Oritsejafor Stresses Need To Rebuild Trust, Reconciliation Amongst Various Ethnic Groups

PRESIDENT of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has stressed the need to rebuild trust and reconciliation amongst the various ethnic groups that have been adversely affected in the senseless and reckless attacks concentrated mostly on Christian communities.

  He called on religious leaders, traditional rulers, as well as political leaders in the nation to come forward, not only to condemn these unwarranted attacks on Nigerian citizens but also to engage in meaningful intra and inter dialogue to put an end to the killings. 

  Speaking at the 2015 retreat for church leaders and elders organised by CAN in collaboration with the National Christian elders forum in Abuja, Oritsejafor said urgent steps need to be taken to eliminate this state of insecurity in the nation and also prevent a re-occurrence.

  He said, “We need to find out what went wrong in our nation that brothers are now mercilessly killing brothers due to differences in religious conviction, what role did the twin brothers of corruption and impunity play in exacerbating these crises and how can we eradicate them from our nation? Considering the serious rage against the church that are manifested in these attacks, how do we ensure that Christians are protected in the nation and the church of Jesus Christ continues to flourish to fulfill the mandate of God”.

  According to him, “In as much as religious extremists have sorely provoked the church, I wish to state clearly that Christians do not wish any religion in Nigeria evil. While our faith may differ, we remain members of the same family. We are first and foremost Nigerians before we can be classified by gender or by religion. It is not right that brothers should be killing brothers because they choose to worship God differently. Those who are behind these reckless and senseless killings of Nigerian citizens should desist, if they truly fear God”.

  Oritsejafor described the rate of killings and the attitude of politicians as disturbing. “I think this kind of atmosphere is wrong, if this is a Democracy, everyone should be allowed to do whatever they feel is right in their hearts, freely. I am appealing to politicians to remember that elections will come and go, but Nigeria will surely remain.”

 The chairman of the occasion Solomon Asemota (SAN) said the programme was organised for northern Christian elders to put their minds together to address the issues facing Nigeria by way of prayers.