The national leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of jettisoning the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and preferring to deploy the Sharia ideology in handling the affairs of the country.
CAN, the apex body of all Christian faithful in Nigeria, said the President had not only failed to respect and uphold the Constitution which he swore to, but had wittingly granted the Fulani herdsmen protection to continue with their atrocious activities nationwide.
CAN stated this after it rose from an emergency meeting in Abuja yesterday.
The accusation is coming against the backdrop of the President’s perceived complacency to the continued massacre of Nigerians by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State and other parts of the country.
The Christian body spoke through its General Secretary, Dr. Musa Asake.
CAN said: “It is clear to the discerning that President Buhari is not running Nigeria according to the dictates of the democratic values in the Constitution and has no respect for human rights, rule of law and democracy. It is unfortunate that a President that was sworn into office to uphold and defend the Constitution has flagrantly violated the Constitution and adopted Sharia ideology as operational standard.
“President Buhari was elected on a wave of unprecedented public approval in 2015. Unfortunately, within a few weeks of his election, he started creating the impression that he was in power to serve the interests of his Fulani ethnic group only.
“Discerning people were quick to note that contrary to his electoral promises, he actually meant to pursue core Islamist agenda. Almost every vital appointment in security and education went to Muslims from the North. He did not hide his disdain for the indigenous ethnic nationalities and, at every opportunity, showed preferential treatment to the Muslim North.
“Under President Buhari, the murderous Fulani herdsmen have enjoyed unprecedented protection and favouritism to the extent that the herdsmen treat Nigeria as a conquered territory. Rather than arrest and prosecute the Fulani herdsmen, security forces, usually manned by Muslims from the North, offer them protection as they unleash terror with impunity on the Nigerian people.
“The bottom line is that President Buhari has failed woefully to protect Nigerians. He willfully permitted the Fulani herdsmen to operate, killing people, destroying communities wholesale, destroying farmlands and turning the entire Middle Belt into ‘killing fields,’ all the while enjoying government protection from counter- attack, arrest or prosecution.
“By failing to curb the attacks of the Fulani herdsmen, President Buhari has failed to uphold Section 14, Para. 2 (b) in the Constitution that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’.”
The Christian body stated that the actions of the President were impeachable offence, considering that he had willingly violated important sections of the Constitution of Nigeria.
CAN also accused the President of sectionalism in all his appointments, saying that they have always been tilted in favour of his kinsmen to the exclusion of other qualified people from other parts of the country.
“Through his partial, sectional and discriminatory appointments, particularly in security and education, President Buhari violated Section 14, Paragraph 3 which states that: The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few state or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies,” it said.
CAN condemned the activities of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN). It said: “MACBAN is supposed to be a business group, much like many other businesses and professional groups in the country. However, the MACBAN differs from any other business group in that it combines bloodshed with enterprise.
“Miyetti Allah has openly rejected anti-open grazing bills in Taraba, Plateau and Benue states. In May 2017, the National President of Miyetti Allah, Alhaji Bello Abdullahi Bodejo and the National Secretary, Engr. Saleh Alhassan openly declared at a press conference that the introduction of anti-open grazing bill in some states is a recipe for anarchy. Are we now to conclude that a business group has supremacy over state governments?”
The Christian body said that rather than operate as a business group, Miyetti Allah has been more comfortable shedding innocent blood in the name of cattle breeding in Nigeria.
According to Asake, the officials of MACBAN have not only made very inciting statements before and after Fulani herdsmen attack vulnerable communities, the herdsmen were clearly associated with MACBAN.
CAN urged the Federal Government to declare the MACBAN a terrorist organisation and its leaders arrested and prosecuted for the genocide against the Christian minorities in the Middle Belt.
“In the recent attacks on Benue State, the President of Benue Branch of Miyetti Allah, Garus Gololo said they attacked the communities because 1,000 of their cows were stolen. Even if it was true that cows were stolen, who constituted Miyetti Allah into law enforcement agency, judge and jury to commit wholesale murder?” he queried.
Asake alleged that the increased trail of bloodshed by the herdsmen was as a result of an ongoing conspiracy between security agencies and the Islamic militia under the dictates of President Buhari, to Islamise Nigeria.
He noted that the spate of killings across the country within the last five years, the appointment of Muslims in every vital sector, especially security and education, the preferential treatment granted Muslim North, the unprecedented favouritism and protection of the Fulani Herdsmen by President Buhari, the careless statements and nonchalant attitude of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, was proof that the Islamists of northern Nigerian have “legalised jihad” in Nigeria.
He said: “I make bold to say that Nigeria’s security system has become dysfunctional and that this fact has been exposed by the inability of the various security arms to wrestle to the ground those threatening the existence of Christians and other innocent citizens in Nigeria.
“As it is, they have not been able to come up with an efficient and enduring system that can overwhelm the resurgence of Boko Haram, gunmen and Fulani herdsmen who are prowling villages, shooting and killing innocent Christians.”
CAN also accused the IG, Ibrahim Idris, of partisanship in the attacks. “The IG will always take side and make statements that are provocative to the people of the affected area,” it said.
Asake called on Nigerians to rise against what he described as the ‘tyranny of the Islamists.
The CAN scribe also called for an overhaul of the security architecture; share membership of the National Security Council between Christians and Muslims; effect immediate replacement of the Inspector-General of Police, and redeployment of all commissioners of police.
“Every Nigerian should condemn in strong terms and resist the attempt by this pro-Fulani government that “cattle colonies” shall be established all over the country. This is an insult on all Nigerians. The idea of “cattle colony” presupposes that the Fulanis are colonial masters,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has said that the killings in Benue, Taraba and other parts of the country could have been averted were the timely reports of the Institute taken seriously by relevant authorities.
Director General of the Institute, Prof. Oshita Oshita, at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, stated that the Strategic Conflict Assessment report of the institute as presented to the public in November 2017, clearly showed that there was a likelihood of violence with an increasing potential of destabilization in the country.
Oshita called on those behind the massacre to stop any act capable of causing disunity and peaceful coexistence in the country.
“These acts of violence undermine the fundamental rights of Nigerians as enshrined in the constitution. The attacks and killings are fuelling inter-group distrust, polarizing communities and jeopardizing the peace and security of our dear country,” he noted.
