‘Christians Cannot Sit Down And Allow Themselves To Be Killed – Cardinal John Onaiyekan

Due to the recent killings in Southern Kaduna, Cardinal John Onaiyekan has warned that the continued killing will soon lead to reprisal attacks if the government fails to arrest the situation and prosecute the perpetrators.

The Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese disclosed this in an interview with The Punch and added that it was normal that Nigerians were worried about the killing by Fulani herdsmen particularly with the silence of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Read excerpts from the interview below;

“It would have been terrible if Nigerians were not worried. If we look back, we will find out that these things (killings) have been going on for quite some time. There was a major outbreak after the 2011 election. Southern Kaduna suffered a great haemorrhage during the post-election violence. The violence recorded numerous killings that were clearly ethnic and religious. We know that at the end of it all, many people were driven into refugee status in Kaduna. Many Hausa and Muslims had to take refuge in Kaduna because they were not safe anymore in the southern part of the state. What caused that? I don’t know if it was ever fully investigated. As usual, when they investigate an issue, we don’t get the full report. What we know is that late Governor Patrick Yakowa was said to have taken some effective actions that tried to calm nerves. We know Governor Nasir el Rufai very well. We expect that he would have devised ways and means of dealing with the situation.

“I have passed through Southern Kaduna in the last few months, and when I travelled from here (Abuja) to Jos through those areas, my host in Kaduna was surprised that I passed through Kafanchan. He said, “That (route) is a very dangerous area, don’t take that road anymore.” It is a pity if the President is badly informed about the reality. I open my email and I see all kinds of horrible pictures. Maybe Mr. President does not have the time to check emails. But the President of Nigeria must have somebody who is checking emails for him and whoever is doing that should have the courage to let him see what he is seeing.

Due to the recent killings in Southern Kaduna, Cardinal John Onaiyekan has warned that the continued killing will soon lead to reprisal attacks if the government fails to arrest the situation and prosecute the perpetrators.

The Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese disclosed this in an interview with The Punch and added that it was normal that Nigerians were worried about the killing by Fulani herdsmen particularly with the silence of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Read excerpts from the interview below;

“It would have been terrible if Nigerians were not worried. If we look back, we will find out that these things (killings) have been going on for quite some time. There was a major outbreak after the 2011 election. Southern Kaduna suffered a great haemorrhage during the post-election violence. The violence recorded numerous killings that were clearly ethnic and religious. We know that at the end of it all, many people were driven into refugee status in Kaduna. Many Hausa and Muslims had to take refuge in Kaduna because they were not safe anymore in the southern part of the state. What caused that? I don’t know if it was ever fully investigated. As usual, when they investigate an issue, we don’t get the full report. What we know is that late Governor Patrick Yakowa was said to have taken some effective actions that tried to calm nerves. We know Governor Nasir el Rufai very well. We expect that he would have devised ways and means of dealing with the situation.

“I have passed through Southern Kaduna in the last few months, and when I travelled from here (Abuja) to Jos through those areas, my host in Kaduna was surprised that I passed through Kafanchan. He said, “That (route) is a very dangerous area, don’t take that road anymore.” It is a pity if the President is badly informed about the reality. I open my email and I see all kinds of horrible pictures. Maybe Mr. President does not have the time to check emails. But the President of Nigeria must have somebody who is checking emails for him and whoever is doing that should have the courage to let him see what he is seeing.