The Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese and Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Adamawa State chapter, Most Reverend Stephen Dami Mamza, has said that Nigeria has never been divided like it is under the current leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The CAN chairman noted that the insensitivity of the Buhari-led government to maintain religious and ethnic balance in its appointments is worsening matters and further widening the gulf of suspicion between the diverse peoples of Nigeria.
The CAN chairman, who was speaking on Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary, scored Buhari’s administration low in the area of security, noting that life under the administration has no sanctity as people are being killed on a daily basis while the government remained largely passive and unconcerned.
He noted that lack of fairness and injustice being meted to a large section of the populace is further worsening the country’s plight as many have lost hope of being fairly and justly treated by the government.
“Some of the challenges have to do with the issue of justice and fairness. Even the issue of security has to do with a lack of justice and fairness. If you have all the security chiefs mostly from one region and most of them are northerners then how will you be able to bring everybody on board? And how can you put a sense of belonging?
“Even the recent senior customs appointment that he made is skewed as all the seven or eight senior customs officers he appointed are Muslims from the north. This country is not for one tribe or one religion.
“The president’s inactiveness could be responsible for what is happening in Nigeria and that is why there is no solution to the security challenges that we are facing,” he said.
Mamza added that the failure of the president to pander to the calls of the majority of Nigerians to change the security chiefs, is a major shortcoming of his leadership, noting that in a democracy, the leaders must hanker to the whims and caprices of the people.
“I don’t think Nigeria has actually improved in terms of security. I think things are getting worse almost every year. In the past, especially in the 70s, 80s and in the early 90s, we didn’t know anything like Boko Haram, banditry and kidnapping.
“Apart from the civil war and the Maitatsine riots we had in some states in the north, I don’t think we had a very serious challenge as we are having now.
“Now there is nowhere that is safe and there is no guarantee for safety for everybody. If at this time the convoy of a governor can be attacked several times you can now imagine the situation we are in. So in terms of security, things are getting worse in Nigeria. I think everybody knows this and it is a fact and a reality we are facing at the moment.
“I don’t think anybody can boast of having a definite solution to the security challenges, but there are things that can be done to improve on the situation especially from the executive and the legislative and the security chiefs themselves.”
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