22nd February, 2020
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to put an end to unending cycle of violence and killings in Nigeria.
The body, in a communique issued at the end of its special stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos and signed by its National President, Dr Felix Omobude and its National Secretary, Apostle Emmanuel Nuhu Kure, lamented the the spate of killings, banditry, kidnapping, violence, wanton destruction of lives and properties across the nation, saying Nigeria has reached such a totally unacceptable level to warrant immediate and complete review of the security arrangement of the nation.
“The PFN calls on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to do what it was elected to do by putting an end to this unending cycle of violence and killings in Nigeria, as security of lives and property is the primary constitutional duty of the government. We enjoin President Buhari to live up to his campaign promises and execute the responsibility of his office by defending the life of every Nigerian, no matter the ethnicity or religion.
“We wish to remind our President that he is the President of every Nigerian and that he, along with all our elected officials, have responsibility for the safety and security of all Nigerians. The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) notes that from the onset, Boko Haram has left no-one in doubt that the Church in Nigeria is its principal target. Its activities, especially the kidnapping and barbaric killings of Christian Clergymen, clearly establishes its evil mission and objective.
“On account of the monumental losses the Church in Nigeria has suffered with the destruction and burning down of thousands of churches and houses by insurgents and rioters across the Northern states of Nigeria, the PFN renews its call for adequate compensation to be paid to all affected persons and churches. We believe that the fair and just thing is for the government to come up with a remediation programme to compensate victims for the hardship they have suffered,” it said.
The PFN restated its call for the Federal Government to activate the necessary mechanism and legal backing for the setting up of State Police in the country, saying it believed that the recent agitation and introduction of different variants of Regional and Community Policing models attested to the fact that Nigerians were yearning for an alternative approach to policing, one that incorporated direct participation by other tiers of government in tackling insecurity in the country.
The body said it was highly concerned at the intolerable level of poverty across the country, worsened by the high level of unemployment, especially among the Youths.
“We believe that the heightened anxiety in the land and spike in heinous crimes that we are witnessing correlates with the high level of unemployment in the country. We call on the government to urgently address the issue of youth unemployment and find ways to tap into our areas of competitive advantage to help with the creation of investment, entrepreneurial and employment opportunities.
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) is disturbed that millions of Nigerian children are out of school. We see this as a ticking time bomb, one which has not only provided tools for crime and terrorism in the past, but one that can only provide a recruitment pool for terrorism and all sorts of crimes in the future. The PFN believes in the transformational power of good education. We call on government at all levels to ensure free and compulsory education for all Nigerian children, up till secondary level, as a means of breaking this chain of poverty.
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) restates our call for the reform of public institutions to make them truly independent and in line with global best practices. We are disturbed at the fact that never in the history of Nigeria has our democracy been as corrupted as it is today. We call on the Federal Government, under President Muhammadu Buhari, to institute necessary reforms to deepen the democratic process by delivering to Nigerians a corruption-free electoral system,” it added.
According to PFN, the institutions of government should not be seen to be working for one political interest or the other, as they should discharge their duties without fear or favour, eschewing partisanship in their conduct, ensuring that the interest of the nation comes first in all their activities.
It called on the Federal Government to take on-board the calls for the restructuring of the country, sauying the body was of the view that it would not be out of place for the country to explore restructuring to be considered in a holistic manner to bring about more inclusiveness, such that all the fault lines presently causing tension can be addressed in a way that will promote peace and unity in the country.
The PFN further called on Buhari and the Federal Government of Nigeria to work assiduously to ensure the release of those held in captivity by Boko Haram, and its likes especially Leah Sharibu, the Chibok girls, as well as other Nigerians being held captive.
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria PFN calls on all patriotic Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic, religious or party affiliations to come together and work with the Federal Government to end the violence that has bedevilled Nigeria so that the country may enjoy peace again. We should not politicise the issue of security or bring partisanship into it, rather we should work with the greater interest of the nation at heart.
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) will continue to work with like-minded institutions and individuals for the peace and progress of Nigeria. We pledge to continue to pray and work towards securing lasting peace in every part of our nation,” the body said.
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