From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

Primate of Anglican Communion, Most Rev Nicholas Ndukuba, has expressed concerns over the state of affairs in Nigeria, stating that the country is fast becoming a failed state having exhibited the characters and signals of one.

He challenged Christians, particularly the members of the Anglican Church to rise to the occasion and participate in political process that would culminate in the emergence of new political leaders in 2023.

The Anglican Primate discouraged the culture of sitting on the fence during political processes, and end up lamenting about the incompetence or shortcomings of the political leaders.

Most Rev. Ndukuba in his charge at the 11th Synod of Anglican Diocese of Abuja, on Saturday, with the theme «Bond of peace: the inner structure of the life of the church,» noted that Nigeria was fast becoming a land flowing with tears and blood because of the reality of terror, devastations, destructions and fear that were evident in the society.

He said: “The troubles that come to the people are like the earthquake which was followed by a tsunami with great destruction of lives and property. The aftermath is only ruins and fear for life. We live in a very uncertain times, insecurity and devastations in Nigeria.”

He made reference to the report of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States, which indicated that Nigeria was at a point of no return.

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He said the report added that Nigeria had since moved from being a weak state to “a fully failed state,” having manifest- ed all signs of a failed country, including the inability of government to protect the citizens, large scale violence and fester- ing insurgency and inability to keep its citizens safe and secure.

He warned of the negative consequences that come with Nigeria’s failure as a state for peace and security in the West African sub region as well as Europe and the USA.

He, therefore, reawakened the consciousness of Nigerians, particularly Christians to the need to participate in the political process ahead of 2023 general elections.

According to him, politics is not a dirty game as was perceived by some Christians for a very long time, which had been responsible for poor participation of Christians in political and governance system.

He said: “The 2023 general election is an opportunity for us as citizens to exercise our right to choose our leaders. Politics is a God-given process aimed towards ordering His world and society. Though, some people have hijacked the political processes for their personal agenda, I must state that politics is not dirty as some people perceived it in the past.

“We encourage all citizens to be involved in the political process of our states and nation. Christians should register in any political party of their choice and be involved in the activities of the party from the ward level to the national. We should be reminded that those who contest for political positions are chosen from the grassroots and ward levels.

“The Anglican Church must be fully mobilised in the political processes throughout the country. Every Anglican member is encouraged to register, obtain and keep a voter’s card as well as their National Identification Number (NIN).”