President Jonathan, quit if you can't lead - CAN

Dissatisfied with federal government’s style of handling the security challenge posed by the spate of bombings and killing of innocent citizens occasioned by the insurgencies of a terrorist gang, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday pointedly told President Goodluck Jonathan to step aside if he couldn’t put a stop to the mindless killings in the country.


Specifically reacting to the attacks on Christian worshippers in Kano and Borno states, CAN said, “We are telling President Goodluck Jonathan, if he has not done anything to put an end to this madness, then, he should know that there is trouble in his hand.”

Meanwhile, Taraba State commissioner of police Mr. Maman Sule yesterday narrowly escaped death when a suicide bomber who laid ambush on the route to the commissioner’s office thrust an improvised explosive device (IED), at his convoy.

Although the commissioner escaped unhurt, many security operatives on his entourage were not spared: 11 persons lost their lives in the attack.
But speaking with journalists in Kaduna, the spokesman of the northern CAN, Elder Sunday Oibe, also accused northern traditional rulers of the mindless killings in the region.

He said: “We are telling the emirs, traditional rulers and the political chieftains in the north that they are behind these things and they must bring the perpetrators to book”
“To us, we feel that government is just playing games and politics with the church and the church is not going to take it anymore because anybody who kills is a murderer or arsonist.

“Why is the government becoming helpless to bring these people to book? Is the government telling us that a particular tribe or religion is superior to every other person in this country?
“We are feeling serious pains and disappointment at the entire system called Nigeria. It is highly condemnable in the strongest term because these are innocent students who were sent to school by their parents to acquire education.

“They went to worship their God only for some people to come and sniff lives out of them. It is highly condemnable, it is not just condemnable, but we will not sit down and fold our arms to accept this madness any more.


“This country belongs to all of us, and if truly it is one Nigeria, one indivisible country that has a government to protect lives and property, then, government must do something about it because it is the systematic approach of these murderers which tends to the fact that it is only Christians that are the major targets.

“They do it on Sundays and attack only places of worship owned by Christians. We have mosques scattered all over BUK, nobody has heard any attack on them. They said it is the issue of poverty, but they have not attacked any government infrastructure. If it is the issue of power, then, they should go and fight government. Why is it that it is Christians that they are fighting?
“The irony of this thing is that the people have carefully put a plan in place to eliminate Christians. Total annihilation of Christianity from the surface of this country - that is the target.

“And it seems that the government of this country led by Goodluck Jonathan is helplessly looking on, always telling us that security men are on top of the situation.
“We want to use this medium to tell the world that he has not stepped up to arrest and bring to book the people who carry out this heinous crime, who are behind these things. The country is on the verge of collapse, and no country has ever survived two wars.

“We had survived a civil war, but no country has survived a religious war. Let it be made known that Christians are not taught to retaliate, but Christians have been given the right to defend themselves, and we will do it with all manner of defence we know within ourselves.

“We cannot produce legitimate children, God-given children, beautiful children, sent to school, then people who have no value for life will continue to kill them.
“Christians cannot fold their arms anymore, and we are telling President Goodluck Jonathan if he has not done anything to put an end to this madness, then, he should know that there is trouble in his hand.”