STOP KILLING CHRISTIANS

Dear Family,

I am blessed to be part of a group that PRAYS. Thanks for all we do to lift up ourselves, our leaders and the State in PRAYERS. Grace Always!

I crave our indulgence to read and give consideration to the message below.

As leaders who watch and pray, we must be vigilant and in so doing use our experience and experience of others to reach, teach, preach and heal.

When God led me to pray against unrest this morning, I did not have religious unrest in mind yet I prayed for peace in Nigeria, USA, UK, Israel, Ukraine and beyond.

In Nigeria, the death has occurred of Deborah Samuel, a Christian who responded to religious posts on a class group.

I condemn her killing. Many including the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Catriona Laing, has condemned the killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian female student at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State.

A source said trouble started on Thursday morning when Deborah was asked by her colleagues how she managed to pass her exams. Deborah was said to have attributed her academic excellence to Jesus Christ. She also shared via a voice note that posts on the group should be about tests and assignments, not prophet and this angered her colleagues who asked her to withdraw her statement.

Some of her colleagues felt she disrespected Prophet Mohammad and threatened to deal with her. When the tension was high, the school authorities took her to the security room to protect her. Sadly, enraged Muslim students overpowered the security officers, dragged Deborah out, and beat her until she died after which her corpse was set on fire.

As a result of the dastard incidence, angry Muslims are challenging Christian faith and angry Christians are responding with some, on both sides, setting dare lines on and off social media.

Before I share other thoughts, I ask first and foremost that we pray for Deborah Samuel’s family; for consolation and courage. We pray a prayer of forgiveness for the Islamic extremists and fanatics who murdered her in cold blood. Let us also pray that authorities will do everything to serve punishment on all who carried out the barbaric act while hiding under religion.

This is 2022 and all over the world we are still dealing with extremism because human rights include freedom of speech; liberty to express ourselves.

Ours is a faith based group but multi-racial and multi-religious. I have always advocated for rules or policies of engagement and there is no better time than now to broach this subject here.

While I welcome all posts, I do NOT read all posts due to the capacity of my phone which leads it to crash once many images or videos are posted. I have had to leave groups including my alumni group where posts run into gazillion and call for policies was met with stiff opposition from few. Some have left this whatsapp group as well for different reasons, one of which includes report they were not heard or their issues were not given same consideration as others.

I felt unsupported too in the police brutality, social injustice, theft of homes and successor rights fraud I experienced. I reached out to few who never reached me back... I was introduced to this group for solution, and I was promised solution but I have remained a member because rather than push for solution, I can be the solution in and beyond the State.

We need to understand that everyone will not respond to posts or issues the same way because some have formed bonds beyond this medium. Where humans gather, there is bound to be conflict on different grounds. Let us mitigate such by setting rules or policies of engagement.

Policies can be set, using parameters including the following:

What can be posted? Who can post? Why? When? Where? How?

If images and videos are permitted, what type and what is the limit? If not permitted, can such be posted on Facebook or other mediums. 

How are issues related to members handled especially when they are shared at meetings? What is the process that determines whether someone’s issue or prayer point is handled as pick and drop, daily, weekly or monthly? How are birthdays celebrated? Who get cards and why? Should birthday greetings be done on this group by a committee while individuals reach out individually to mitigate the feeling that some are better loved or acknowledged than others? What state or national issues can we step into? Which can/should be handled individually or by committee? 

What is our stand politically? Do we have a collective stand or can individuals take their own stand. I was NOT in support of a second term for the governor because his first term served no solution to me, my family and my community YET, I prayed for God’s will to be done and I spoke my mind when opportunity was given. 

Are we a prayer group for the State or for the governor in which case our existence may be threatened when we have a non democratic governor in power. If for the governor, how do we tap into opportunities while he is a governor. How can we set up a town hall meeting which our members and others would have exclusive right to attend.

I recollect seeing ballroom images with the governor but I cannot recollect seeing invitation posted here. Perhaps it was mentioned during Prayers... When an event is meant for few, should such images be shared on this group, especially if there was no public call for delegates to represent us? [This is one of the issues I addressed on my alumni group when some will go for “caucus” parties only to return to flaunt or taunt us with images.]

<b>These and more are issues that the death of Deborah Samuel is calling us to address.</b> A stitch in time saves nine.

May God Almighty console and comfort Deborah Samuel’s family. May souls who cut her down receive forgiveness from our Lord Jesus Christ. And may the Holy Spirit marshal the justice system to serve justice constitutionally to the extent of the law on all who had hands in her murder. 

AMEN. AMEEN.

Dr. Omolola Omoteso-Famuyiwa is a minister who is passionate about 

sharing God's words for the healing of others.