Don’t return IDPs to unsafe territories, says Anglicans

The Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Revd Nicholas Okoh, yesterday, called on the federal government to exercise caution in its efforts to return the Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) home as promised by the first quarter of this year. The cleric, who commended the last year December deadline declared on Boko Haram by the government, however, urged the government and the Nigerian military not to relent their efforts as the terrorist groups might spring surprise to instill fear in the populace. Okoh, who was speaking at the opening of the standing committee of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) held in Kubwa, Abuja, told government to ensure adequate security in those recaptured territories before sending IDPs back to their places to avoid causalities. According to him, “We want to reiterate that fighting terrorism is not a 100m dash but a long cross country race. The government should continue to bear in mind that Boko Haram has the capacity to spring surprises. “Government has said that the IDPs will return home in the first quarters of 2016. To ensure that they are not returning to their death, adequate security should be provided before they are taken back home to avoid greater embarrassment for the government.” Okoh maintained that with the way the issue of kidnapping was going in the country, government needs to declare a state of emergency on kidnapping before it goes out of hands. He said several people, clergymen and traditional rulers had been kidnapped in different states of the federation, adding that “we should not wait until people in government are being kidnapped before we react.” On the state of the economy, the Primate who insisted on the diversification of the economy noted that the leaders must do away with fake life style to provide good governance for their people. “It is clear that government revenue is going down in view of the dwindling price of oil in the world market. We lament that over the years, in spite of wise counsel from different quarters to invest the oil revenue in profitable infrastructures to sustain the government, not much was done in this regard. “We now call on all to cut our coat according to our cloth and throw away false living. The government should now expedite action in the diversification of our economy before everything collapses. “However, the government should resist administering the country based on foreign or IMF ideas because an experience has shown that it produces nothing but extreme suffering and brings humiliation to the people. A good example is Greece.” Okoh insisted that the country had what it takes to be among the best in the world, telling some state executives that were nursing the idea of laying down their workers to rescind their decision. “We want to remind the government of its promise to tackle unemployment whatever the difficulties. Government should expedite action in this direction so that our young people can make meaningful contribution to society. “We wish to lend our voice to that of the Nigeria Labour Congress that retrenchment of workers should not be an option at this time, as it might aggravate the crime level,” he said. The Primate also called for a holistic approach in the current fight against corruption by the federal government, commending the government on the war especially in the area of blocking all sources of leakages in the national revenue. Okoh said the church would continue to identify with the government on the crusade. “The Standing Committee identifies with the government in its fight against corruption and encourages them to ensure that its dragnet is widespread across all strata of society, to ensure that all arms and tiers of government at all levels are attended to in the fight,” he added.