Come To Nigerians' Guide, CAN Urges World Pioneers, Others

This came as the humanitarian groups currently working in the northern part of the country; the 21stCentury Wilberforce Initiative and the Stefanos Foundation decried the attacks on the ethnic and religious minorities in the region by the Boko Haram terrorists and the Fulani militants, describing the situation as the “worst in the world”.

The President of CAN, Dr. Samson Ayokunle noted that in spite of regarding the situation in Nigeria as the worst in the world; it had not received the corresponding responses from the western countries. Ayokunle, who was speaking at the two days capacity building workshop tagged;

 “Religious Freedom in Northern and Central Nigeria”, in Abuja, maintained that the victims “are human beings and need your and our assistance in order to bounce back to life again.” According to him, “This displacement is regarded today by many international bodies as the biggest humanitarian crisis or disaster in the world.

“The most disheartening thing about it is that it has not received substantial humanitarian response from the world, especially, the world’s most powerful nations as other disasters of smaller degree in other parts of the world. “I am therefore calling on the world’s powerful nations to come to the aid of Nigeria in seeing the end of insurgency.

 Come to the aid of many victims of insurgency in many internally displaced people’s camps or homes who are naked, jobless, orphaned, maimed or widowed.” 

CAN President said that many people had been hearing about the activities of terrorists in Nigeria without documented statistical idea of the impact of their activities, explaining that the workshop was designed to intimate them about the gravity of the situation. “This conference would afford us this opportunity and help us watch out against terrorism.

 This conference would as well help enable us to rise to the aid of victims of insurgency in many internally displaced people’s camps all over Nigeria,” he said. Presenting their report on the insurgency in the northern part of the country, the Vice President of the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, Dr. Elijah Brown said “What is unfolding in northern and central Nigeria is one of the gravest current humanitarian crises in the world.”

 He said further that the terrorist activities were aided by the already existing foundational discrimination problems against ethnic and religious minorities in the northern region of the country. Brown called on the federal and state governments to ensure rule of law and religious freedom in their respective domains to promote peace and unity in the country. 

According to him, “Nigeria is a country on the verge of fracturing along religious fault lines. Ethnic and religious minorities in northern Nigeria are largely forgotten as they face systemic and systematic discrimination. “Muslim and Christian communities in north-eastern Nigeria are profoundly and negatively impacted by the terrorist violence pursued by Boko Haram. 

“In the Middle Belt, Fulani militant attacks are significantly escalating with the net effect that in the name of creating grazing territory largely Christian Local Government Areas are being targeted and destroyed. 

“If immediate action is not taken, religious minorities in northern Nigeria will continue to face policies and practices that seek to remove their very presence, while the violence of Boko Haram in the northeast will further compound one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

 “At the same time, the accelerating aggression of Fulani militants in the Middle Belt is threatening the heart of the country, creating one of the most significant security risks in West Africa, and solidifying religion as a primary identifier which will further destabilize and fracture Nigeria.”

 Brown disclosed that over 2.1m people had been displaced internally with about 2000 women, boys and girls adopted by the Boko Haram terrorist group since 2012. The report said; “As of December 2015, there are 2,152,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria – the third highest figure in Africa and the seventh in the world. 

“However, the reality is far more dire as the majority of Nigerian IDPs seek refuge with family or in makeshift camps that are not formally recognized or counted. Although exact numbers are difficult to ascertain, as many as 2,000 women, boys and girls have been abducted by Boko Haram since 2012. 

“Thousands of children have been denied the opportunity to continue their education, a reality that will reverberate with significant repercussions for an entire generation. “Since 2009, in north-eastern Nigeria, 611 teachers have been intentionally killed and 19,000 additional teachers have fled for their lives, while 910 schools have been destroyed and another 1,500 schools forced to close, leaving close to one million school-age children with almost no opportunity for education.

 “People of faith and centers of faith have also been deliberately targeted. More Muslims have been displaced than any other faith group due to the actions of Boko Haram. Between 2000 and 2014, more than 13,000 churches were abandoned, closed or destroyed in northern and central Nigeria.” 

On Fulani militancy, Brown said; “Following a similar pattern, Fulani militants in the Middle Belt rapidly progressed through the first two stages and are currently in the third stage. Without intervention, the crisis in the Middle Belt will continue to escalate. 

“Further destabilization in Nigeria has clear implications for the country as well as for the West African region as a whole including countries such as Benin, Chad, Cameroon, Mali, and Niger.” The group therefore recommended the establishment of “the Nigerian Police Forces throughout the entire country, especially in communities impacted by ethno-religious violence, and ensuring these individuals are adequately trained and held accountable.

 “Designing programs related to religious freedom and rule of law that can be deployed throughout the country and ensuring that all citizens have a fair opportunity to participate in the political process. “Ending policies and practices of impunity; and Working to ensure the full establishment of the rule of law, religious freedom, conceptions of national citizenship, the federal constitution, and the maturation of Institutions of governance.”