The President of Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has expressed his anger at the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram sect in the North-eastern part of the country. He decried the current spate of killing of Christians in the zone. He maintained his stance that Boko Haram is waging a religious war against Christians, saying that the carnage in the North-east is unacceptable and it must stop.
Oritsejafor made this statement on Wednesday in Abuja during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of CAN, said “territories that have fallen under the control of Boko Haram are predominantly populated by Christians, a sign that Christians are no longer safe in those parts of the country.
Oritsejafor said, “What is happening there is unacceptable to us. Christians are the main victims. We are not saying that other people are not affected. But Christians are the ones affected more. All the places where Boko Haram has foisted their flags are dominated by Christians.
“They have taken over Mubi in Adamawa state which is dominated by Christians. Somebody will now tell me this is not religion. Who is fooling who? Nigerians should accept that we have a problem.”
Calling on Nigerians to pray to God to put an end to the mindless killings, Oritsejafor said he will not join other Nigerians who have created names for themselves, by constantly criticising the military, however called on the leadership of the military to fish out saboteurs in their midst, if the war against terrorism must be won.
He said, “All well-meaning Nigerians must pray and continue to pray. We must pray. I will not join those condemning our security agencies. They are Nigerians. Women are losing their husbands and children are losing their fathers. I want to challenge the military. They can do better. They must continue to fish out those sabotaging their efforts. Those people should be expelled. They are in all the security agencies.
“No matter the intention you have, if you have people working against you, you will not succeed. There are too many people in the system working against the system. Why should these kind of things be happening? Innocent people are being killed. It is too much. Enough is enough!
Advising the federal government, stakeholders and other critical stakeholders to adopt another approach in bringing an end to activities of Boko Haram, Oritsejafor warned that the use of force alone would not end the insurgency.
Oritsejafor said,” Even though I have said the military must continue to work harder, guns and bullets alone will not save this problem. Boko Haram is an ideology. Let us not run away from it. You do not defeat an ideology with guns and bullets. You defeat an ideology with a superior ideology. Boko Haram will not listen to me.
“I want to make an appeal to our Muslim clerics and Muslim political leaders to come together and see how they can help us solve this problem. They have the solution. There are some Muslim scholars Boko Haram members respect. To a large extent, that is the only way out.
“As members of CAN, we are ready to meet with them. I believe in progressive dialogue. This is my strong appeal. I want to appeal to those at the grass root. This connects to the leaders. The leaders should talk to those at the grass roots. They should give reliable intelligence to our security agents. Please, do not harbour these people. They are not fighting for you. Expose them.
“I know we have some members of the press here. I hope they will pass the message. We want a better Nigeria, where everyone is equal and respects the constitution. In fact, we want one constitution where everyone will follow. Those saying Boko Haram is not religious are deceiving themselves.
“We want a Nigeria where everyone is safe. We want a Nigerian where a man is not judged by his religion. That is the Nigeria we all want. If we want one united Nigeria, we must all pay the price for it.”
Calling on the international community to come to the aid of Nigeria and Nigerians, Oritsejafor said he still believes the country will surmount its current challenges and come out stronger.
“I believe as bad as the situation is, with God, all things are possible. I know that there is God. He will not forsake us. We have restrained our people so much and we will continue to restrain them. But I beg Nigerians to not let this continue. These are dangerous and serious times.
“I was reading a report from a priest in Borno of how churches have been destroyed. I wonder why the international community is not saying anything. Is this not human rights violation? We call on government, NEMA, NGOs, the international community. We need help. Our people are dying. Come and help us,” he pleaded.
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