Christian elders from the north on Sunday asked the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to facilitate the release of Leah Sharibu as a “Christmas gift” to the Christian community.
Leah Sharibu and over 100 female students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi in Yobe State were kidnapped by the Boko Haram insurgent in 2018.
The insurgents released the girls except Leah, who is still held till date.
In a statement released on Sunday and signed by its Chairman, Mr Ejoga Inalegwu, the Christian elders on the platform of the Northern Elders Christian Forum, urged Buhari to give them Leah Sharibu as “our gift for Christmas.”
Inalegwu said, “We plead with the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to give the Christian community of this great nation, the Christmas gift by ensuring the release of our dear child, Leah Sharibu, from the brutal custody of the Boko Haram.
“We believe the government has the wherewithal and competency to effect her release.
“The message of Christmas is a message of hope for a people who had lost every hope; it is good news to revive the hearts of those in despair. It is the good news of deliverance.”
He added, “Our hearts bleed for our nation, a nation that has abandoned God and every godly value.
“We call evil good and good evil, we congratulate those who steal the mandate of the people by the barrel of the gun and intimidation, we have forgotten the values of the leaders of the Yar’adua fame, who could look at victory to its face and say ‘the means that brought me to power is flawed’.
“Those from whom we expect a higher standard, are the first to congratulate a stolen mandate.”
The elders also called on Nigerians to speak out against the pitiable state of the country.
“We call on men and women of conscience to cry out loud so that the situation does not deteriorate further.
“Dishonesty in government escalates crime and criminality. Let the spirit of Christmas revive our ways to ways of godliness,” the statement added.
He lamented the inequality in the country and called for immediate remedy.
He said, “Goodness Thomas scored 302 in JAMB and 278 in post JAMB, with 6 A1s but could not get the course of her choice because she is a Christian (News report). Let the nation cry out against this injustice.”