RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE OR JUST SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE?

A lot has been said and written about the President's
supposed religious fanaticism, but i didn't take that
serious till his recent moves on the Villa Chapel in
Aso rock. I sincerely hope the president knows the
implications of relocating the Chapel and how it will
be interpreted by Christendom! Well,back to the news

It may not be long before the Villa Chapel located
within the Aso Villa presidential quarters in Abuja is
relocated.
Despite denials by top officials of the administration,
Vanguard Newspaper said it has uncovered how
pressure is being mounted on President Muhammadu
Buhari to relocate the Church where Christians worship
on Sundays.
The Villa Chapel, built and inaugurated by President
Olusegun Obasanjo, is said to be too close to Buhari’s
bedroom and kitchen.
Obasanjo, it was gathered, deliberately cited the church
beside his official residence to enable him take part in
worship and prayers from the comfort of his bedroom.
However, some aides of President Buhari,
uncomfortable with the location of the church, made
efforts to stop the use of the facility by Christian
worshippers on August 30, 2015.
Media reports, which caused nationwide
condemnation, had revealed how security agents
prevented the Villa Chapel choristers from entering the
building for their weekly rehearsal on Saturday, August
29, 2015.
It took the intervention of Vice President, Prof Yemi
Osinbajo, who reached out to his principal, before the
security men left the building.
But the relocation threat to the Chapel is real.
According to Vanguard, as prelude, the Children’s
church, which forms part of the Villa Chapel, has been
shut and some rooms, converted to shops for storing
food items.
As a result of the closure of the children’s church, the
children were forced to relocate to the office of the
Chaplain, Pastor Joseph Sheyi Malomo, for their
normal service.
A source at the Presidency said on Tuesday, “As we
speak, the children’s church remains shut and
everything relating to the church has been removed.
We had to beg them to allow us to remove our property.
The children’s church has been turned into a store.
“As a result of the unforeseen development, we had to
collapse some facilities to accommodate the children
and keep our worship going. That was why the
Chaplain said that the church had not been shut but
‘we only had some procedural issues that needed to be
sorted out’.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Femi Adesina had denied the closure of the
church by the Presidency.
He also tweeted photos from service held on Sunday,
September 6, 2015.
A tweet via his handle, @FemAdesina said: “President
Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) orders Aso Villa Chapel
shut? There is no such thing. It’s only a rumour
spawned by fecund imagination gone into overdrive.
PMB respects freedom of worship.”
The presidency is, however, considering relocating both
the Mosque and the Church to a more spacious area in
the Villa so as to forestall accusations of partiality.