Bishop x-rays the state of the nation, calls for fairness

 by 

Ndeyang Gyang

 

 

The Bishop of Kaduna Diocese, The Rt. Rev. Timothy Yahaya, has challenged the Federal Government to be fair to all in implementing their policies. The Bishop was speaking on the state of the nation at the ongoing second session of the twentieth synod of the Diocese of Kaduna holding at St. Christopher’s Church, Kaduna. The challenge is coming on the heels of the mirage of problems bedeviling the country, notable among them is the issue of armed herdsmen who destroy and killed people in their homes citing killings in Agatu in Benue State,  Taraba, Zamfara, Plateau, Nassarawa, Delta, Abia and Rivers, others are Edo, Ekiti, Oyo and Ondo States as well as Enugu State noting that if the trend is left unchecked will undermine the security of Nigeria. The Synod condemned in strong terms the activities of these herdsmen, a situation that raised a poser as to what legal right the herdsmen have to bear arms that other Nigerians do not have. The situation calls for urgent steps to stop the militarization of our communities and disarm the herdsmen and for government to find the sources of arms.

Furthermore, the argument that the herdsmen are not Nigerians is not tenable as it is government’s responsibility to check the borders.

While commending the Federal Government’s progress on its anti-graft war, the Synod called for fairness to all and that anything short of this is political witch hunt and is corruption itself.

He also emphasized the need for government to address the high level of unemployment which gives room for mischievous elements in the polity. He also commended the Federal Government on the fight against insurgency in the Northeast urging her to sustain the tempo. He called on the government to take the welfare of the armed forces seriously seeing that they are making great sacrifices for the nation.


The Rt. Rev. Timothy Yahaya noted that the Synod acknowledged the effort by the present administration at revitalizing the economy but urged that in doing so policies, especially foreign direct investment, must be meticulous to have a win-win situation adding that to achieve this there must be power, security and socio-economic infrastructure and a viable agricultural sector, functional steel rolling mill and relationship between agriculture and industry insisting that all states in the federation notable for a particular product should be encouraged to development extensive capability in that area of production.


On elections, he commended INEC and its personnel both permanent and ad- hoc staff for their immense sacrifice they made for the nation. However, he decried that high cost of conducting elections and increasing numbers of inconclusive elections which is casting doubt in the sincerity of INEC and urged INEC to ensure proper conduct of elections and be fair to all parties involved. He condemned in strong terms vandalism of oil pipelines calling on all aggrieved parties to sheath their swords and come to the dialogue table as their actions are crippling the economy and will affect the generation yet unborn. On fuel, he advised government to provide palliative measures to cushion the effects of liberalization policy further suggesting the establishment of modular refineries across the country to make products readily available at affordable prices.


On education, the Synod observed with dismay erratic policies on education and the perennial change of ministers of education which has greatly undermined the stability, growth and qualitative education in the country. He admonished for an education policy that is only subject to review once in ten years which will go a long way in enhancing the quality and stability in the education sector. He condemned the current education policy that merges religious knowledge with civic education as uninformed and an attempt to remove the fear of God from schools and will end up producing citizens that are more or less educational moguls.


The Synod called on the House of Representatives not to pass into law the Sharia bill because if it is passed it will empower Sharia courts to try non-Muslims including Christians. While congratulating Muslims on the recent Sallah celebration after the month of Ramadan, he urged the Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau to be more careful in his declaration of public holidays which contravenes section 10 of the Nigerian constitution. The Synod commended the Treasury Single Account policy and he signing of the 2016 budget Appropriation Bill and called for proper and judicious implementation of the budget.


He commended the Kaduna State Government for it different developmental strides in all facets of the state economy especially in the areas of textile revival, Peugeot revival, water project I Zaria and the recent economic summit which will create employment but expressed worry about the increasing rate of insecurity with the many cases of kidnapping raising the question as to the safety of the common man thus discouraging inflow of investment. He also commended the school feeding programme f the government and urged government to pay attention to infrastructural development in the schools. He called on the government to return mission schools back to the owners as this will lessen the burden on government and give justice to the original owners. He proffered Public Private Partnership as solution to the poor quality of education in public schools.


On the Preaching bill, he expressed the mind of Synod saying that the bill had generated tension and controversy and that the government should take a second look at the issue. He said the bill tampers with the fundamental rights of citizens and can be related to the draconian laws of the military which is unacceptable in a democratic society and inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria. Synod suggests that the bill should be put aside if the government is a people-oriented government.