The Primate of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Reverend Henry Ndukuba has charged the Nigerian government to listen to the concerns of those agitating for secession.
Primate Ndukuba said this while speaking with journalists at the end of the 2021 Divine Commonwealth Conference (DIVCON) held at National Christian Centre, Abuja.
He said agitation is a product of unfairness, partiality and injustice, and when citizens feel that a section of the country is being treated as first-class citizens while some are treated as second class citizens.
He said it is time for the government to listen to the concerns of the agitators and also the agitator to be considerate with other citizens as they make their point known to the authorities.
“It is possible that we will always have agitations because when there is unfairness when there is partiality in governance when it is evident that some people are first-class citizens and others are second class and even fourth-class citizens in the same nation.
“When merit is jettisoned and when people’s concerns are not addressed, you cannot but expect people to speak up. So people have the freedom to express themselves, but it is left to the leadership or the government to also listen to what the people are complaining about.
“When you look at the agitations that are going on, it is because some sections of this country believe that they are not fairly treated or handled in a way evenly so that when they look around, they feel that the way things are going is not the way it should be.
“I will encourage the government to listen and I will encourage the agitators to be considerate and also consider other citizens in whatever way they want to express their anger, the scripture said that the anger of man cannot work out the righteousness of God”, he said.
The clergy also charged Christians to pray and also urged the government to always protect lives and properties which he said is their primary responsibility.
“I want to encourage Christians to pray, there is nothing God cannot do, but more importantly, the government should do what they should do, security of lives and property is the number one responsibility of any government.
“So, let the government be seen to be doing what they should do, for example, in Southern Kaduna, things have been happening and nobody has ever been arrested or taken to court.
“I believe that there is a compromise somewhere and when there is a compromise, there is corruption and when there is corruption and compromise, there is no way a fair system can function and you cannot have peace where there is injustice and unfairness”, he noted.
On the upcoming 2023 general election, Primate Ndukuba charged the youth not to allow themselves be used as thugs to create havoc or unrest
“I think that our leaders must stand to be counted. As you may know, very soon they will go into electioneering campaign, I want to ask out youth, don’t let anybody turn you into a thug. Thugs are slaves and those who want you to be their thugs may want to give you money and drugs which they will not want their own children to do the same thing.
“So, we need equality in the treatment of our citizens and respect for human lives and the sanctity of lives should be preserved, let us honour God and let us respect and honour one another”, he added.
Speaking on this year’s DIVCON, he said “I have been in all the DIVCON conferences, but this is my second time presiding as the Primate of the Church of Nigeria. Last year it was very challenging because of COVID-19 restriction and fear, but we thank God that inspite of the challenges, people came and it was a wonderful fellowship.
“This year again, we have seen God at work, in fact, what the door desires of us is to just trust him”.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune