The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) lauded President Bola Tinubu for his renewed efforts to strengthen the security network across the country.
CAN President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, who spoke with newsmen on Friday, after meeting with Tinubu and his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at their Ikoyi, Lagos residence, described the absence of attacks as a testimony to renewed efforts to strengthen the country’s security.
His words: “We are seeing the renewed efforts and commitment to strengthen the security architecture and to ensure that Nigerians are going out in peace and coming back in peace.
“Of course there is still a lot to be done but we know that the President has started very well and we hope pray that this will be sustained.and we hope that maybe by next year we will be able to see visible results of what is being done now”.
He declared that this year’s Christmas was the first in many years that Nigerian Christians were not woken up to news of attacks on churches.
According to him: “I can tell you that this Christmas happened to be the first Christmas in many years that we are not woken up with phone call in the midnight to say that a church was attacked and it is a testimony we must share and we hope and pray that this will continue.”
Okoh said while challenges remain, there is hope progress will continue and produce visible results next year.
Afenifere Backs US Airstrikes Against ISIS, Urges National Unity
The Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Friday threw its weight behind the recent joint airstrikes conducted by the Nigerian and United States military forces against ISIS terrorist elements operating in North-West Nigeria, describing the operation as timely, necessary and decisive.
In a press statement signed by its National Organising Secretary, Abagun Kole Omololu, Afenifere said the operation marked a critical turning point after years of persistent insecurity that had left communities traumatised, lives lost, and livelihoods destroyed.
“Afenifere unequivocally supports this decisive action, which comes after years of relentless insecurity that has held communities hostage and undermined the very fabric of the nation,” the group declared.
The organisation insisted that the involvement of the United States in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts should be acknowledged rather than criticised, noting that prolonged attacks, mass abductions and destruction of property had persisted largely due to ineffective responses in the past.
“For far too long, innocent Nigerians have been subjected to relentless attacks, abductions and wanton destruction of property, while insufficient measures were taken to decisively confront these terrorist enclaves,” Afenifere stated.
According to the group, the failure of governance over the years created a dangerous vacuum that allowed terrorist groups to flourish, thereby necessitating strategic collaboration with capable international partners.
“The vacuum created by decades of ineffective governance has, regrettably, invited the intervention of capable partners who understand the urgency of the situation,” the statement stressed.
Afenifere also addressed concerns raised in some quarters over Nigeria’s sovereignty, arguing that sovereignty should be judged by a government’s ability to protect its people rather than political posturing.
“True sovereignty is measured not by rhetoric but by the capacity to protect citizens, enforce the rule of law and secure the nation’s borders,” the group stressed.
Chuks Okocha, Deji Elumoye, Olawale Ajimotokan, Linus Aleke, Sunday Ehigiator, Onuminya Innocent and Fidelis David
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