A Christian women group on Saturday in Abuja urged the Federal Government to sustain the current measures put in place to address security challenges in some parts of the country.
The group, the Women Guild of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), made the call through its President, Mrs Nkasiobi Okoh.
Okoh, who spoke on the second day of the 14th Annual Diocesan Women’s Conference of the church’s Abuja diocese, said “the measures are yielding some appreciable level of results and should be sustained”.
She said the deployment of troops to parts of the country affected by communal clashes, kidnapping and insurgency, among others, were commendable.
“Beefing up security, proscribing Boko Haram and declaring a state of emergency in three states by President Goodluck Jonathan are good developments and we welcome them.
“They should also be sustained, if not improved upon.
“The harassment of natives by herdsmen, and destruction of private and public property like schools, church buildings and businesses by the Boko Haram sect must be stopped.
“Similarly, kidnapping of innocent Nigerians must also be stopped for this nation to be liberated,” Okoh said.
The guild president however disagreed with calls for amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect, saying “the calls are unjustified and, as such, the Boko Haram sect members should not be considered for amnesty”.
On the proposed National Conference, Okoh said Nigerians, especially women, must come out in large numbers to support the cause in the interest of the country’s unity and peace.
She also commented on the state of public infrastructure in the country.
Okoh said women were sad that in spite of the huge sums injected into the sector, Nigerians were yet to see the result of the investment.
“We observe with sadness the decay in the nation’s infrastructure in spite of budgets which annually run into trillions of Naira for the construction of capital projects and maintenance of these projects.
“Even when these monies are spent, they do not reasonably reflect on our infrastructure. Our roads are not maintained adequately where they exist, while our schools and hospitals are characterised by dilapidated buildings,” she said.
Okoh urged the Federal Government to revive the fight against corruption by re-injecting life into the anti-corruption agencies to enable them become more effective in the campaign.
She restated the opposition of the women and the Church of Nigeria against homosexuality and same sex marriage in spite of pressure from a certain section of the Anglican Communion.
In his remarks, Ven. Peter Okunromade, who represented the Primate of the Anglican Church, Nicholas Okoh, said “the conference’s timing is apt, as the society is in dire need of moral reformation”.
He expressed confidence that the women would engage in discussions which would be fruitful to the nation’s search for solutions to its numerous problems.
The Conference Organising Committee’s Chairperson, Mrs Ijeoma Ukaejiofor, said participants at the conference were brainstorming on how to use their positions in the society to restore lost values in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that about 1,000 women from churches in the Abuja diocese were part of the conference. (NAN)
