The Anglican Bishop of Kaduna Diocese, Timothy Yahaya, and his Catholic counterpart, Mathew Manoso Ndagoso, on Sunday, backed the Northern Elders Forum in their call for the resignation of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.) over the spate of insecurity in the country.
The PUNCH had reported that the NEF on Tuesday asked Buhari to resign for allegedly failing to secure the country.
The forum made the demand in a statement by its spokesperson, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed. It said it was disappointing that after nearly seven years of being in office, Buhari still had no answers to security challenges across the country.
The statement had read in part, “The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari does not appear to have answers to the challenges of security to which we are exposed.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.510.1_en.html#goog_367691770
“We cannot continue to live and die under the dictates of killers, kidnappers, rapists, and sundry criminal groups that have deprived us of our rights to live in peace and security.
“Our constitution has provisions for leaders to voluntarily step down if they are challenged by personal reasons or they prove incapable of leading.”
However, the presidency had since replied to the northern elders, describing them as failed politicians seeking cheap publicity.
But in apparent support of the NEF’s call for Buhari to quit the stage, the bishops in separate Easter messages to Nigerians in Kaduna on Sunday, said the right thing for the president to do was to resign over the insecurity across the country.
The Anglican Bishop noted that the right thing to do for a leader who could not perform was to bow out of office.
“I don’t want to join issues with the Northern elders because I am not a politician. But the truth about leadership is that there is morality in leadership. If you cannot deliver as a leader in a civilised clime, the right thing and best thing to do is to bow out,” Yahaya said.
On his part, the Catholic Bishop of Kaduna Diocese noted that it was hard to disagree with Northern elders’ position on the President.
According to Ndagoso, the only thing the people get each time scores of Nigerians are killed, maimed, and abducted, are empty assurances and reassurances of security by political leaders
“Given where we are right now in terms of insecurity and the government’s handling of the situation thus far, it is hard for one to disagree with Bulama Bukarti’s assertion that the Buhari government is incompetent, inept, and careless and the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) maintains that “his leadership has proven spectacularly incapable of providing security over Nigeria,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the state pardon granted to former governors of Taraba and Plateau States, Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye, the Anglican Bishop said, “As Femi Falana said, somebody stole Indomie and you sent him to six months imprisonment, and somebody stole billions of naira you set him free.
“Therefore, let’s go to our prisons and begin to apologise to the prisoners. You cannot set free those who stole patrimony of the people and sent them to prison to languish those who stole five thousand naira or one hundred thousand naira in this country. Are you telling me that what is good for the Goose is not good for the Gander? Are you telling me that it is an animal farm that we have as Nigeria?” he asked.
Credit: PUNCH