Oritsejafor tasks Northern elite on Boko Haram

President of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday called on Northern elite to take the bull by the horns in

President of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday called on Northern elite to take the bull by the horns in solving the problem ofthe Boko Haram sect which is associated with the numerous bombings in the country.

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor

Speaking to newsmen during an interactive session at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Pastor Oritsejafor argued that the intervention of the northern elite in the security challenge was the key in the restoration of peace in the region, adding that they had a responsibility to ensure that was achieved.

The CAN President noted when there was crisis in the Niger Delta, most of the leaders, including himself, went to the creeks to negotiate with the boys because they knew them.

He said: “As far as I’m concerned, I believe that the Northern elite have a very important role to play in what is happening today in Nigeria. They must take the bull by the horn. When we had situation in the Niger Delta some of us had to go to the creeks because we knew the boys.

“We started talking to them and gradually we are where we are today; we have come a long way. I believe that leaders in the North must wake up to their responsibility. It is a fact that the boys who are doing this thing are not spirits, they are human beings. A lot of them were taught in Quranic schools; there are Sheiks, there are Imams that taught them. Now, I’m very sure that they have gone beyond what they were taught,” he said.

“But some of those Sheiks and Imams still have some influence over some of them. Our Northern elites should make contacts with some of those people who can make contact with some of those boys to find ways, to begin to help them find a balance in the way they are thinking because the things they are thinking are not things that are practical and practicable for Nigeria at this time”

Pastor Oritsejafor further noted that the security agencies in the country had been polarized along religious lines, stressing that the Islamic sec, Boko Haram could not have carried out any bombing in the police headquarters without the help of an insider.

“The government must also look again at the security agencies; they have been polarized along religious lines. We’ve said it before; we’ll continue to say it. It is unfortunate. A lot of the people who are supposed to help solve the problem, unfortunately, are looking first at their religion and when you do that, and then Nigeria as a nation will be in trouble”

“So we must find ways to fish out these kinds of people in the security agencies so that, that aspect can be dealt with. How do you bomb the headquarters of police without the police knowing or without the people working with somebody inside?” He queried..

Commenting on the death of the Chairman and Publisher of The Guardian newspaper, Alexander Uruemu Ibru, Pastor Oritsejafor said, “I was shocked; it is difficult for the mind to comprehend that the man that has contributed so much to the development of this nation and democracy will leave us at this time”

“My heart goes to the family and to his wife in particular. He has played his part; there is nothing we can do now, he is gone. But my prayer is that we should not just spend our time praising him but to learn from some of the stands he had to take, like resigning at a time he had to resign, stepping away from certain governments when he ought to and he did the right thing at the right time.

“We should learn from some of those things and hopefully, we can all contribute our part. I think there is a lesson there also for those in high positions today, in government and wherever you find yourself that one day, if not in this world, the day you die, somebody is going to ask: what did he do to enhance and strengthen Nigeria as a nation, or what did he not do,” he stressed.