David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
The Anglican Diocese of Aguata in Anambra State recently X-rayed the numerous problems facing Nigeria, concluding that the country was facing huge challenges . This was the submission at the end of its synod held at St. Mark’s Church, Ajalli, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Bishop of the diocese, Dr. Samuel Ezeofor, argued that to audit Nigeria and address the unbroken chain of regression 60 years after independence was to return to vexed questions that had been asked oftentimes and to which there had been continued self-denial.
He noted that the inability to answer the question of what Nigeria is had left the nation adrift. He charged Nigerians to rise up and help galvanize others into action to save the country from total collapse.
He warned that not stemming the dangerous trend could be catastrophic .“So much treatment has been applied to Nigeria’s ailment but it is not responding to treatment. Rather, the ailment is degenerating to a fatal disease which may cause Nigeria to be deceased,” he said.
Some of Nigeria’s problems, he said, include its reality as a house divided against itself and absence of godly conscience. The bishop said people were already talking about elections in 2023, noting that Nigerians must first be alive to hold elections.
He expressed gratitude to God for allowing the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which kept majority of people indoors for some time and reduced the senseless killing spree by the Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers and other terrorists that had gone on in Nigeria without check.
He said that the church was sending a word of caution to the Nigerian President on the activities of Miyetti Allah. He noted that the group was the umbrella body of all cattle breeders and herdsmen in the country, which he described as a mere trade union. He observed that in the recent past some herdsmen had turned murderous. He noted that they had kept inflicting mayhem on the populace with impunity while constituting themselves into an alternate government.
He said it was worrisome that Miyetti Allah’s leaders were consistently on local and international media houses to defend the killers . He wondered why the perpetrators were not being arrested or prosecuted, even though they claimed responsibility for series of attacks leading to the death of so many Nigerians.
“It is difficult to believe that identifiable and known persons would admit to mass murder of other citizens without any word of caution or arrest by law enforcement agencies. The only credence we can give to such claim is to say they are carrying out the briefs of some invincible forces in the corridor of power .
“ The killers continue to heat up the polity while others shiver and shake for fear of attack, yet no arrests are made. This is not acceptable. We say without any fear of intimidation that this is an antithesis for a strong country. President Muhammadu Buhari is heereby called upon to stop the senseless killings, consistent attack on life and property of the people of this country and restore peace to Nigeria,” he said.
“Those who go by the name IPOB and have had the presence of mind, decency and courage to protest and say that they have had enough and wish to break out and establish their own country have been locked up, demonised, insulted, maligned and murdered and they have been declared terrorists, even though they never threatened or used violence to effect their purpose. And there are no arms found with them.
“To say that you want to be free from bondage, tyranny and subjugation and that you wish to chart a new course for your ethnic nationality or tribe has now become a mortal sin and an unforgivable crime in Nigeria. Self-determination has become a dirty word,” he said.