A Priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Rev Fr Emmanuel Ojeifo, has lamented the abduction of Catholic priests in the country.
Ojeifo, a former personal secretary to the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, said “it seems we have reached the end of the road with security in Nigeria.”
Ojeifo who is on studies at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, United States, said: “Kidnapping is now like breakfast, an everyday reality. This has become the new normal. And there’s nothing anyone seems to be doing about it. You are kidnapped, your family and friends struggle to pay ransom, you are released, and life goes on. The following day it’s the same routine.”
Ojeifo further said from Kaduna to Auchi, from Benin City to Katsina, to Otukpo and everywhere else, the 923,770 square kilometres of Nigeria’s landmass has come under the regime of non-state actors.
According to Ojeifo, “The Police, Army, Civil Defence (NSCDC), Department of State Services (DSS), Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Defence Intelligence (DIA), and even the Brigade of Guards are just child’s play before these non-state actors – terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, armed militia.
“Here’s a classic example of “a failed state that works,” to use Richard Dowden’s expression.
“And to worsen our condition, yesterday, President Buhari posted a tweet expressing shock and disappointment at the attack on Kuje prisons. The commander-in-chief tweeting like an activist!
“This is the same man who on April 1, 2015, gave an acceptance speech after winning the presidential election and said, “You shall be able to go to bed knowing that you are safe and that your constitutional rights remain in safe hands.”
“This is the same man who wrote in an article in the New York Times on April 14, 2015, and said, “from the first day of my administration, Boko Haram will know the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this nation of terror, and bring back peace and normalcy…”
“This is the same man who said about tackling insecurity in his presidential inauguration speech on May 29, 2015, “Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us.”
“After seven years as president, all he can do is tweet how disappointed he is with Nigeria’s totally collapsed national security system. It shows we are finished.
“Whither goest thou Nigeria?,” Ojeifo asked.
Credit: Daily Sun