By KEMU KASUMU
“This impunity cannot go on. It is not possible that armed bandits are settled in our farmlands in the forests, and they are organised in a very military way. And the security operatives don’t know where they are. Nobody disturbed them. Yet, unarmed Igbo boys hold a meeting in Emene, Enugu and the DSS or whatever it is called suddenly discovered where they are and lives are lost. This is not acceptable,” Bishop Onah said.
The Catholic Bishop, Diocese of Nsukka, Enugu State, Most Rev. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, has said that, for Nigeria to move forward, there must be fair and equal treatment for all citizens and areas.
Bishop Onah spoke during a church sermon amidst #ENDSARS protests penultimate week as captured in a video clip obtained by The DEFENDER.
According to the video, he called attention of leaders of the country to what he described as impunity in the land, especially by security agencies, which he said must stop.
His words, “Leaders in this country must listen. This impunity cannot go on. It is not possible that armed bandits are settled in our farmlands in the forests, and they are organised in a very military way. And the security operatives don’t know where they are. Nobody disturbed them. Yet, unarmed Igbo boys hold a meeting in Emene, Enugu and the DSS or whatever it is called suddenly discovered where they are and lives are lost. This is not acceptable,” he said.
The bishop continued, “This is the type of thing that turns a country to a land littered with just ruins.
“It is not possible that here in Nsukka, we hear the Muslims call to prayer from our windows in our bedrooms as early as 4am and the Christian, who in Abuja takes her Bible to call people to accept Jesus Christ, is murdered by an Islamic fundamentalist and nothing happened.
“It cannot continue and these are the things we have to say ‘no’ to. It is not just about SARS. It is about injustice. It is about violence.
“It is not possible that Muslims in this country can acquire land and build mosques anywhere. Many mosques are rising in Nsukka now and Christians can no longer obtain land to build churches even in the so called Christian dominated states, let alone the Northern states.
“You may have heard that the governors of Northern Nigeria say they need SARS because, maybe there, they perform the functions for which they were established. Correct. But then, what does that tell you? That this country can no longer be ruled or governed as if we are all the same in everything.
“There must be different levels of governance and autonomy because, if SARS is so oppressive in the South and so helpful in the North, then, there must be different standards in the North and in the South. Some call it restructure, some call it anything, I am not interested in the name. But there must be some form of decentralisation of governance in this country, if we want to move forward.
“There is too much power and money at the centre. That is why governance is no longer service,” he said.
