Church says Niger's omissions caused violence

The Catholic Church in Nigeria says government inaction was responsible for the untimely and violent death of over 2,000 innocent people during the Islamist uprising in the northern parts of the country last month.

The uprising was the work of the extremist Boko Haram movement that is opposed to Western education and other values.

The bishops' sharp indictment of the government is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the second plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) held in Kafanchan, Kaduna State September 7-12. The theme was, ‘Conversion for justice and reconciliation.’

“We note with sadness and disappointment that despite fore-knowledge of existence and plans of the Boko Haram sect, and despite reports made to appropriate authorities, inaction of government allowed the sect to destroy more than 2000 lives before the insurrection was brought down,'' the bishops said.

They reminded the government at all levels of its constitutional responsibility to protect the rights of religious minorities wherever they may be found in this country.

“We have no democracy worth the name if government cannot protect life and property of the citizen. Failure on the part of government to secure life and property of every Nigerian is less than commendable.''

The bishops also kicked against what they called “the pervading culture of violence that prevails in Nigeria”, including kidnapping, armed robbery, dangerous driving, and killing in the name of religion.

“We condemn violence on whatever excuse or disguise, and from whatever direction. We condemn it, above all, when its perpetrators blasphemously and fraudulently claim religious justifications.

“We wish to note that those who claim that they love God while hating their fellow human beings, even to the extent of killing them, are liars.''

The bishops, however, commended the Nigerian government for the general amnesty it has granted to militants in the Niger Delta, while advising that the amnesty be implemented with sincerity and sensitivity to justice and reconciliation.

They advised the government to continue to improve the quality of life of the people of the Niger Delta. “The situation in the Niger Delta is deeply rooted in injustice. It is simply unjust to impoverish the people who live on the land that produces the bulk of Nigeria’s wealth.”

The bishops also condemned the industrial action by teachers and other workers at higher institutions of learning over government's non-implementation of their pay agreements. “But it is not just the strikes that have paralyzed tertiary education, it is also the failure of government to invest sufficiently in the education of the Nigerian citizen.” 

Peter Dada writes for CISA.