GROUP of Christian and Muslim leaders comprising of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and the Catholic have scored low Buhari government, saying all is not well with Nigeria.
The group unanimously said President Muhammadu Buhari no longer has an excuse to ensure the protection of lives and properties.
The group under the aegis of the Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace (IDFP) categorically charged the President to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of killings and criminalities in the country.
“Government must arrest and prosecute those responsible for the killings in Nigeria if there is still any leadership in this country. The government has exhausted her windows of excuses,” the group stated in a communiqué jointly signed by Alhaji Ishaq Sanni and Bishop Sunday Onuaha at the weekend in Abuja.
The communiqué titled, “Inter-religious Dialogue: Strengthening the Culture of Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation,” was issued after the 3rd Annual General Assembly and Peace Conference held by the inter-religious group at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The group emphasised on the need to stop the continuous killings and other forms of insecurity in the country.
Some of them include Dr. Samson Ayokunle, the CAN President, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto and President, (NSCIA) and Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.
Others are Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr Mathew Kukah, and Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese, etc.
“As religious leaders, we may sound mild and conciliatory, it is necessary to sound a note of warning to the leaders of the nation. Things are not well with the nation. The government should avoid anything that will lead to anarchy in the nation.”
The spate of insecurity in the country has lately been on the increase, climaxed by the killing of Rev. Lawan Andimi by the Boko Haram Islamic Sect, as well as the deceased Daciya Dalep, University of Maiduguri student.
The federal government was at a point perceived as making case for the insurgents when it stated that the Boko Haram group was willing to release the captured clergy but for the inability of the Christian group to pay the ransom.
The CAN repeatedly accuse the federal government of its inefficiency in protecting the lives of the citizens, mainly, Christians in the northern part of the country.
Other categories of insecurity across the nation such as banditry, kidnapping, herder crises etc, forced the Nigerian government to accept the southwest Security Network, an initiative of the South West Governors introduced to check insecurity in that part of the country.
The interfaith dialogue forum for peace, however, advised the Federal Government to introduce into school curriculum through the National Board for Technical Education and National Universities Commission courses that could promote peace and religious tolerance.
Aside, they also called for the establishment of interfaith desk offices in the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
The conference was declared open by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, represented by the Chaplain of the State House Chapel, Pastor Seyi Malomo.
Olugbenga heads the Investigations Desk at The ICIR. Do you have a scoop? Shoot him an email at [email protected]. Twitter Handle: @OluAdanikin