The proposed protest by CAN to call for justice for Deborah Samuel is unnecessary. CAN is merely playing to the gallery. What justice is CAN looking for in this case when notable Muslim leaders, the Federal and Sokoto governments were prompt in condemning the extra-judicial killing of Deborah Samuel complete with instructions to the relevant security agencies to fish out the offenders for prosecution? I doubt if the proposed protest, even if peacefully conducted without the predictable likelihood of being hijacked by mischief-makers for sinister motives, could score any benefit more than already offered by the FG and the Sokoto State Government.
Nigeria is in a highly charged and volatile season which requires caution rather than reckless responses to situations especially those laced with ethnic and religious sentimentalities. This is akin to playing with a viper’s tail. Events like those recorded in Sokoto yesterday are enough to prove the recklessness of conducting any protest by CAN with a so called motive of pressing for justice for Deborah Samuel. That a Catholic Church was attacked in Sokoto riots provoked by the arrest of some suspects in the killing of Deborah Samuel should put to rest any assumption that CAN could conduct peaceful protests in churches across the North without incidents. It should also highlight the possibility of similar riots as a backlash to the proposed nationwide protests by CAN.
Rather than organize protests that may go out of hand and instigate more chaos, I expect CAN to be more disposed towards educating and enlightening its followers on how best to co-exist peacefully with Muslims by respecting the beliefs and sacred traditions of Muslims while avoiding those classified by Muslims as unforgivable taboos like denigrating Nabee Muhammad (Peace be upon him). That President Buhari, Sultan of Sokoto and other notable Muslims came out to condemn the killing of Deborah Samuel shouldn’t be confused with an endorsement of her insult to revered prophet of Islam. The condemnations were for the refusal of the mob to follow due process in punishing her. It’s more important for CAN then, to educate its followers about the reverence and the highest esteem with which Muslims hold Nabee Muhammad SAW across the globe and why his name and honor should not be toyed with for whatever reason.
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Finding a lasting solution to the recurring problem of religious insensitivity by Christians (especially those living in Muslim-majority communities) and the attendant and very predictable consequences of mob-justice as an option to resolve the impasse by Muslims; largely caused by a seeming lack of political will to deal with the problem properly and conclusively should be the focus of CAN instead of trying to create another conducive atmosphere for the outbreak of another round of riots which end no one could predict. It should be understood that, in the face of such provocations even educated and well enlightened Muslims could restrain themselves only to the limit of the elasticity of their emotional attachment to their Islamic beliefs and the boundaries set by Islam. This could snap according to provocation and wrong timing as might be forced by recklessness like the proposed CAN protest.
Lastly, CAN shouldn’t be seen as negligent or selective in its advocacy for justice be it for its followers or any Nigerian. Only few days ago an army couple on their way to their traditional wedding in Imo State were intercepted and gruesomely slaughtered and beheaded by IPOB in Imo State and the video shared on the social media. CAN is yet to organize a protest to call for justice for the gruesomely murdered couple. Apparently CAN’s “thirst for justice” is only provoked when the crime is either committed in the North or committed by Northerners. The last thing Nigeria needed at this time is a country further divided on its fault lines, not with the myriad of similar problems keeping Nigeria perpetually dangling on the edge of the precipice.
