Onwuasoanya FCC Jones
As a father, I am pained at the unfortunate death of the young and apparently, Christmas excited boy who shot “knockouts” in the church and maybe, too close for the safety of the priest and some members of his congregation. Very terrible things happen, the priest might have thought to scare whoever it was that was disturbing the peace of his parish, and Satan, always alert, chose that time to cast a haunting shadow on our Christmas celebration. From joy, a family was thrown into mourning and from the excitement of hope, everywhere became dark. From freedom, our dear priest is shackled and made to explain too many things, in tears, apparently, or some stoic quiescence.
Prayers are right for the family of the dead, support is necessary for the injured, repose is sought for the fatal victim and understanding is craved for our dear priest.
Given the unpredictable security situation across Nigeria, one wouldn’t be blamed for being at alert and taking steps to protect themselves, including owning a gun. I have been an advocate that responsible Nigerians should be allowed to own guns, so that they can protect themselves from cowardly criminals who take advantage of the strict laws concerning firearms ownership to harass us.
Worship places are no longer sacred and could be invaded at will by miscreants and hoodlums, hence the idea of clergy having a means to protect themselves and their congregation is justified.
The Reverend Father cries that his gun took a life. He is definitely not a killer, and couldn’t have wished to kill anyone, even the real terrorists. He would wish to break their legs or scare them away, never to disturb his flock. Yes, like Jesus Christ, he is a shepherd, and members of his congregation are his flock. He owes them a duty of spiritual and physical protection.
Our Lord Jesus Christ valued self-defence so much that he told his apostles to sell their outer garments which is an equivalent of jackets or sweaters today, just to buy a sword. There were no guns at that time, and if there were, Jesus would have instructed his disciples to get a good gun, so that they would be ready to defend themselves and their flock against danger. We also have stories in the Bible where shepherds were commended for fighting to ward off attacks on their flock.
It is unfortunate that at this time, an innocent child is the victim, for no fault of the priest. If his bullet had fallen a real threat, say, a criminal or another Kabiru Sokoto, we would have considered him a hero and decorated him with flowers and laurels. Let the next priest not be deterred from protecting themselves and their flock from any danger.
