Christians in the North have asked the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to protect Christians from the rampaging Boko Haram insurgents and bandits.
They made the call under the aegis of Christian Association of Nigeria, Northern chapter, in reaction to the statement by the Federal Government that the insurgents were targeting Christians to stir up a religious war in the country.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had at a press conference in Abuja on February 27 said insurgents had decided to be targeting Christians and Christian communities.
This, according to the Minister, was to trigger a religious war and throw the nation into chaos.
Northern CAN said the statement should be considered a wake-up call for the Federal Government.
Vice Chairman of the Northern CAN, Rev. Joseph Hayab, in a statement titled, “The Beginning of the End of Denial,” which was released in Kaduna on February 28 reads;
Since the truth can only be delayed but not denied, the Federal Government of Nigeria should use the public admittance by its Minister of Information and Culture that Boko Haram and other killer groups in Nigeria truly are targeting Christians to stir up a religious war, to fashion out ways that Christians, their leaders, and places of worship will be protected.
The government at this point should also seek to engage critical stakeholders to discuss possible ways of uniting the country to defeat the common enemy, in this case, Boko Haram and the kidnappers that have made our roads and homes unsafe.
He added that;
Accordingly, the government should direct her care-free spokespersons, both at federal and state levels, to mind how they respond to people or groups that have legitimate complaints about the safety of their members.
CAN, in the statement said they were delighted with the latest revelations made by the government through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stating that;
The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 northern states and the FCT is happy to hear that, at last, some truths are coming out from the theatre of denial that we have seen displayed by the Nigerian government over the past years.
Every honest and right-thinking Nigerian and non-Nigerian alike following the deadly killings in Nigeria must have recognised that Boko Haram and other killers groups have been targeting Christians for reasons only known to them.
The statement added that;
Our cry has never been to discredit anyone or the government but the focus has been that those in power should admit the truth about what is happening to Christians in Nigeria, not as a sign of failure but an honest way to finding a workable lasting solution to the evil ongoing in our land.
