Catholic Bishops Blast Buhari over Insecurity, Herdsmen Killings

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Thursday, February 8th, 2018

By Ganiyu Nasirudeen

ABUJA, NIGERIA (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Perturbed by the state of insecurity in some parts of the country, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria CBCN has come very hard on President Muhammadu Buhari over the perceived ineptitude and declared that the goodwill which earned the President victory in 2015 has remarkably waned.

The CBCN President and Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama made the declaration Thursday while reading his speech during a courtesy visit to Mr. President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja

According to CBCN, President Buhari’s long silence on the killings in Benue; Taraba; Kaduna; Nasarawa and Plateau was shocking.

The Clerics stated that there was no doubt in the fact that when the President came into office; he had an enormous amount of the goodwill of Nigerians, as he was considered a man of integrity, therefore, would be able to bring sanity into a system that was nearly crippled by endemic corruption.

Archbishop Kaigama said almost three years later, it seemed the ”goodwill is being fast depleted by some glaring failures of government, which we have the moral responsibility to bring to your notice, else we would be failing in our duty as spiritual fathers and leaders”

“Our beloved country appears to be under siege. Many negative forces seem to be keeping a stranglehold on the population, especially the weaker and defenceless ones.

“There is a feeling of hopelessness across the country. Our youths are restive and many of them have taken to hard drugs, cultism and other forms of violent crime, while many have become victims of human trafficking. The nation is nervous.

“Just as we seem to be gradually emerging from the dark tunnel of an economic recession that caused untold hardship to families and individuals, violent attacks by unscrupulous persons, among whom are terrorists masquerading as herdsmen, have led to a near civil war situation in many parts of the country.

“We are saddened that, repeatedly, innocent citizens in different communities across the nation are brutally attacked and their sources of livelihood mindlessly destroyed.

“Lives are wasted and property, worth billions of Naira, including places of worship, schools, hospitals and business enterprises are torched and turned to ashes” Archbishop Kaigama read in the speech jointly signed by him and the Secretary also the Bishop of Gboko, Most Rev. William Avenya.