From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Middle Belt leader and Professor of Theology and social ethics, Prof Yusuf Turaki, on Tuesday descended heavily on federal government, alleging that government knows kidnappers, bandits and other criminal elements in Nigeria as well as paying them to the detriment of the nation’s security.
Prof. Turaki spoke at one-day peace and security summit, organised by Kaduna State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) which held at ECWA Goodnews church, Narayi, Kaduna.
The theme of the summit was entitled, “Nigeria’s Insecurity: The church’s response in the 21st century”.
The Middle Belt leader who was the lead keynote speaker, noted that violence has taken over the country to the extent that every segment of the society now speaks violence, adding, “Everybody is overwhelmed with violence”.
Prof. Turaki disagreed with politicians who are blaming killings in middle belt on farmers/clash, saying it is a deceptive narratives to motives of what he called a repetition of Sokoto jihadists war.
“These are Foreign Fulani who have been allowed to enter Nigeria so that they could help their brothers in Nigeria to kill innocent citizens and wreck havoc on our ancestral lands.
“These Fulani occupy the lands, carrying AK47, killing people, destroying communities in the middle belt and other parts of the country.
“And the government knows them, government pays them to destroy ancestral lands. Politicians know the bandits that enter Nigeria, but they will not tell us.
“Politicians have devised a wrong narrative that is deceptive, saying it is farmers/herders clash in middle belt, if it is clash, how comes Fulani are carrying AK47 to kill the people.
“Nigeria is well blessed with intelligent people but they cannot up till today solve insecurity in the country. Something terrible has befallen our country. God, open the mouths of the people, let them speak the truth and die for the truth.
“What the Fulani are doing now is exactly what Sokoto jihadists did in those old days. They kidnapped and asked people to pay ransom in those days. If you cannot pay, they sold you into slavery or killed you. So kidnapping is not different from what happened during the Sokoto jihadists war. They captured infidel.It is being repeated now in Nigeria”.
In his speech as the Special Guest of Honour, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo assured that kidnapping, banditry and insecurity generally would soon become things of the past as the country would soon triumph over them.
Prof. Osinbajo who likened Nigeria’s socio-economic problems to that of a woman in a labour room, said after much pains, there will be celebration by the People, when they eventually overcome hardship.
The Vice President was represented by the Chaplain, Villa, Pastor Joseph Oluseyi Malomo at the summit.
According to Osinbajo, “We all desired a nation devoid of any form of kidnapping and terrorism.
“We have heard prophecies of a shining Nigeria, we are longing for the day those prophecies will come to reality. We need to fight the fight of faith because God’s plans for the greatness of Nigeria has not changed, it will surely come. We need to pray for Nigeria.
“Many are weighed down because of problems they are going through, we must as Christians keep the Altars of God burning with prayers to overcome these problems.
“We must keep faith and see the problems we are going through as bread. God will take us to the promise land of a great nation with great value. We must reject politics of identity and ethnicity. Nigeria is going to be a shining nation, and insecurity will soon end”.
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, the Kaduna State CAN chairman, Reverend Joseph Hayab said, “Security challenges in Nigeria and Kaduna State, in particular, is not a new thing to us; it is a monster that we have been struggling very hard for decades to deal with.
“Every government has had its fair share of this experience. Accordingly, a keen look at our security challenges will reveal two basic facts; one is the proof that the challenge keeps changing with time while the second is that it is outrageous now.
“For Kaduna State, in 1987, it was a students’ riot at the Kaduna State College of Education Kafanchan triggering religious intolerance, and then we had the 1992 and 1995 Zangon Kataf communal unrest, ignited by the relocation initiative of a market. Then came the 2000 Sharia crisis and the 2002 Miss World crisis. There was equally the 2011 post-election crisis. Next, Kaduna state witnessed series of bombings believed to be by the BOKO Haram terrorist group.
“However, security challenges in Kaduna State started taking a new form by the end of 2014 with banditry, cattle rustling, and guerilla attacks of towns and villages, especially in the southern part of the state which became worst by 2016.
“The existing challenge is even more terrible with the advent of kidnapping. This turn of events has affected the community, state and the nation terribly. In all fairness, the current problem has adversely hit the body of Christ and humanity in general”.