BY SAM EYOBOKA

CHRISTIAN Association of Nigeria, CAN, in the 19 Northern states and Northern Christian Elders Forum have condemned the violent blasts that have left scores of people dead in Kano, as well as a motion at the House of Representatives, calling on the Federal Government to grant amnesty to members of Boko Haram.

Spokesman for the group, Elder Sunday Oibe, told newsmen yesterday that the group condemned the motion, saying that the arguments of the mover of the motion were suspicious because the South West which he represents has a large number of Muslims. “Why have they not allowed their own children to join Boko Haram? Or is there no poverty in the South West?”

Similarly, Chairman of NOCELF, Evangelist Matthew Owojaiye, while condemning the coordinated bomb attacks in Kano and other places said: “These people just want to plunge the nation into another conflagration. They want to provoke the Ibos and set the country on fire again. Could it be that the perpetrators are just looking for an opportunity to throw the nation into another civil war by provoking the Ibos in the North?” Owojaiye asked rhetorically.

According to him, for the theory of poverty to hold water, there must be certain questions the masses in the North must ask themselves; “certain individuals like Governor Rochas Okocha made his money from the North and in return established empowerment projects including schools in the place.

“What have all the northern leaders who have held the nation captive over the years, done to improve the lot of the people from that region? Until the masses rise up to say enough is enough, I am afraid, this regime of violence may not stop.”

KANO BOMBING—Victims of the Kano suicide bombing and some of the affected buses yesterday as smoke billowed from the bus park.

Angered by the report from the House of Representatives, Oibe asked: “What is the offence of the victims of Boko Haram attacks in the North? If you grant amnesty to the Boko Haram members what becomes of the countless widows, motherless babies and burnt churches and business premises that litter every part of the region?”

Elder Oibe said Christians have vehemently opposed the Sultan’s call for amnesty, adding that CAN also gives thumbs down for the call for the removal of JTF from the North East, noting that the latest violence avidly counters such calls.

According to him, the Borno Elders are nothing but a bunch of failed politicians who are seeking relevance through an amnesty agenda which is why they are clamouring for funds to rehabilitate themselves.

”They are not realistic. It’s obvious they are not. We know that the Shehu of Borno is not associated with such calls. He is a gentleman who will do anything to ensure peace in his domain, but these band of politicians who have been parading themselves as elders of Borno will stop at nothing to make themselves relevant.

”Where were these elders when Rev. Orji was brutally slaughtered in Maiduguri ? It took the intervention of people like Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor to rehabilitate his bereaved family. Where were they when other Christians were killed daily and others hounded out of Borno State for fear of being killed?

”These so called elders are merely seeking ways to be relevant hence they are asking the president to remove the JTF. Thank God, the president gave it to them as he should,” he said.

According to Oibe, about 80 per cent of North can be said to have sympathy for the dreaded Boko Haram sect. “They have created the monster and they are now afraid because their children and relations can no longer go to schools freely that is why they are looking for soft landing measures with state funds in their pockets.

”Northern politicians argue that poverty is responsible for the Boko Haram menace and we argued that there is poverty in virtually every corner of the country and why are there no terrorist acts in those other regions?

According to Elder Oibe, if we must believe the poverty theory then northern elite who hold over 83 per cent oil blocks should be held responsible for impoverishing their people. They should also find a way round because they created the situation and have been using ill-gotten wealth to sponsor the group.

”When there was crisis in the Niger Delta, elders in the region including Chief E.K. Clark, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor held several meetings with the militants and eventually there was a truce. Why are they shying away from their responsibility and instead they are soliciting for amnesty? ”