The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement (North Central), Abiodun Essiet, has condemned the plan to put back a controversial ‘Jesus Is Not God’ banner at Lekki Mosque in Lagos State.
Abiodun Essiet said Lagos State and South West are generally known for peaceful co-existence and religious tolerance.
Mrs. Abiodun stated this on Sunday while reacting to the trending video of the Imam of the Lekki Mosque who promised to put the banner back.
In the video, the Imam maintained that Jesus is not God in line with Islamic teachings. He advised Muslims to remain committed to their beliefs.
“The Koran said Jesus is not God. He was just a messenger. He was not God. Is there anything wrong…. if what we believe we paste on our territory? There is nothing wrong with it. This is freedom of religion, freedom of speech.
“We have the right to say what we believe about God, about Jesus Christ. You have been saying what you believe, Jesus is God. We don’t complain. When we now say Jesus is not God according to our own beliefs, according to Islam, why should that provoke anybody?
“Some have been calling why did we remove it? Is it cowardice? This is not cowardice. We removed it to let peace reign, also to obey our government, because we are peace-loving people, because we know it is festive period. We are going to put it back. We will modify it and put it back. We are not cowards,” the Imam said in the video.
Reacting to the video, Tinubu’s aide called on authorities to caution the Imam against taking his action.
“This happening in Lagos is strange. Southwest has a long history of promoting social cohesion amongst different faiths and beliefs. Most families in the southwest celebrate both Christmas and Salah every year. The Imam should be cautioned, issues like this are what result in the crisis in other parts of the country. We need Peace in Nigeria . Jesus is Lord, Merry Christmas in advance,” Mrs. Abiodun said.
