A religious organisation under the auspices of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue has asked the Federal Government to name the sponsors of terrorism and banditry in the country.
The organisation asked President Muhammadu Buhari to deal decisively with the terrorism financiers, stressing that insecurity has set Nigeria on the reverse gear.
The convener of the event, Rev. Fr. Stephen Ojapah, made the group’s observation known during a one-day round table discussion in Abuja with the theme: ‘Insecurity in Nigeria and the Way Forward’, noted that insecurity has caused the country a lot of havoc, saying that the sponsors of insecurity in Nigeria must be specifically identified and dealt with decisively.
He explained that the motives of the sponsors of terrorism for destabilising the entire country should be revealed with the sole aim of bringing it to an end.
According to him, “Insecurity has set Nigeria on the reverse gear. Our nation has suffered untold hardships and setbacks. Bandits and other terrorist organisations have had a field day, causing havoc to all citizens of this country either directly or indirectly.”
Ojapah explained that the country is going through a lot, pointing out that insecurity has taken over the land.
He added that virtually every part of the country is not safe, saying that schools are not safe, and it is a source of concern to everybody as Nigerians cannot be living in a country where schools are being closed down because of insecurity.
He further explained that it would be impossible for the country to progress and for investors to come in, adding that religious leaders are concerned that Nigeria has been making motions without actual movements.
He advised the government to go after the sponsors of insecurity, assuring that there are people sponsoring terrorism as it is not enough to buy Super Tucanos and gadgets while leaving the sponsors.
The group urged the government to make public those who are supporting terrorism in the country as Nigerians need to know them and deal with them, stressing that the centre of gravity for Nigeria’s insecurity revolves around the sponsors of violence and their motives involved destabilising the system.
The group said, “It is all about power and control. There are people who have made up their minds that this country will not progress.”
The President of KAICIID Fellows Nigeria, Dr. Awwal Abdulsalam, was of the opinion that Nigerians deserve to know what the government was doing concerning the tracking and arresting of suspected bandits since it ordered the compulsory linkage of all SIM cards with the National Identification Numbers.
He lamented that the education system in the country is being destroyed by the activities of bandits, saying that it portends a bad omen for Nigeria’s future.
Abdulsalam stated that schools being unsafe in the country is one of the devastating consequences of insecurity.
He noted that “it is a very sad situation and that is why they are calling on the government to solve the issues because if it continues, there is going to be a serious degeneration in our educational system. It is a very sad situation.”
