BY CALEB AYANSINA
ABUJA — The Christian Elders Forum of Northern States, NOSCEF, yesterday, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to establish a Northern Minorities Commission to take care of Christians in the North who are currently facing annihilation.
Chairman of NOSCEF, Evang. Mathew Owojaiye, who made the call during the 2013 National Conference of NOSCEF in Abuja, disclosed that “the northern states are made up of mostly minority tribes, which if added up, would amount to 75 per cent of the North. Christians are the majority in these minority tribes.
“The commission to be headed by a minister, became necessary, in view of government’s inability to curb menace of the Boko Haram sect.
“This will take care of minorities’ interests. Our history has been a catalogue of woes, poverty, deliberate marginalisation and under-development. Now we are marked for annihilation!
“We are demanding that the Federal Government should set up a Northern Minorities Commission with a minister in charge. It should be a full ministry on its own. Then, attention can be paid to our plight,” he said.
“We are appealing to all our illustrious sons and daughters to add their voices to ours, so our dream can be realized.”
However, the group lamented the seeming helplessness of the intelligence arm of government to quell the orchestrated attacks and killing of Christians in the north by Boko Haram.
Faulting the rationale behind amnesty for the Islamic group, NOSCEF wondered what would be the plight of the victims, if government was trying to convince perpetrators of the heinous crimes to accept pardon.
“Now, what do we do? It is obvious, the government cannot protect us. They are unable to protect us. It seems government is begging Boko Haram to accept amnesty. If we start begging the offender, what do we do to the offended?” NOSCEF boss demanded.
On the agitation for a Christian political party, Owojaiye stressed that they would not subscribe to the idea, maintaining that there could be a need for Christians to sit down and find out who would give attention to their interests.
“We have benefitted almost next to nothing from the people we voted for in the past elections while those who oppose them have been pampered.
“It must not happen again. We must go back to mobilize our people from ward to ward while we search for those who care about our interests,” he said.
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