ECWA decries Denial of Employment of Christians in the North

The Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has published a communique decrying what they have called the discrimination of Christians in the North on account of their religion, Punch reports.

ECWA, in the communique, complained that Christians are being denied admission into universities and employment opportunities in the North solely because of their religion.

The communique asked that the issue be checked by the Federal Government, and brushed the recurrent killings carried out by insurgent group Boko Haram, and the Fulani Herdsmen. The communique read:

We have noticed with great dismay the negative happenings in our country, especially the northern part of this country. It is the issue of admission into universities and other tertiary institutions, whereby qualified candidates are refused entry on the basis of their faith especially into professional courses.

This does not augur well for national unity nor does it promote the tenet of equity and fairness. Many Christians have complained and we see this happening in many universities and other tertiary institutions of the North. We challenge the federal and state-owned institutions to publicly publish the list of those offered admissions.

Closely related to this is the issue of employment, where again, many qualified persons are denied employment on the basis of their faith. As a denomination, we condemn these practices and call on the Federal Government to check these happenings as they constitute a grave threat to the unity of our dear country.

The communique also noted the church’s support for restructuring, saying:

The recent call for the restructuring of our nation ‘Nigeria’ is a noble one. As an indigenous church, we are aware of the injustices that have created dissatisfaction among the Nigerian people. We believe that the only way to maintain our corporate identity, as one indivisible nation, is to restructure and promote equity and the enforcement of the rule of law.

This restructuring might not necessarily be done in the way that people are suggesting; but we need a restructuring that is based on the foundation of equity and honesty where everyone is treated equally. We need to return to the ideals of our founding fathers so as to keep the nation moving.

About the Fulani herdsmen, ECWA wrote:

The Fulani herdsmen emerged from nowhere and continue to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens in the central and other parts of this country. The silence of government in this regard leaves so much to be desired. It seems approval has been given by the government. If not, why has there not been any conviction in a court of law?

The federal and state governments should be proactive and be up to their game of protecting lives and properties. A renowned Islamic leader, speaking on the Numan killings in Adamawa State, opined that the killings of the Fulani must be handled properly or else the worst could happen.

As a denomination, we want to support the clamour for ranching rather than open grazing so as to reduce the constant clashes between the farmers and herdsmen.

On the Boko Haram insurgents, the communique said:

The government had informed the populace that it had curtailed the activities of this terrorist group. But it appears it has not been able to do so as the terrorist group continues to unleash their mayhem on innocent citizens in the north-eastern part of Nigeria.