Muslim Clerics Criticise Government Freely While Christians Are Assaulted For Same — Amaechi

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has alleged that Muslim clerics are able to criticise the federal government without facing attacks, while Christians are allegedly assaulted for expressing similar views, amid the controversy surrounding recent criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration by Catholic bishops.

Amaechi made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today amid backlash that has followed comments by leaders of the Catholic Church after their meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The controversy began after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria met with President Tinubu and raised concerns over the state of the nation, including insecurity, economic hardship and governance.

Following the meeting, former Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, disclosed that the bishops spoke frankly during the engagement and that the President openly disagreed with their assessment of his administration.

Amaechi questioned whether a similar reaction would have followed if the Sultan of Sokoto had publicly criticised the government.

“If it was the Sultan, which is the spiritual head… would they have assaulted him?” he asked.

When the programme’s anchor suggested that the Sultan could also have been criticised, Amaechi disagreed.

“They would have. Is it the first time? Today, in the mosque, there are people preaching about what is happening in the government. Are they being assaulted? We are being assaulted because we are Christians,” he said.

The former Rivers State governor argued that Muslim clerics regularly speak about government policies during sermons without attracting the level of criticism currently directed at Christian leaders.

During the interview, Amaechi was also asked how politicians could help reduce the influence of religion and ethnicity in Nigeria and prevent both from further dividing the country.

Responding, he rejected suggestions that he promotes ethnic or religious politics, insisting that his personal record demonstrates otherwise.

“You know me very well. You know that I don’t believe in ethnicity. You know that I don’t believe in religious differences.

“If you come to my house, I’m a Christian. There’s a place for the Muslims to worship because I have Muslim staff,” he stated.