in Kaduna State. Considering the track records of both men, Dr Enenche remains an eagle whose soaring flight is far beyond the comprehension of the former BPE boss whose focus is on earthly possessions that is hinged on human greed.

Yusuf, a public commentator, wrote in from Yola, Adamawa state