National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. (Dr.) Olasupo Ayokunle has called on the Federal Government to probe the sources of ammunitions finding their ways illegally into the country.
Ayokule made the call during a breakfast meeting with a Christian media group, Christian Press Association of Nigeria (CPAN) in Lagos yesterday.
The Baptist minister however asked the Federal Government to query every armed group in the country who have allegedly carried out terror on innocent Nigerians in recent times.
Furious about the state of insecurity in Nigeria, Ayokunle said it is worrisome that insecurity is the order of the day in the country. He however urged the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to work 100 times harder in his second term in office to make Nigerians happy.
“I have said it repeatedly that the government should probe the sources of ammunition in the country. Even if they are foreigners attacking our people, let them query the Customs and Immigration services.
“Let them ask what were they doing when those people brought things into the country to harm our people. Do foreigners have right to be coming here and killing our people? He asked.
Ayokunle also enjoined the Fulani ethnic group in Nigeria to justify their love for President Buhari by maintaining the peace in their host communities.
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“If they really love him, noise should not be coming through them. If they really love him and they want him to prosper in office, they should not be part of the people causing trouble in the land,” he advised.
The cleric also asked, “What else do they want God to do for them when one of them is favoured to rule the nation? Is that when they should be sacking communities? Did other ethnic groups that had produced Presidents act that way while their men were Presidents? No. Let’s call a spade a spade. I’m not referring to the Fulanis alone but every armed group in the country.”
Elated about the media parley, Ayokunle who is bracing up to seek a second term in office via an election, said, he was happy about the parley which he wished had happened before.
“It is my pleasure to be with you in this parley. If we have been having this kind of meeting in the past, bad news wouldn’t have had opportunity to spread than good news,” he said, enjoining journalists to carefully examine whatever information they have before publishing.
“If you see any unpalatable news, find out the details so that the future of the church will not be jeopardised by the hyenas in our midst. There are some who are enemies outside and there are some who are enemies within,” he noted.
“But by the grace of God as the Lord liveth the enemies of the church within and without will not prosper. The Lord says I will build my church and the gate of hell will not prevail against it,” he said.
Commending the President of CPAN who earlier read a sound speech, Ayokunle said, “Thank you for the very academic speech. I know that journalists cover political affairs more than any other thing; I didn’t know that they go in the realm of scholarship too.
“You have shown us how the church has been persecuted from the beginning, the children of the bond woman are still persecuting the children of the free woman and the Lord has promised, no matter what the enemy is doing to the church, the church will prevail over every persecution.
Earlier, President of CPAN, Deacon Bola Adewara decried the lack of unity in the body of Christ in Nigeria. “There is no synergy between our leaders and the people; we call on CAN to build a strong relationship within the church,” he said.
Adewara, publisher of E-LIFE Magazine however commended the leadership of CAN under Rev. Supo Ayokunle for confronting issues surrounding the association and putting the group in good reckoning in the minds of Nigerians.
Themed Christian Response To Global Persecution, the event attracted journalists from various media organisations as well as Chairman of CAN in Lagos State Professor Alexander Bamgbola, his Ondo State counterpart, Reverend John Oladapo.
Others in attendance were the Oyo State CAN Chairman, Pastor Benjamin Akanmu and his counterpart from Ekiti State, Rev. Joshua Rotimi Orikogbe.
