The Christian Association of Nigeria {CAN}in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory {FCT}has lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government over the hardship Nigerians have been made to go through.
The Northern CAN also blamed the government for the current state of the nation which has made majority of Nigerians to wallow in extreme hunger, poverty, frustration and despondency.
The Christian body stated this in a statement on Monday by its Public Relations Officer, Rev. Jechoniah Albert, adding that the Buhari-led administration has institutionalized hardship and the recently celebrated Democracy Day makes no meaning to the Nigerian populace hence not worthy of celebration.
The statement reads: “June 12, declared as Democracy Day by the current administration marked with mixed feelings across the country.
“In Lagos, Abuja and some Southern states, Nigerians trooped to the streets to protest against the unfortunate state of affairs in the country.
“Amid increasing insecurity, bad economy and undemocratic tendencies among the leaders, is there anything really worth celebrating? Certainly none!
“We are particularly concerned about the security situation which appeared to have overwhelmed the government.
“The security situation in the country today has worsened with bandits, kidnappers and Boko Haram insurgents unleashing mayhem on Nigerians, killing innocent people and sacking communities.
“Thousands of Nigerians, especially, in rural communities have been rendered homeless by bandits.
“On a daily basis across the country, communities are being raided; people are being killed or abducted by rampaging bandits and other criminal elements.
“The security situation has crippled the economy as traveling on the highways across the country has become a nightmare to Nigerians.
“The rains are here but farmers cannot go to the farms for fear of being killed or abducted by bandits.
“The implication of this is that a looming food crisis stares us in the face and unless steps are taken to provide a secured environment for farmers to return to the farms, we may be in for more trouble with a hungry and frustrated population.
“Furthermore, Northern CAN is also concerned about the frequent attacks on schools and the abductions of students and pupils by bandits, especially, in states like Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and Niger.
“We fear that these attacks, if not checked, many parents will be discouraged and forced to withdraw their children from schools, given the recent cases in Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and Niger States, where parents of abducted school children paid hundreds of millions of naira to bandits for the release of their children.
“We fear that if nothing is done to stop the attacks and abductions in schools, many parents may not send their children to school again.
“This will bring about serious setback to the quest by the north to bridge the wide educational gap between it and the southern states of Nigeria.
“We join other Nigerians to once again, call on the federal government for the umpteenth time, to urgently address the security situation once and for all to liberate Nigerians from criminal gangs and their reign of terror.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly promised to address the security situation. He reiterated this during his broadcast on Democracy on Day, promising to protect Nigerians.
“We urged the President to go beyond rhetorics and match his words with action this time around in order to inspire confidence among Nigerians.”
