Prominent Nigerian Pastor, Dr Abel Damina has recounted how his father’s church was burnt and a pastor friend of his was killed by Islamic fundamentalist many years ago..
Damina gave the account in a recent viral video where he lent his voice to the ongoing debate on terrorism in Nigeria.
According to him, it is untrue to say Christians are not being killed in the name of religion by some Islamic fundamentalist.
Damina said, “I grew up in Northern Nigeria. My father was a pastor in the Assemblies of God Church, Zamaru, Zaria . One morning we just woke and we saw that people were running helter skelter. Some people had poured fuel on our house and the church because the house is just by the Church and the next thing was flame. Everything was burnt to ashes. We narrowly escaped.
“We had to look for a place to hide ourselves in a military barrack. Eventually they brought us back to the lecturers quarters of Ahmadu Bello University and we had to camp with a family for months before we could rebuild and start life all over again. That happened around 1986”
He went further to recall many other instances of religion induced riots which claimed many lives. “What about the Maitasine situation. Maitasine was a sect of the Islamic religion which went around burning and killing Christians back in the 80s. This was far before there was anything like farmers and herders clash. In the year 2000 over 2000 people were killed in Kaduna by this sect.
“In November 2002 over 300 people were killed over the Miss World induced riot. And then we had the Danish carton riot which claimed several lives. Whenever they are doing these killings they will be shouting Alahu Akbar and they will move in their numbers. Anybody on their way that is not chanting what they are chanting becomes a victim”
He recalled also how A few years ago he went to preach in a church in Kaduna. “I only succeeded in preaching on Sunday morning. By Monday I was advised to stay in the hotel room and was informed that Kaduna was on fire. That was how we were stuck in the hotel .Even in the hotel we were not sure of ourselves because they were going from room to room killing people that were not chanting Allah Akbar. Somehow God saved our souls.
“After about four days we were able to leave Kaduna. Unfortunately a pastor friend of mine did not make it. As he was escaping for his life. They caught him because he had a collar on his neck and macheted him to death. They buried him and put a cross on his grave”
Giving more details about the killings in the North he said, “There was a time I also had to sleep under the bed in the female hostel when they wanted to kill me in school because I was preaching the gospel.”
He cited many other examples like Reinhard Bonke came to do crusade in Kano and many people were killed by Islamic fundamentalist because of the crusade
He then cautioned pastors who say there is no genocide against Christians noting that “many of such pastors sit in the south and say there is nothing like that. But we have been right in the fire.” He stated.
While thanking God for the ongoing conversation around the world about the matter, he said, ” We don’t just want conversation. We want something to be done. We want action.”
He said it was in the midst of all the killings by islamic fundamentalist that the herders farmers clash began.
The crisis according to him has led to whole villages being taken over by Islamists.
“They have driven the villagers away. And somebody says there are no such things in Nigeria. Why do we have IDP camps when we never had earthquakes, tremors or natural disasters other than the fact that people are victims of what they had no knowledge of. The government should do something” He said