Catholic Bishops in the country have claimed that Boko Haram’s main target is to wipe out Christians in Nigeria.
Speaking yesterday after a closed-doors meeting with President
Goodluck Jonathan, president of Nigerian Bishops Conference, Ignatius
Ayau Kaigama, said that the principal aim of Boko Haram was to eliminate
Christianity and pave the way for total Islamisation of the country.
The bishops particularly indicted the National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA), over the poor distribution of relief materials.
The bishop who led the delegation which included John Cardinal
Onaiyakan, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja and Bishop of Sokoto
Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, Minister of Works, Mike Onolemenme,
Minister of State Education, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, and Federal Capital
Territory Minister of State, Olajumoke Akinjide, said they were
dissatisfied with the way relief materials were being disbursed and
asked to be involved in the distribution.
On what transpired in the meeting, Kaigama said: “We had some
concerns about the situation of security in the nation as well as
political developments. In general terms, we shared with him in a
conversation and discussion. We just wanted to remind him of things he
already knows, there was nothing we said that was new, we just wanted to
lay emphasis and we wanted him to know we are concerned.
“They are reviewing strategies and by the grace of God this terrorism
that we are witnessing will soon be a thing of the past. This is the
assurance we are coming away with.
“We feel that things are not right. Territorially, our land is being
taken away, the people we look after are displaced, their homes, their
villages, towns are captured and they are internally displaced being
refugees in their own land.
“We thought this is not right. We have families that are just
stranded. We thought that the President should know. As a Catholic we
have laid a good structure for relief and taking care of such situation,
we want the government to collaborate with us. We have what we call the
Catholic Peace and Justice Commission, we respond when there is an
emergency. We know how to technically do registration of displaced
people.
“The little funds we gather we buy clothings and materials and are
able to reach out very effectively, you would almost say scientifically
because every victim gets something.
“So we are telling government that we are aware of the wonderful
efforts they do, the relief they give through NEMA and other agencies,
the effectiveness of the distribution is our concern.”
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