President of Catholic Laity Council Nigeria, Thomas Adekoya, has called for immediate restructuring of Nigeria into the six geopolitical zones to enable each zone defend itself adequately against the various forms of insecurity facing it.
Addressing journalists at the 142 National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday in Kaduna with the theme ‘Unifying Nigeria’s Divergent Diversity for National Cohesion and Greatness’, Adekoya lamented that insecurity has bastardised the image of Nigeria before the local and international communities.
“If the managers of the nation’s security have reached their wits end in terms of securing our lives and property, then it means the present structure has become unmanageable. The federal government should therefore, as a matter of urgency, initiate moves for the restructuring of the country and saddle the federating units, which we suggest should be the six geopolitical zones, to secure themselves.
“It is saddening that our country, Nigeria, has continued to be in the eyes of local and international communities for the wrong reasons. For the past three months, or since we gave the last state of the nation address, no single day has passed without news of one gruesome killing or the other; one case of kidnapping or the other, raping of minors by matured men, including those who descended as low as raping their own innocent daughters. “Insecurity has continued to dominate our national discuss.
However, our greatest worry is why the Catholic Church should be at the receiving end of some of the most bizarre of these killings. Late August, 2019, Rev. Fr. David Tanko was on his way to Takum in Taraba state to attend a meeting that would seek ways to end the renewed age-long Tiv/Jukun crises when he was killed by gunmen. They set his body ablaze in his car.
“Earlier that same month, Rev. Fr. Paul Offu of Enugu Diocese was also murdered. Rev. Fr. Clement Ugwu was kidnapped and later killed about five months before Fr. Offu, also in Enugu. Combining the killings of these anointed men of God with others happening daily in our country reminds us of Thomas Hobbes’ ‘Life in the state of nature’ in which human existence is described as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
“Perhaps nothing demonstrates the fact that our government has lost grip of the security situation in the country than what happened in Katsina state recently when the state governor, with the whole gamut of his security apparatus, went into a forest to negotiate with kidnappers and other forms of criminals terrorizing the state.
“While we can condone the Federal Government negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of Chibok girls and other similar hostages the Katsina example only shows how deep the nation has sunk in terms of securing its citizens. If we hold dear that the protection of lives and property; and welfare of citizens is the greatest responsibility of any government towards its citizens then our present day government has fallen far short of the expectation of Nigerians.
“Nigerians are tired of losing their dear ones to these killings; Catholics are tired of mourning and burying their priests who are daily murdered for no just cause. If the Church must produce more martyrs let it not be at the hands of these killers. We therefore renew our call on the governments at the federal and state levels to wake up to their responsibility of protecting the lives and property of citizens”
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishop of Kaduna Archdiocese, Most Reverend Mathew Man’oso Ndagoso, has expressed deep concern over the spate of insecurity across the country, saying that the nation is at a crossroad, and President Muhammadu Buhari must wake up to his responsibility of providing security for the citizenry.
Bishop Ndagoso advised that after the general election, President Buhari must ensure proper national integration of the country, noting that Nigerians have been so divided following the elections.
“Anybody who cares for this country must be concerned about what is happening today regarding the insecurity. What is happening in the Northeast which has crept into the Northwest, Southeast and Southwest is becoming alarming,” he said.
