Catholic Bishops to Jonathan: This is not time for politics

…Declare 2 days of national prayers
Catholic Bish­ops across the country have ex­pressed concern over the alarming spate of violence, bombings and killings of inno­cent citizens in the North Eastern part of Nigeria and beyond.
The bishops under the aegis of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) declared in a com­muniqué that while Nigeria bleeds and burns, the gov­ernment must rise to its duty of protecting the lives and property of its people.
The statement signed by the President of the CBCN, Most Rev Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, and Sec­retary, Most Rev. William Avenya clearly noted that this is not the time to play politics, as it does not mat­ter who becomes the Presi­dent, but putting the lives of the people first and restor­ing peace and unity to the country.
“As Nigeria tragically bleeds and burns, we Bish­ops are really alarmed at the scale of human, material de­struction, and the disruption of village and community life with increased levels of hatred and potentials for more conflicts in the nation. While Muslims are some­times targets of these de­structive attacks, Christians, Churches and non- Muslims in general are the principal targets for extermination, expropriation and expulsion by the Boko Haram insur­gents, the perpetrators of all these destructions.
“We believe that we still have governments- at Federal and State- levels, whose primary duty it is to preserve and protect the life of every Nigerian irrespec­tive of tribe, religion, social class, or tradition.
“In the face of this Boko Haram group and other criminal militias arming themselves beyond our le­gitimate government, and brazenly killing innocent, defenseless citizens, our government must do more than it is currently doing to safeguard our lives and defend our nation. It must do more than it is currently doing to fight off and dis­arm these actual destroyers of Nigerians and Nigeria. It must do more than it is currently doing to prevent segments of our nation from drifting, anarchy and mutu­al self-destruction and bring criminals to justice.
“We warn every Nige­rian community at local and state levels to be alert to the grave danger facing all of us and our nation from within and from without. The issue is not about who becomes president or gov­ernor or senator after the 2015 general elections. The issue is about the life and security of every one of us who loves his or her life and really cares about our living together in peace as noble Nigerians,” the statement read.
Describing the ordeal of many Nigerians in the hard hit areas, the bishops called for a joint effort from all citizens, communities and leaders at various levels to support the government as it strives to put an end to the violence; and in the meantime, offer assistance to affected persons, fami­lies and areas, as many have been made homeless as the violence rages.
“Our Second Annual Plenary meeting in Warri Diocese, Delta State, has been daily strained by first-hand and horrifying reports
reaching us from Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Kano and Kaduna states about the mass slaughter of fellow Nigerians; the burn­ing and sacking of whole villages and churches and rectories. Families and individuals are forced to seek places of refuge out­side their invaded homes and lands.
“In fact, one of our bishops from those zones of current tragedy had to leave our meeting abruptly because of thousands of refugees that had flocked to his Cathedral and its premises, expecting pro­tection and feeding from the bishop and his diocese. Unfortunately, the situa­tion right now, in the North East, only confirms further killings, burnings and flee­ing of defenseless Nigeri­ans, creating a heightened sense of unrest and siege for the whole nation.
“We urge therefore that we all support and encour­age every positive effort by the current government to protect every Nigerian and defend the integrity and unity of Nigeria. Let us equally take lawful mea­sures locally to prevent the destruction of fellow Nigerians and to ward off Nigeria’s destroyers.
“We have mandated our CARITAS (charity/emergency) office to im­mediately provide funds and succor to all affected peoples as is within our capacity. We urge govern­ment and every endowed Nigerian to reach out in charity and solidarity to re­habilitate and support our displaced brothers and sis­ters wherever they are and so sustain our God-given human dignity.
“These are critical times for our country and every­one in position of authority must do everything possi­ble to save our dear coun­try, Nigeria,” the statement further read.
The bishops also de­clared a two-day national all night prayers scheduled for 13th and 14th of No­vember, 2014 in Abuja to intercede for the nation.

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