Anglican Bishop Laments Inability To Stop Abduction Of 110 Dapchi Girls
The Bishop of Owo Diocese, Rt. Rev’d Ayodeji Fagbemi, on Sunday lamented the recent abduction of the 110 Dapchi girls in Yobe State, saying inability of the government to stop the abduction only confirmed that there is insecurity in the country.
Fagbemi said this in Owo, headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, during the 35th Anniversary of St. Andrews Cathedral Anglican Church, Owo.
The clergyman urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow politics to influence his decision on the missing girls.
While saying the recent kidnap of the girls in their school introduced a lot of complications into the system, Fagbemi frowned over the attitude of the federal government and the controversy trailing the kidnap of the girls.
He said, “the recent kidnap introduces lot of complications into the systems, because the President came pledging that he would bring back the Chibok girls, accusing Jonathan of not being effective and they are trying to win the Book Haram war.
“But this has happen right under his watch and even now he has not been able to visit the place. You would have thought that our President would actually be everywhere to say, look we are there with you and understand what is going on.”
The clergy who said the President has failed in its war against terrorism said, “the kidnap of the girls also means that the weakness of this government is being exposed to people and the President is not as efficient as he has promised and the whole apparatus of government is not longer functioning well, since he came on board.
“In one sense it’s hard to say that he’s winning any war at the moment, it really hard to say he’s winning any war because he is trying to win one war, another one is coming up, so I think he knows what governance means now.
“So many ministers have been complaining that things are no longer functioning, there is no reshuffling, nothing is happening and now they are thinking of another term, within the next one year they will be out of power.
“So what would they have achieved? I think really this recent one goes to drive home the point that there is a lot of insecurity in our land and the primary business of government is to provide security for his people, a government that fails to provide security has failed his people completely and I think this government is also in that group.”
The Anglican Bishop who advised the President to vacate the seat for young and vibrant leader to move the nation forward said, “a lot of us observing the politics of the land would honestly ask that our president to allow younger people to take over in the coming dispensation.
“We talk about Nigeria where we have so many people who are qualified and we are still talking about a President who is well over 70 and when is it going to be the turn of young people to lead this country?
“We want people who are in touch, people who are aware of what is going on in the contemporary world, people who can match others when leaders gathered together.
“Apart from Africa, look elsewhere, you find out that there are young people full of activities, full of life leading their countries.
“So with all due respect, while we appreciate the interest of our President in Nigeria, I think he needs to retire as a statesman and allow younger people to actually lead in this country.”
