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The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Rev Samson Ayokunle, has cautioned the leadership of the Senate against rubbing off religious practices of any of the religions in the country on the country’s constitution.
He stressed that Nigeria is a secular state and diversity of religious beliefs must be protected and enshrined in the country’s constitution.
Ayokunle disclosed this while speaking with Punch on Thursday during the valedictory service held for him as the Visitor of Bowen University, Iwo, Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso; and nine other theological institutions of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.
His comment comes on the heels of the red chamber’s Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review ongoing public hearings on introducing Sharia in different zones in the country.
Ayokunle said, “The amendment to the constitution is the way forward if the right things are done. If the public hearing is not just being done to fulfil all righteousness, if there is sincerity and if the lawmakers are ready and willing to take the contributions of the people seriously, then it will be beneficial to the people.
“They must not be seen to be promoting ethnicity or religion in it. It should be done with sincerity and fairness to all. If Nigeria is a secular state, let the secularity be reflected in our constitution. We must do away with the dual-constitution that we are using now, where religious injunctions and practices are brought into the constitution.
“The question is: how many religious injunctions and practices are you going to bring into the legal document? When you bring one and you neglect the others, you are still putting the nation on heat because it will continue to generate a crises.”
Ayokunle also advised the federal and state governments to prioritise the welfare of workers in public universities and other higher institutions.
This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.