Clerics under the auspices of Catholic Bishops of Nigeria on Thursday met behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari where they told him point blank that the goodwill with which Nigerians voted him to power was being eroded owing to failures in governance.
The Bishops also told Buhari that they will be failing in their own responsibilities, if they kept mum about the dire situations in the country.
Leader of the delegation, Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop of Jos in a prepared text told the President that poverty, hunger, insecurity and violence were at the core of issues fast depleting the goodwill initially enjoyed by the government when it came into power in 2015.
Kaigama reeled out these complaints on behalf of Nigerians in the full glare of the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, John Odigie-Oyegun, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige as well as Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh.
According to the clergies, there is a general feeling of hopelessness across the country, with youths exhibiting restive tendencies while many others are hooked on hard drugs, cultism and other forms of violent crimes.
Kiagama described the entire country as being in a state of nervousness, a development he said should worry the President and indeed all political leaders in the country, rather than any bid for re-election in 2019.
While commenting on the spate of killings in Benue state, occasioned by farmers-herdsmen clashes, he said the seeming silence by the Presidency was to say the least shocking.
They also described the clashes between farmers and herdsmen, where innocent lives were being lost as very embarrassing to the nation.
“First, we thank God for bringing you back to us after a period of ill health. We hope and pray that you continue to make progress on the way to full recovery, in order to be able to face the enormous challenges emanating from your exalted office
“Your Excellency, needless to say that, as President, you are the Father of our dear country Nigeria. It is therefore pertinent that as loyal citizens as well as informed members of the society we come to you from time to time to express not only our willing cooperation with the government in working for the progress of our country, but also to share with you the feelings of the multitude of Nigerians at this moment.
“We work with the people at the grassroots and therefore, have first-hand information about what they are going through.
“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.
“Nearly three years later, however one has the feeling that this good will is being fast depleted by some glaring failures of government which we have the moral responsibility to bring to your notice, else we would be failing in our duty as spiritual fathers and leaders.
“There is too much suffering in the country: poverty, hunger, insecurity, violence, fear… the list is endless. Our beloved country appears to be under siege many negative forces seem to be keeping a stranglehold on the population, especially the weaker and defenceless ones.
“There is a feeling of hopelessness across the country. Our youths are restive and many of them have taken to hard drugs, cultism and other forms of violent crime, while many have become victims of human trafficking. The Nation is nervous.
“Just as we seem to be gradually emerging from the dark tunnel of an economic recession that caused untold hardship to families and individuals, violent attacks by unscrupulous persons, among whom are terrorists masquerading as herdsmen, have led to a near civil war situation in many parts of the country.
“We are saddened that, repeatedly, innocent citizens in different communities across the nation are brutally attacked and their sources of livelihood mindlessly destroyed.
“Lives are wasted and property, worth billions of Naira, including places of worship schools, hospitals and business enterprises are torched and turned to ashes.
“We are still more saddened by the recent massacre of unarmed citizens by these terrorists in some communities in Benue, Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba States which has caused national shock, grief and outcry.
“The silence of the federal government in the wake of these horrifying attacks is, to say the least, shocking. There is a feeling of helplessness among the people and the danger that some people may begin to take laws into their hands,”Kaigama told the President.
The Bishops advised Buhari not to take killings in the country with levity, saying he should be preoccupied by protecting the lives and property of citizens and jettison calls for re-election.
He said,“we therefore earnestly urge the government to take very seriously its primary responsibility of protecting the lives and property of its citizens and ensure that such mindless killings do not reoccur.
“Herdsmen may be under pressure to save their livestock and economy but this is never to be done at the expense of other people’s lives and means of livelihood. We would like to add our voice to those of other well-meaning Nigerians who insist that a better alternative to open grazing should be sought rather than introducing “cattle colonies” in the country.
“While thinking of how best to help cattle owners establish ranches, government should equally have plans to help the other farmers whose produce is essential for our survival as a nation.”
Kaigama also advised the presidency to sit up and tackle the growing menance of kidnapping in the country, which seems to have overwhelmed the government and placed it in a state of helplessness.
“In a similar vein, daredevil kidnappers, who at present are having a field day, with a feeling of invincibility, must be made to understand that there is a government in this country Government should invest more in equipping our Police Force with modern high-tech devices that will help them track down and arrest these criminals and make them face the wrath of the law,”he said.
On alleged breach of the federal character principle, the clerics urged the government to ensure equality in line with the provisions of the 1999 constitution.