The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State
says the association is more concerned about peace and security in the state
rather than the challenge of going to pilgrimage in Jerusalem
CAN claimed the insecurity in the state also affected the
possibility of many Christians performing pilgrimage to the Holy land, as a
majority already paid their life savings to bandits and cannot afford the trip.
The body also alleged that Christians were mostly at the
receiving end of banditry and churches cough out huge sums for ransom.
The state CAN chairman, Rev. John Joseph Hayab who hosted
the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Pilgrim Welfare Agency, Mallam
Yusuf Yakub Arrigarayyu during his courtesy visit to the CAN headquarters said,
“The issue of going to pilgrimage, to us at CAN is not the priority, our
priority is how people can be secured and live peacefully. Christians in Kaduna
state paid huge sums of money to bandits and I can’t see a group of Christians
that have paid bandits millions of naira to again sponsor themselves to
Jerusalem for pilgrimage. It is not about going to Jerusalem but it is about
the restoration of peace in the state.”
“Today, people think it is well in Kaduna but we can’t just
stop talking about the kidnapping. You know very well that every day, things
are happening. What we want now is how we can work together to restore peace in
Kaduna and stop the pretence and face the reality of what is happening around
us.”
The CAN state chairman said the Church wants every agency in
the state to effectively work but lamented that the people are sick because of
insecurity all over the state.
He lamented, “Offerings that come from churches end up
paying bandits as ransoms for the release of their loved ones, with all that is
happening, Christians find it very difficult to go to Jerusalem for
pilgrimage.”
Commenting on the establishment of the pilgrim agency, he
explained, “It is the conventional practice Worldwide and according to law and
practice that if you want to do anything that you want to establish an agency
by law, you don’t do it by being coercive, you will ask the State House of
Assembly by sending a bill. The House will have a first or second reading and
then have a public hearing. We are stakeholders, a letter will be written to us
and we will come as stakeholders and give our contributions on the issue
supporting or against the establishment of the agency, then the House will
vote, but in Kaduna, we are not being governed by law but by coercion and
whatever is given to us, we take it and nobody will talk.”
“So many things have happened in the state, sometimes, we
talk, sometimes, we don’t talk as if we don’t know and the establishment of the
pilgrim welfare agency is one of such.”
Rev. Hayab lamented that it is an agency for both Christians
and Muslims but noted that almost all the Directors are of the same faith,
saying, “and you wonder if the state government thinks that the Christians are
fools by not knowing what is happening. We should stop deceiving each other and
fear God because in all we do, there is God’s judgment.”
He added that the reason Christians no longer go on
pilgrimage is because, they are at the receiving end of the banditry,
stressing, “In 2019 when this evil of banditry and kidnapping started, within a
short time over 500 Christians were kidnapped and over N300 million was paid as
ransom, this CAN found out by issuing questionnaires and served about 1,500
Pastors for them to fill and tell us the number of members kidnapped, how much
paid as ransom and those killed.”
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