BY SIDI TENGMIMA, ABUJA
Archbishop of the Nigerian Methodist Church, Dr Sunday Onuoha, has called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio to immediately convene an emergency joint session and order members of the National Assembly to return to their constituencies to assist in tackling rising cases of insecurity ripping across the country.
In a statement he personally signed and made available to the media on Tuesday, the cleric, who is the Founder of not-for-profit organisation, Vision Africa, expressed concern that Nigeria was set for collapse if nothing was done, pointing out that “the forces of darkness are at work, and it appears as if some Nigerian leaders are in denial”.
Referring to America’s recent evacuation of its personnel from its Abuja embassy, the Archbishop lamented that some government quarters are downplaying the current security situation. Apart from calling the Senate leadership to raise and collaborate with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stave off further escalation of insecurity in the country, Onuoha advised Akpabio: “You must urgently convene an emergency joint session of the National Assembly to arrest rising spates of attacks in some parts of the country. The truth is that many of your colleagues cannot go to their constituencies without the deployment of armed joint security. Some cannot even go home, even if they have joint security. Nigeria is collapsing before you, and you cannot be in denial”.
Calling on the NASS leadership to collaborate with critical stakeholders to stave off insecurity, the Methodist Archbishop said that as long as all Nigerians are not safe, then no part of the country is safe.
“As your friend and pastor, I do not want your name to go down in history as one of those at the table when the Nigerian system collapsed. Now is the time to do something.
“The mosque and the church are no longer safe; villages and cities are not safe (whether you are a city boy or a village boy, there is no safe ground), and if you people think that Aso Rock is safe, you are deceiving yourselves.
“If the United States Embassy could evacuate its staff from Abuja, then the whole country is vulnerable. I have put this down to you for the sake of posterity”, the statement noted.
Dr. Onuoha called on politicians to immediately suspend politics for now and concentrate on securing the country. Calling on every politician to go back home to their constituency to face the security situation, the Archbishop declared that no efforts should be spared to defeat enablers of violent attacks.
