General overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG Worldwide), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has joined the league of eminent Nigerians calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to tag bandits as terrorists.
Recall that Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court had on November 26, 2021 declared the activities of bandits’ groups as acts of terrorism.
The judge went further to direct the federal government to publish the proscription order in the official gazette and two national newspapers.
Speaking at the New Year’s service held yesterday at RCCG’s headquarters in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, Adeboye said Nigerians have been unable to move freely in the country for the fear of bandits, kidnappers among other criminal elements wreaking havoc in the country.
The general overseer who later spoke through the assistant general overseer, (administration and personnel), Pastor Johnson Odesola, noted that “the president is yet to openly declare bandits making life uncomfortable for Nigerians as terrorists.
“The declaration should not be restricted to just announcement alone, but should also be gazetted.
“As long as the President refuses to do that, bandits would continue to perpetrate their nefarious activities, not minding whose ox is gored.”
The clergyman also advised Buhari to do more on security by curbing the activities of the hoodlums, demanding accountability and regular updates from the service chiefs on insecurity in the country.
He further urged the president to ensure that his administration remains very sensitive and proactive to security reports.
Also yesterday, the Bishop of Anglican Communion, Kaduna Diocese, Timothy Yahaya, said the president had lost grip on good governance in Nigeria.
He equally said political leaders were behaving as if they are no longer accountable to the people.
Yahaya who made the declarations in his New Year’s message said the president had failed to deliver on the promises he made over six years ago while campaigning for the presidency.
He reminded the Buhari administration that, “if they escape account of man, they cannot escape the account of God.”
Reviewing the fight against corruption, insecurity and the economic policies of the current administration, he argued that the situation had gone worse.
However, he urged Nigerians not to lose hope for “there will be recovery and transformation this New Year, as God will show the people mercy.”
“To score the current government, you have to look back at what they campaigned to come and do in office. Number one is to stamp out corruption, but so far everybody on the street knows factually that there is corruption everywhere.
“They have not succeeded in fighting corruption. The fight against corruption should not be only when the people have looted the country. What are we doing to nip corruption right from the desk it is found, right from where the contract will be awarded? So for me, the fight against corruption has not even gone average.
“The next campaign promise was security. When this government came to power, we knew that the only part of the country that was seriously challenged security-wise was the North East. But today, can Katsina people say they are experiencing security when the governor said the people should buy guns and defend themselves? Can the people in Sokoto where some travellers were burnt alive say there is security?
“The worrying thing about insecurity is that when Nigerians are killed, it becomes a number. It doesn’t look like human beings.
“And I expected that the power-that-be should visit every scene where killings happened in this country to show how affectionate they are to the people. It is left for the world to also judge on the issue of security. Can we calculate how many Army Generals, we are not talking of soldiers, that were killed in the last six years now, how many policemen were killed, how many Air Force men were killed, if our security is taken the manner is being taken, I think Nigerians should think again.
“The third pillar of their campaign in coming to office is the economy. How much was the naira to the dollar. How much was the pump price of petrol when they came to power. How much was the bag of rice, you can go on and on. Let us also score the economy and I want to pray that the year 2021 is gone with propaganda,” Yahaya said.
