It is one thing to lodge a complaint or to make a submission or to give advice, but it is quite a different matter to get compliance from the person at the receiving end. But this axiom did not stop the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, from going forward. Last Thursday, members of the group thronged Aso Rock and told President Muhammadu Buhari that the enormous goodwill which he got from Nigerians when he assumed office in 2015 was fast declining due to the obvious failures of his administration.
The address read by the bishops at the visit, copies of which were made available to journalists, was jointly signed by the CBCN President and Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama; and the Secretary who is also the Bishop of Gboko, Most Rev. William Avenya.
The address read in part, “There is no doubt that when you came into office, you had an enormous amount of the goodwill of Nigerians, since many saw you as a person of integrity who would be able to bring sanity into a system that was nearly crippled by endemic corruption. We have the moral responsibility to bring the true and current situation to your notice, else we would be failing in our duty as spiritual fathers and leaders.”
The bishops regretted that there was too much suffering in the country with poverty, hunger, insecurity, violence and fear, among others, pervading the land. They urged the President to check the lopsidedness in his appointments and to halt the murderous attacks against innocent and helpless villagers and farmers by terrorists masquerading as herdsmen, which have led to a near civil war situation in many parts of the country.
Reacting to the remarks by the CBCN, President Buhari said it was dishonest to continue to create the impression that he was not doing anything about the recent killings in Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, and Zamfara states. While condemning the killings, the President said security operatives would ensure prosecution of perpetrators and all those found with illegal arms in the affected areas.
President Buhari explained that the cattle colony policy proposed by the federal government in response to the clashes between herdsmen and farmers was not meant to colonise any part of the country. He said government’s intention was to create grazing locations for cattle rearers and regretted that the step had been misconstrued as another form of colonisation.
He, however, assured the Catholic bishops that the federal government would continue to explore all opportunities and support initiatives to ensure peace and stability in restive areas.
