Afenifere. a pan-Yoruba socio-political group, urged President Bola Tinubu-led administration to go after individuals sponsoring terrorism in the country, saying it will serve as a deterrent to criminals.
The plea which came in reaction to the recent kidnapping of school children in Kaduna and Sokoto states urged President Tinubu not to leave room for excuses.
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary and Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo and Prince Justice Faloye respectively, the group decried that the country under Tinubu is witnessing yet another ugly and ominous recrudescence of the repetitive, extremely evil chapter in its history .
“Kaduna, witnessing yet another ugly and ominous recrudescence of the repetitive, extremely evil chapter in the human history of the Nigerian state. Mr President, your turn to be served.
“The recrudescence of this human tragedy is as clear to the Afenifere as the daylight is distinct from the eventide.
“Since this democracy took off, this pattern remains constant, ever present; Create chaos, destabilize the government, embarrass the President, finally, and disgrace the President out of office. No president since 1999 has escaped this scourge, coming with the political Sharia against Obasanjo, the Niger Delta violent political Agitation of Obasanjo and Yar’Adua and cleverly solved by the duo. The Boko Haram religio-later-turned-political instrument to embarrass a sitting southern Christian president as it was with Jonathan, who was told to convert to Islam, followed by the kidnapping extraordinaire of the Chibok girls’ type, the final shuck that shocked Jonathan out of office.
“The Abikus, coming once a regime and for repeated times from as far back as the Zango Kataf crisis, come with land grabbing, human displacement and subjugation of a people over another, often planned, aided, lauded and prompted by those self-styled as owners of Nigeria.
“They were terrorists; Buhari curiously preferred to call them Bandits. Their acts as aggressors, killing farmers, destroying their produce, stealing indigenous peoples’ lands, clearly marked them as terrorists.
Urging Tinubu to take more decisive actions in tackling the menace, the group further said’ ““It is down to you Mr President if you would rather go the way of your predecessors, by looking the other way and let innocent blood flow, be disgraced and set for an early exit or find the strength, the will and the courage to face the sponsors of terror, with the resolve to eradicating this Abiku scourge from ever again taking root anywhere in our land.”
Lamenting the current hardship in the country the Afenifere ask President Tinubu to provide solution that will bring lasting change and ease the pain of the masses.
“Through your policies, fiscal and monetary, the local currency has suffered the worst trajectory of devaluation of 35% in just your very first nine months in office, the very first massive devastation in the history of this country. The Nigerian naira plunged to its lowest point on record in official trading as a shortage of US dollars persisted despite promises by the government to boost supply.
“Our people are dying due to hunger. Nigeria has become the hunger capital of the world. How are the people, so impoverished be saddled with paying ransom to kidnappers right in the middle of possibly the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world that even Ukraine a country with Russia lasting two year and still counting, is now the one to be sending humanitarian aid to Nigeria!?
“Let the people begin to see a change Mr President — A challenge being tackled over the years with same methods, cannot yield a different result from a certain failure. Change your method, Mr President.
“Go after the sponsors of terror. Restructure this country. Expedite the action towards the creation of State police. Return the country to parliamentary system of government. Bring back Regionalism.
“And watch our countrymen, countrymen and our hopeless children begin to live again in dignity, right before your very eyes.” the group charge President Tinubu
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
