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Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III and Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province (Anglican Communion), Reverend Emmanuel Chukwuma have expressed worries over the new dimension of insecurity in the country.
The Sultan cautioned that Nigerians must sit together to find solution to the country’s insecurity challenge or perish together.
Speaking at a meeting of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja, he said Nigeria was in turbulent times of insecurity, stressing: “The earlier we come together and check the issue, the better for us all.
“If anybody thinks or wants to deceive himself that all is well in the country, the person is being unfair to this country called Nigeria.
“We are all involved in the insecurity issues across the country like we witnessed one in Abuja yesterday where many lives were lost and as religious leaders, we all know the sacredness of life and that taking life is an abnormal thing and is abhorred by the Almighty God.
“We are worried over the dimension insecurity is taking in the country and the earlier we come together and check the issue, the better for us.”
He lamented that in the last two months in Sokoto alone, armed bandits have killed many people, adding that the first were 48 victims, mostly women and children.
“Two weeks later, 44 persons were killed, a couple of weeks later 18 lives were lost and three days ago, 29 persons were killed. Put the number together and see how many people have been killed in Sokoto alone.
“I am making this comment for us to know that the issue of insecurity is everywhere and therefore, as religious leaders, we must use our privileged positions to preach peace,” he stressed.
The Sultan, who is also President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA), noted that the problem of the country was that there are elder statesmen who have lived well and became what they are now, insisting that they were the ones stoking embers of hatred and denying the youths the opportunity to live a good life.
Also speaking, President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Samson Ayokunle, pointed out that people become violent when they lack basic necessities of life and could not meet their basic needs.
Responding, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, said the major challenge was how to find a sustainable path to foster peace and unity, adding that the situation has been compounded by feelings of exclusion, suspicion and denial, generally described as marginalisation.
Meanwhile, Chukwuma described the President Muhammadu Buhari- led government as a bloody administration.
He also accused the government of inadvertently fuelling another civil war in Nigeria, stressing that the way it had addressed insecurity so far, meant that it cared less about human lives, unity and the country’s economic development.