Following the recent spike in attacks on churches and schools in Nigeria, Pastor Paul Adefarasin’s remarks have got people talking.
“I certainly hope Nigeria doesn’t go to war. I certainly hope we don’t have to. But I’m ready for it,” he said in a sermon delivered on Sunday in his church.
In the sermon, which is generating a lot of debate on the internet, the preacher noted that it’s two civilisations globally fighting, and Nigeria is just one of the fronts.
“That’s important to understand. And I hope that the dialogue works to expunge terrorism from Nigeria permanently.
And it’s going to take a lot of brain, battle-brawn, and some brilliance in negotiation. But I really don’t believe that you negotiate with terrorists,” he said.
His statement follows a similar pattern to that of 2021, when he urged his congregants to have a plan to exit the country, whether it means taking a commercial motorcycle to Cameroon or a boat to the Seme Border.
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Strategy
According to Adefarasin, who was arrested and interrogated in June, over an allegation that he pointed a firearm at a content creator, Nigeria has to be quiet while it prosecutes its strategy.
He broke down the history of global terrorism, dating it back to the 2001 World Trade Centre attacks in the United States.
Describing it as the biggest single onslaught in the Western Hemisphere, Mr Adefarasin said that America would not have the theatre of war stay within the United States or in North America.
According to him, the battle of terror shifted to Europe, resulting in minor skirmishes in France and across the European continent.
But the Europeans rejected terror on their shores also, he said.
“Where do you think the terror went? Africa. And that really pulverised Libya. And then Africa, from the Maghreb Sahel, including Northern Nigeria, became awash with weapons beyond AK-47s and M4S, rocket launchers, and grenades. I hear they’re equipped with drones.
“When people believe that they will get 72 virgins for killing you and me, that’s a serious ideology. And it’s written in the book that they believe in the most. Other Muslims who are mild or moderate don’t subscribe to that. They don’t believe in killing others to advance their religion,” he said.
Averting war
Adefarasin noted that in the future, there will be a war if the intelligentsia, meaning sophisticated strategic minds across the spectrum of nationalities and ethnicities in Nigeria, don’t come together to understand, plan, and deal with this issue once and for all.
According to him, many non-indigenous Nigerians are prosecuting a war against us.
“It’s a hydra head. We understand that. It’s blazing trails to create pathways for more non-indigenous people to come. Those are all guns for hire. And so they’re entrepreneurial. They would do kidnapping, ransom money and all the rest of that.
“We have a battle to fight. And then there is a prosecution of a battle to exterminate Indigenous people from their ancestral land in the Middle Belt. And beyond the Middle Belt in parts of Northeastern Nigeria. And that’s important for everybody to know,” the preacher said.
