South-East branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has called on President Mohammadu Buhari to immediately sack all Service Chiefs over persistent killings of innocent Nigerians by the Boko Haram insurgents.
Chairman of South-East CAN, Bishop Goddy Okafor said this in Aba yesterday while responding to questions from journalists on the security situation of Nigeria.
Okafor, who anchored his response on the gruesome murder of Chairman of CAN in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Rev. Lawan Andimi by Boko Haram on Tuesday, called for seriousness from the Federal Government in the fight against terrorism
He described the killing of Andimi as absurd and stressed that the era of mere issuing of statements and making claims of taking care of the situation on the pages of newspapers without any serious action taken should be over.
Okafor said: “If the president of the Federal republic of Nigeria is for all of us, if he claims he loves this country and wants to take this country to next level, he should pursue justice.
“98% of our service chiefs are Muslims. There’s no balance in that. I personally feel that if there’s truly war against terrorism, if the Federal Government is sincere and committed to this war against terrorism, let Mr. President sack all his Service Chiefs and appoint people from different religious affiliations who can work together to defend this country.
“He should appoint people from all zones of this country. We don’t have best hands from one side only. There are people who can handle this situation better. There are people who can handle Boko Haram better.
“I think our government enjoys mediocrity. If they claim there’s no agenda to Islamize this country and that this country truly belongs to all of us, then they should show it because, presently their body language does not show that they are sincere and honest.
“Year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day, it’s all about one thing and nobody is held responsible for them.
“Every year in our budget, very large chunk of tax payers’ money is allocated to the military and yet Nigerians are left to provide security for themselves.
“What happened in Adamawa is very absurd. To abduct a man of God who’s totally sold out for the word of God and paint the picture that you’ll release him and later killed him.
“A man of God was killed in cold blood. Nigeria is not Saudi Arabia. My question is this the way Muslims kill? Because I know that there are people who leave and work there that are not Muslims.
“We have so many Islamic nations; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Senegal and other countries that are more than 90% Muslims. Is this the way they kill their own people?
“I want our Muslims brothers to know that this country belongs to all of us. If they want a country where they’ll practice Sharia, where Boko Haram will be instrument of maintaining Islamic principles in the land, then they should have a rethink because this country belongs to all of us and nobody will chase us out of this country.
“They should always bear in mind that there’s no human being who cannot kill. That Christians are keeping quiet do not mean that they’re cowards.
“You cannot look at millions of Christians in this country and you think that they are cowards and you can do anything and get away with it.
“The issue is that Christianity is a religion of peace and Christians love peace. People claim that Islam is a religion of peace, but we haven’t seen it in Nigeria. We’ve never seen much of it in the world either.
“Christians should rise and defend themselves. If government cannot defend you, don’t be slaughtered like a goat. Don’t die like a pig. You are valuable in the sight of God.
“Churches, pastors, members of the clergy should think security. We now live in a war zone and we should not leave security to only government. Secure your family and your environment.”
