There are concerns by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that the silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on the killings in southern Kaduna may mean that he supports the atrocious acts.
These fears were expressed by the general secretary of the body, Dr Musa Asake, who noted that although the president has done tremendously by overcoming Boko Haram terrorists, his silence on the killings perpetrated by the fundamentalists leaves so much to be desired.
In the statement obtained by The Punch, Asake said that CAN is pained by “his silence over the ongoing genocide in the last few weeks” while noting that the silence “speaks volume over perceived official endorsement of the dastardly and ungodly acts.”In view of the present predicament, the President of CAN has directed that Sunday January 8 2017, should be declared national day of mourning by Christians including those in Diaspora.
We are to pray fervently for our Southern Kaduna brothers and sisters who are victims of these wanton killings and also for the peace of our dear country Nigeria. Therefore, all Christians are to dress in mourning attire of black clothes or dresses in all our church services on January 8 2017. We are to pray that God who delivered the Jews from Haman should deliver Christians from Hamans in Nigeria. An injustice to one is an injustice to all,” Asake added.
Christians all over the world were also counseled to stand up against the “ethnic and religious cleansing to wake up the Nigerian security agencies from their deliberate slumber to carry out their responsibilities.
“Though the church in Nigeria since 2009 has been subjected to a systematic genocide and persecution through the instrumentality of Islamic fundamentalists Boko Haram, leading to the killing of thousands of Christians and destruction of hundreds of churches, and over 50,000 houses, the current unprecedented onslaught against Christians in Southern Kaduna by the Islamic fundamentalists disguising as Fulani herdsmen under the watch of Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and President Muhammadu Buhari has reached an alarming stage.”