By SAM EYOBOKA and OLAYINKA LATONA

Some Christian leaders want President Goodluck Jonathan to revert petrol price to N65.00 in line with the wishes of most Nigerians as expressed in protests across the country to avert anarchy.

They pointed to the security challenge posed by the Boko Haram attack on Christians and churches in the north as another potential source of anarchy which the president must urgently address.

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie; presiding bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, Dr. Mike Okonkwo; spiritual leader of St. Joseph’s Chosen Church of God, SJCCG, Apostle Hayford Alile; Prelate, The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Emele Mba Uka; senior pastor of Household of God Church, Rev. Chris Okotie and the Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Osu, were unanimous in their call for caution in view of the precarious security situation in the country.

They argued that the festering Boko Haram menace is, by itself, enough to engage the undivided attention of any government, noting that the militant Islamic sect and other aggrieved militant groups in different areas of the nation may capitalize on the prolonged labour strike to wreak havoc on innocent persons and infrastructure.

The clerics accused the Jonathan administration of failing to properly gauge the mood of the nation before introducing a new fuel price regime knowing fully well that the masses trust government’s promises of palliatives in addition to the fact that any new austere measures should have began from the top.

Okogie described government’s hike of petrol price as regrettable and condemnable, adding: “By suddenly removing the subsidy while the issue is still under discourse portrays the government as being insensitive to the yearnings of Nigerians. We join the human rights groups and all men and women of goodwill to say no to the subsidy removal. The timing is very wrong. It shows that government does not understand the pains the masses are going through. They have further compounded the woes of the masses by this single callous action. They must rescind their action before it is too late.”

Okogie warned the president to listen to the voice of reason and rescind the decision immediately to avert a possible re-enactment of the Arab revolution in Nigeria.

Okonkwo, who believes that dialogue remains the best solution to any dispute, threw his support for the anti-fuel hike strike, but warned of the possible consequences which, according to him, could be catastrophic.

According to the erstwhile CAN vice president, the government must immediately revert to the N65 per litre regime and the commencement of serious dialogue to convince the already overburdened masses why they should key in to the new price hike, to avoid a possible hijack of the labour action, stressing that nobody could fault the strike action “because it is their legitimate constitutional right to protest anything that will further inflict pains on the majority of the masses of the people.”

Alile, who believes that the Jonathan government inherited a very bad economic situation, counseled the president to tread softly to avoid a breakdown of law and order in different parts of the country.

Asked for his initial reaction on the fuel subsidy removal, he said: “I was shocked myself. The timing was most inappropriate, but we should not be afraid; what goes up must come down.”

The spiritual leader of SJCCG cautioned that the government should hearken to the agitations of the people though “history had shown us that whenever prices go up in this country they hardly come down.

The truth of the matter is that subsidy removal is inevitable because if you see the huge borrowing currently to effect fuel subsidy is monumental and we are creating huge dirt burden on the future generation of this country.”

The Presbyterian Church prelate was of the opinion that the president should have adequately addressed the security situation in the country as well as the continued ASUU strike which has entered its 38 days, while consultations were going on before contemplating the removal of fuel subsidy, which, according to him, is inevitable to guarantee the future of this nation.

Speaking during a brief visit to Lagos, Uka urged the Jonathan administration to rescind the decision in the overall interest of the nation, adding: “The president must not play with fire because fire burns.

It does not mean that he is weak; rather discretion is part of valour. After consultation with all stakeholders the government may settle for a phased withdrawal of the subsidy because of the impact on the poor masses of the country.”

Okotie cautioned against unnecessary bloodshed. “Enough of bloodshed in this country. Security agencies must not shoot innocent Nigerians who take to the streets to protest the harsh economic conditions caused by the sudden hike of fuel price across the nation,” he said.

According to the Household of God senior pastor, Nigerians had a right to peaceful protest if they were aggrieved. “This is a right guaranteed by the constitution. So, I do not expect the police to attack innocent citizens who are out to protest on an issue of national concern”, he added.

He, however, urged the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, to shun violence and avoid direct confrontation with security forces. He reiterated his earlier views that the subsidy issue hasn’t been well managed.

“There are clear indications that the government’s revenue is not enough to meet its growing expenditure. And this is a global trend. So, subsidy removal is just like scratching the surface of a deeper problem. Government is cash strapped and we have to admit it”, he explained.

Okotie therefore appealed to labour and the government to get back to the negotiation table to resolve the issues. He said the onus is on government to prove it is very open and transparent in running the affairs of state.

“Once government is able to win the people’s confidence, everything will fall in place,” he stated.

Osu warned that Nigeria was gradually drifting towards disintegration following the government’s refusal to reverse the removal of subsidy on fuel.

The priest noted that the strike action may see a re-enactment of the bloody June 12, 1993 bloody mass action which paralysed the entire nation for weeks.