A gathering of political and societal leaders across the country on Wednesday met in Abuja, asking the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to stop the rising spate of killings across the country or quit.
They made the demand at an extra ordinary summit themed, “State of the Nation: The Rising Spate of Killings Must Stop” organised by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Pan Niger Delta Forum.
The leaders also urged the government to reach a consensus on the issue of federalism and restructuring in Nigeria.
The communiqué was jointly signed by Leader Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark; Convener Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi; Leader Afenifere Socio-Cultural Group, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, and President Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo.
They lamented that the general state of insecurity and incessant killing in Nigeria had escalated in recent times with several communities at the mercy of marauding killers.
According to them the affected communities perceived the government to be complacent with the killings that claimed over 3,500 lives in 2017 and even much more in 2018.
They noted that the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) had increased from 1.5m in 2015 to four currently.
They also said that Nigeria had degenerated from the 136th to 148th position on the corruption perception index out of the 180 countries surveyed in 2018.
“The summit observes with alarm the flagrant abuse and disrespect for the rule of law as well as the systematic violation of election processes. These infractions are steadily eroding public confidence in our hard earned democracy.
“In view of the foregoing problems we resolved that a visionary and dynamic leader must emerge to deal with our security challenge, security architecture of Nigeria must be revamped. It is necessary to ensure the removal of marauding killers from the communities they have occupied and return same to their rightful owners who now live in IDP camps,” the leaders said.
These NF and the group that are ganging against the ruling government are congregation of discarded “ANALOGUE” idealist. As elders, one would have expected them to suggest solutions rather than issuing warnings and threats.
Snakes have invisible underbelly hands. I think these ” ANALOGUES” may have been denied certain expected “FREEBIES” from PMB but they were disappointed. In order to gain the sympathy of the people, they gathered to mount “Innocent pressures” on the government. They have failed woefully.
The day you lose all the elders in your family is the day you know that you are finished. That meeting is across all political, social and religious devides and they sounded a note of urgency to the country about ‘blood shed’ in this country. Is blood shed not enough to make human beings to recoil? Haba! Why are you supporting a blood sucking demon in the name of PMB? The country is burning and responsible men and women are coming together to find solution and you are reducing it to “money or opportunities they lost via Buhari.” Please take all the billions you can and leave hapless Nigerians alone…stop the bloodshed, or are you a vampire?
Anyone who is opposing the stopping of killings in this country is a terrorist and blood sucker. How can a meaningful human being be in support of killings of others.
How do feel when ur loved ones or children are killed. Is this a country of juman beings or a zoo where animals kill each other for food.
Shame to the killers and their supporters.