The Kaduna Diocese of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) said on Friday that worshippers’ attendance in churches in the volatile state has dropped by 30 per cent.
In Lagos, the state government is adopting fresh measures to further enhance of lives and property. One of such measure is the plan to take over abandoned property within the metropolis which are believed serve as hideout for criminals. Aside this, the state has also unfolded plans to sanitise motor parks and regulate the operations of motorcycle (okada) and commercial buses restricting them to specific identifiable routes.
Kayode Opeifa, Lagos State commissioner for Transportation, says apart from re-registration of the yellow commercial buses, and restricting them to assigned routes, the drivers and conductors may also be required under the new regime to wear uniforms for easy identification. There have been several reported cases of robbery with okada and commercial buses in what is known to the residents as “one chance”.
Josiah Fearon, the diocesan bishop of Anglican Communion in Kaduan, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the first session of the 19th Synod which held in the north central state that churches are now characterised by poor attendance, a development he attributed to the current national security challenge.
Fearon said the drop in attendance has also led to a corresponding drop in financial support to the churches through the offerings, tithes and fund raising for the development of projects. He specifically attributed the decline in churches’ fortunes to the spate of attacks on Christians during services by the deadly Islamic sect- Boko Haram.
“A significant number of our members now prefer to stay within the safety of their homes rather than go to church and be bombed to death,” the cleric said, adding that the security challenge has adversely affected the entire northern region economically, socially and politically. Fearon flayed the incessant killings in some of the northern states, in spite of pleas from religious leaders, individuals and national and international organisations.
He however called on the Federal Government to urgently assist the northern state governments to implement the recommendations of the Sheikh Ahmed Lemu panel aimed at restoring peace. The Bishop said the panel had recommended that some form of financial assistance be given to all victims of the April general elections violence.
“This will enable them start all over again, even if on a small scale, it would convince Nigerians that this government is interested in their well-being.” The clergy man decried the indiscriminate display of wealth amidst hunger and recklessness in the spending of money meant for development projects and cautioned that “all these happenings in the face of poverty must stop.
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