The Northerners who spoke through the Chief Imam of Aba Central Mosque, Alhaji Idris Bashir yesterday said they believed that, as the overall leader of the state, if Governor Orji talked to the people, they would listen and stop their untoward attitudes and actions towards their Muslim neighbours in the area.He said notwithstanding that northerners in the area have gone to public places, using the mass media to inform their hosts that they are not members of the sect, and would not want to associated with them, the ugly trend of calling them members of the sect has not stopped. To demonstrate their anger for being called Boko Haram when they know that they are not members of the sect, Alhaji Bashir said the Muslims embarked on a three days strike which was later called off after the intervention of the Police Area Commander in Aba.
“The strike was to show the nation that we are not happy how Muslims are being handled here in Aba, Abia State,” he said.He said there are northerners who have lived in Aba for the past 60 years and could not be associated with any crime or fomenting trouble in any way, hence it was wrong for the Igbo to start branding all their northern counterparts as Boko Haram.“They have started abusing our people in Aba in such places as St. Pauls Hospital; Opposite Aba Town Hall, Azikiwe Road By Adazi, and other places,” he alleged.Also, the Chief Imam alleged that since soldiers at Aba arrested 486 northerners traveling to the south-east and south-south zones, a certain pastor, Jubril John, who speaks all the major languages in Nigeria, has been going about preaching hatred, attempting to incite the Igbo Christians against the Muslims in Aba.
He said leaders of northerners resident in Aba would visit the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Aba Chapter to register their complaints officially concerning the activities of Pastor Jubril John.“The funny thing is that there is one Igbo pastor who speaks Hausa, Igbo,Yoruba fluently. He has plenty of Islamic books and he preaches in the open. He goes to Ariara Market area, Jubilee Road, Cameroon Road and all those places he knows there is concentration of Muslims to make anti-Islam preaching,” the Chief Imam further alleged.
