From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
The Methodist Church of Nigeria, Diocese of Calabar has faulted the country’s security architecture saying it has failed in all ramifications to tackle the menace of insecurity in the nation.
The Diocese made this known in a communique issued at the end of its 48th Annual Synod which held at the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Ikang in Bakassi local government area.
The six-point communique was signed by the Methodist Bishop of Calabar His Grace, Most Rev. (Amb.) Chimezuo O. N. Nwankpa, JP, the Lay President Dame Prof. Miranda Dosunmu (KJW) and the chairman of the Communique Committee Elder Offisong Unoh
The communique read in part that “the present security architecture of the Federal Government has failed in all ramifications to tackle the menace of insecurity in the nation regardless of the humongous amount of money pumped into the Sector.
“Cases of organized crimes viz. banditry, terrorism piracy at high seas, kidnapping, oil theft and bunkering, etc, are now recorded on weekly basis, if not daily.
“The Armed forces, the Police and the Paramilitary seem to be at a cross road as they are also victims of these heinous crimes. The Synod, therefore, called for total overhauling of the Nation security architecture aimed at curbing the prevalent cancerous security menace. Both trained securities and civilians should, as a matter of urgency, treat security matter as very important”, it read.
The Synod further “frowned at various forms of crisis and challenges confronting the Nation, most of which are artificially created and human made and enjoined leaders to be principled in governance, embrace God for wisdom and knowledge”.
The Synod reiterated the need for leaders at all levels and political office holders to rise to their responsibilities, which include among others availing the citizens the enjoyment of dividend of democracy through founding of certain basic infrastructures and social amenities.
It also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for introducing the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund (RHIDF) to address some of the bottleneck in project or infrastructural development raised above.
The Synod hoped that this approach will service the targeted major projects, which include major roads networks, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highways, Sokoto-Badagry Expressway, Lagos–Kano and Eastern Rail Lines, Ports and Aviation facilities earmarked for modernization.
It similarly commended the Cross River State Governor, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, and his team for the achievements recorded so far since the government came into but insisted that , a lot still need to be done and drew the attention of the State Government to the activities of kidnappers, cultists and pirates within the state which have brought untold hardship and psychological trauma to the citizens.
The Synod expressed dismay over the mishap involving the Nollywood actors in Delta State and frowned at the incidence but condole with the families of the deceased and the State Government.
The 48th Annual Synod of Diocese of Calabar was hosted by a rechristened Circuit, John Wesley (formally known as Akpabuyo), Ikang, Bakassi Local Government Area, Cross River State, and was designed to remodel the Diocese of Calabar after the creation of the two new dioceses out of it within the same period.