Baba Negedu Kaduna 
The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 Northern states and Abuja (Northern CAN) yesterday disclosed that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been overwhelmed by the prevailing insecurity in the country.
A statement by the Association made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Monday said: “Without mincing words, Northern CAN wishes to state that the current state of the nation has plunged the vast majority of the people into hunger, poverty, frustration and despondency.
“Amid increasing insecurity, bad economy and undemocratic tendencies among the leaders, is there anything really worth celebrating? Certainly none! “We are particularly concerned about the security situation which appeared to have overwhelmed the government.”
The statement was entitled “Democracy, insecurity and the looming food crisis” and signed by Rev. Jechonia Albert the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the association. Northern CAN also said it was because of the state of affairs that: “Nigerians trooped to the streets to protest against the unfortunate state of affairs in the country.
“The security situation in the country today has worsened with bandits, kidnappers and Boko Haram insurgents unleashing mayhem on Nigerians, killing innocent people and sacking communities.
Thousands of Nigerians, especially, in rural communities have been rendered homeless by bandits. “On a daily basis across the country, communities are being raided and people are being killed or abducted by rampaging bandits and other criminal elements.”
According to the association: “The security situation has crippled the economy as traveling on the highways across the country has become a nightmare to Nigerians. The rains are here but farmers cannot go to the farms for fear of being killed or abducted by bandits.
The implication of this is that a looming food crisis stares us in the face and unless steps are taken to provide a secure environment for farmers to return to the farms, we may be in for more trouble with a hungry and frustrated population. “Northern CAN is also concerned about the frequent attacks on schools and the abductions of students and pupils by bandits, especially in states like Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and Niger.
We fear that these attacks, if not checked, many parents will be discourage, parents and children would be force to abstain from school, given the recent cases in Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and Niger states, where parents of abducted school children paid hundreds of millions of naira to bandits for the release of their children.
“We fear that if nothing is done to stop the attacks and abductions in schools, many parents may not send their children to school again.
This will bring about a serious setback to the quest by the north to bridge the wide educational gap between it and the Southern states of Nigeria. “We join other Nigerians to once again, call on the Federal Government for the umpteenth time to gently address the security situation once and for all to liberate Nigerians from criminal gangs and their reign of terror.”
However, CAN also said: “We appreciate the efforts by the security agencies despite the challenges they also face in protecting Nigerians.
Many of them have lost their lives while others were injured in the line of duty, partly as a result of lack of equipment to con front the criminals. “President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly promised to address the security situation.
He reiterated this during his broadcast on Democracy Day, promising to protect Nigerians. “We urged the President to go beyond rhetoric and match his words with action this time around in order to inspire confidence among Nigerians.”