The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has fired a warning to President Muhammadu Buhari to act fast and salvage the situation of the country or watch it crumble owing to the terrible trend of insecurity.
The Christian clerics lamented that recent happenings in Nigeria are pointers to the fact that the Federal Government has ‘failed’ to hold Nigeria together, which has given rise to non-state actors in self-defense and protection.
In a joint statement on Wednesday in Abuja, the President of CBCN, Archbishop Augustine Akubueze, and Secretary, Most Rev. Camillus Raymond Umoh, reiterated that the ‘survival of Nigeria is at stake and that the country is falling apart with reference to serious rising insecurity clearly evident in widespread loss of lives and property.’
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‘The clamour for self-defense is fast gaining ground. Many ethnic champions are loudly beating the drums of war, calling not only for greater autonomy but even for outright opting out of a nation in which they have lost all trust and sense of belonging.
‘The calls for secession on an ethnic basis from many quarters should not be ignored or taken lightly. Many have given up on the viability and even on the desirability of the Nigeria project as one united country. No wonder many non-state actors are filling the vacuum created by a palpable failure of government.
‘The President can no longer delay rising to its obligation to govern the nation; not according to ethnic and religious biases but along the lines of objective and positive principles of fairness, equity and, above all, justice. We need to have the courage to admit that there’s a lot wrong with our nation,‘ they said.
The Catholic bishops said that it was their patriotic duty to point this out with all objectivity and sincerity.
According to them, the rule of law has too often been disregarded, giving way to widespread impunity, leading to the breakdown of law and order.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
