The Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Reverend Callistus Onaga on Wednesday expressed fear that the spate of killing and violent crime going on unhindered in the country is capable of destroying Nigeria if not urgently nipped in the bud.
Bishop Onaga raised the fear while delivering his Easter Message to Nigerians and Catholic faithful, saying that Nigerians need a change of heart. He advised that they turn to God now otherwise what is happening in the country would lead to its extinction.
Identifying the criminalities that seem to have portrayed Nigeria in a bad light to include armed robbery, kidnapping, militancy, Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, and communal clashes, Revd Onaga said that all those could be checked if only the government would provide security apparatus.
“We have a big security challenge in the country. I don’t even know if we can have one of our eyes closed while sleeping.
“It has come to a situation where it looks as we are telling everybody to carry arms to defend themselves. Are people taking laws into their hands?
“What is happening today in Nigeria is not laughable. I can say without equivocation that Nigeria is gradually descending into the survival of the fittest and the Federal Government has to rise to the challenge to curtail the situation,” he advised.
The Bishop also lamented that as a result of the Fulani menace, many rural women now shun the farms, especially in the South East.
“If a woman cannot go to the farm to harvest crops, then there is trouble,” he said adding that people should not take lives which only God gives.
He, however, suggested that in as much as security is everybody’s business, the Federal Government should be more proactive to tackle the mayhem in the land.
“Government should step up security apparatus. We are at the verge of extinction,” he warned and urged Nigerians to use the period of Easter to stop criminal tendencies and be our brother’s keepers.
He, however, pleaded with the media not to be sensational in their reportage of events in the country in order to maintain peace, just as he reminded that fake news or unsubstantiated news is capable of triggering chaos in the land.
The Bishop urged all hands to be on deck to check various criminal activities that are trying to destroy the country, adding that “when this is done, we can tackle the security challenges.”