Regina Askia to Buhari, "Your silence on these Killings looks like approval"

In a post on her Facebook wall this afternoon, former actress turned Nurse, Regina Askia, said President Buhari's deafening silence on religious murders is looking like a tactic approval.

Dear Mr President, Yet another open letter on murders. Why are you so silent, Mr President Sir? Your deafening silence is looking like tacit approval. This author Ata Ikiddeh suggests a committee on Religious tolerance. Echoes of Rwandan genocide looming? We are very worried Mr President Sir,

OPEN LETTER TO MR PRESIDENT

"Let your moslem brothers know that the people they are killing and calling "infidels" also voted for you!"

Dear Mr President,

Over one thousand Christian farmers have died in the hands of muslim fulani herdsmen. Two months ago Mrs Bridget Agbaheme, a Christian was stoned to death, her head decapitated in a busy market in Kano. Her offence she told a muslim not to wash his feet in front of her shop.

Last week a member of my church, sister Eunice Elisha was exterminated and broken in part under 6 inch cement blocks, silenced by practitioners of religious fascism in Kubwa, Abuja.

Her transgression, proselytising with a megaphone, it didn't matter, that at the time her assailants were snuffing her life out, a megaphone strapped to the minaret of a mosque, was thundering across the Kubwa valley, drowning out her cries for help. Two religions using megaphones, and one religion murders the other.

Last Friday a Catholic church, was besieged and attacked in Niger State because it's doors were opened on a "muslim Friday". What is happening to Nigeria?

The unvarnished truth is hard to swallow but death now prowls in once temperate communes camouflaged in placid hate, with ready hands lusting to annihilate those labeled infidels. A morbid savage rage has suddenly found its vent, extinguishing anything zealously different. How many have fallen, we've lost count. Sister Eunice fell a martyr , not bomb strapped but professing what she was immersed in, holding nothing but a megaphone the same way the mosque behind her house blared its morning call for prayer at 5am.

Shouldn't we start appropriating blame and stop pretending? Where do we start? Should we accuse the Imam with his army of almajaris who extinguished our sister's life!? Or should we rather blame Christians, who knowing ignorant zealotry lurks, still brave their faith under the cursing of infidel.

It's now typical to hear moslems call 'others' infidel on social media ( I have had my own fair share ) and on the streets of Abuja. Nigerian Christians are being condemned by some moslems and called infidels or Kaffir for their faith, they claim the Qur'an has declared certain aspects of Christianity polytheistic.

Mr President, what has encouraged the recent religious impudence and effrontery, many are saying it's your aloof indifference?

Mr President your land is bleeding, with believers on one side and "infidels" on the other. How can you remain silent over these murders? This cannot be your vision for "One Nigeria!!??"Let your moslem brothers know that the people they are killing and calling "infidels" also voted for you! I am afraid to say, but your indifference and detachment about reports of Christian deaths and persecutions is washing away your neutrality in this affair.

Before you became President you were accused of being a closet extremist and an Islamic bigot, your passivity and indifference is slowly soldering this tag on you; it doesn't matter if these accusations are true or false, if you remain passive, think of what history will say about you.

Eunice was not felled by the rocks of rabid fanatics but by a certain change in Executive attitude, prove us wrong, I dare you to attend her funeral and send a strong message to her assailants.

From Kaduna, Abuja, Benue, Anambra, Enugu, Delta State, from the violent insurrection of moslem herdsmen, to violence against Christians in suburbs; we have lost over a thousand Christians since you took over the reins of power from your Christian predecessor and you have said NOTHING on the growing intolerance - nothing, Mr President!!!

This perceived Executive ambivalence is pollinating extremism and breeding more corpses; your executive silence is lighting embers of hate across the land, are you waiting for dry figs to ignite! You need to urgently address the nation on this matter, your body language maybe emboldening extremist attitudes and sending the wrong signal.

In my reckoning, you are innocent, but innocence and truth are strange bedfellows - you must communicate your position clearly and publicly to the Moslem and Christian communities.

Perhaps a good time to establish, " A Presidential Committee on Religious Tolerance", made up of Pastors, Reverends, Imams & Mullahs, presided over by you!

Thank you for taking out time from your busy schedule to read this letter.

A concerned Patriotic Nigerian.

Yours Truly

Ata Ikiddeh

ataikiddeh@yahoo.co.uk