Nigeria is at war – Catholic Church

The Catholic Church says, given the state of insecurity in the north eastern part of the country, it is clear that Nigeria is at war. The church lamented that despite the situation, Nigerians are moving on as if nothing is happening.

Executive Secretary of the Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria, Fr. Evaristus Bassey, told journalists in Calabar, Cross River State on Thursday, that it was sad that people were more interested in elections in 2015 than the growing state of insecurity in the country.

He said the foundation is the humanitarian and human development wing of the Catholic Church in Nigeria.

Bassey said, “We need to change our lifestyle to reflect the times. We need to know that Nigeria is in a war situation. We need to lend a helping hand to the people out there.

“We can’t go around eating and drinking when people don’t even have a place to sleep. Even our girls have not been brought back. We are gradually forgetting about them and in the midst of this, people are still talking about things like campaigns. It is tragic.

“Thousands of people have been displaced. People are living in the hills. People have no food to eat and they are living in fear of their lives. Churches have ceased to be places of worship but places of refuge for displaced people.

“The church in the Northeast is under serious pressure and they need our help. We need to spare for our brothers out there who are suffering not just of the Catholic faith but anyone out there in pains.

“The tragedy is that the rest of the country is moving on as if nothing catastrophic is happening. Politicians are gathering, multi million naira parties being thrown, and everyone is carrying on with business as usual.

“Is it that we have heard so much about Boko Haram that these happenings are no longer news but have become normal daily narratives?  But imagine being a refugee in your own country ! Imagine running for hours for safety. Imagine not being certain if you would eat for days. Imagine having to sleep in the hills for days and weeks.

“This is not a time to apportion blame. But the fight against Boko Haram is not a wrestling match, it is a competition of fire power. Thank God our military has woken up to the reality that this is something that needs confronting with all military arsenal.

“As Boko Haram is tackled in one area, they open up in other areas. The military needs a broad based strategy to confront them. The military have realized it is serious and I think they are doing well. The president should bring in international community to carry out credible investigation to get to the root of the matter,” he added.

PUNCH.