*Members to wear black attire on Ash Wed, March 1st
*Middle Belt Forum to Buhari: Review security architecture, Praises Gov Zulum
By Myke Uzendu
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) will as from Ash Wednesday, this year, February 26, organise a day of protest and prayer across the country in protest of rising insecurity and killings in the country.
Making the resolution known through the Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), the Bishops expressed deep disappointment over increasing killing of Nigerians by terrorists and bandits as well as kidnappings, rising level of corruption and general hopelessness especially among the youth.
The CBCN had through its member-Bishops drawn attention of the government to the debilitating situations in the country.
Just last week, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, while preaching the homily at the burial of a senior seminarian who was abducted and killed by suspected Fulani bandits, stated that the President Muhammdu Buhari’s administration has failed woefully.
Disappointed that government seems not to be doing enough in taking sustained practical steps at restoring normalcy, the Bishops ordered all Catholics to begin this year’s 40 days Lenten period which begins on the Ash Wednesday by wearing black clothes or putting on black arm band throughout the day.
The climax of the prayer protest would be on the preceding Sunday March 1st with the adorning of black clothes to churches throughout the federation and conduct of prayer protest from the CSN headquarters at Durumi, Abuja up to Our Lady Queen of Nigeria, Catholic Pro-Cathedral, Garki, Abuja.
Statement by the Secretary-General of CSN, Rev. Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi states: “I have been directed by the Administrative Board of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria to communicate to you that in the face of the current security situation, the Church needs to speak out in word and action against the level of insecurity in the country.
“The Board is directing that on Ash Wednesday, 26 February 2020, all Catholics, in solidarity with the many kidnapped and killed persons, stage a protest wearing black. Every Diocese is to, please, organise the Prayer Protest.
“The Board will, in due course, send a brief message to be read in all our churches prior to the procession.”
In his message to the Parish Priests he stated: “Dear Fathers,
Kindly inform your parishioners tomorrow of the following: (1). On Ash Wednesday, all Catholics are expected to dress in BLACK.
“(2). On Sunday 1st of March, there shall be no evening Mass in our City Parishes.
“That evening, we shall have a peaceful prayer protest against the incessant killings and insecurity in our country.”
The Auxiliary Bishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Anselm Umoren, confirmed the development, adding that “the nation’s leaders across all strata need prayers because they seem to be missing the point of what providing leadership means. They are becoming increasingly selfish, nepotism and have not realised that security of life and property is the primary purpose of government, just as improving the welfare of the masses.”
He urged all Catholics to keep to the directives and asked them to intensify their prayers so that leadership will begin to play their primary duties.
Middle Belt Forum to Buhari: Review security architecture, Praises Gov Zulum
Meanwhile, the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has observed that in view of the incessant attacks on Nigerian communities by bandits, there is the urgent need to evolve new security measures in tackling new waves of criminal attacks in the country.
MBF said that looking at the performance profile of the military in the fight against terror since 2015, there is need for President Buhari to review the nation’s security architecture with a view to injecting new ideas so as to wipe out the terror organisations that have turned daily living into a nightmare for many Nigerians.
A press statement issued by the National President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, said, “The leadership of the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, is shocked at the recent brutal killings of no fewer than 30 persons, who were stranded along a military checkpoint in Auno, a suburb of Maiduguri, by Boko Haram elements which also resulted in massive destruction of vehicles and houses.
Considering the incessant tragedies that have befallen the state, the present times are indeed trying for not only Borno state, but also Nigeria.
“More than anything, these attacks have clearly shown that the path to routing out these terrorists is not clearly on sight.”
As a forum, the statement explained, “We are impressed by the disposition of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum who has shown an unwavering devotion to the return of peace in a state that has become weary of terror attacks.
Unlike his predecessors, Governor Zulum has demonstrated unprecedented zeal and devoutness in turning the tides against these terrorists that have denied peace to the state. Governor Zulum’s constant visits to scenes of attacks and collaboration with security agencies reveal his painstaking commitment to ending insurgencies and other forms of criminal activities in the state.
“As an umbrella organisation representing ethnic minorities in the Middle Belt Region, the Forum commiserates with the people of Borno state and hereby applaud the governor for his steadfast obligation to ending insurgence in the state.”
The forum said in an atmosphere devoid of the right leadership in tackling the present terror stalking our nation, the statement explained that Governor Zulum represents a metaphor for what is missing in evolving the right leadership needed to defeat what the forum described “the monster of terror devastating our communities.”
