Fearful of infiltration of its ranks, the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria, (N-CAN) has restricted its interaction with the media to its Chairperson and Public Relations Officer. Delegates to its maiden meeting just ended in Jos, the Plateau State capital resolved that henceforth, only these two officials would speak for the organisation. Apparently reacting to the story of a contrary meeting of the same N-CAN in Maiduguri rather than Jos, the delegates from all states in the north barred anybody or groups from speaking or issuing any statements on behalf of the organisation.
Highlight of the ten point communiqué signed by Dr Yakubu Pam and Joseph Hayab, Chairman and PRO respectively, is the reaffirmation of the membership of the N-CAN in the larger Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) rather than the pulling out that was speculated before the meeting. The delegates further charged the Federal Government as well as governors of northern states to ensure full protection for Christian students in secondary schools and higher institutions from molestations, intimidation or being killed under any guise. The communiqué rejected the situation in Zamfara College of Education in which jungle justice was meted out to some people on the ground that they committed blasphemy and warned against the phenomena of under aged marriages, abduction, corruption and land grabbing, all of which it said are going on.
While equally demanding of the Federal Government to do all it takes to hasten restoration of peace in the north east, it, however, joined the larger CAN to frown at the restriction of John Kerry, US Secretary of State’s meeting to Muslim leaders only without extending the same gesture to Christians, condemning the exclusion. N-CAN advised unemployed youths to go into farming because there were no such jobs forthcoming.
Intervention learnt that the Jos meeting was a gathering of who is who in Christian leadership Northern CAN has been in existence since April 1964 when it was formed to articulate Christian interests in the region. This meeting was held in Jos in terms of the imperative of spreading such events to other cities rather than concentrating everything in Kaduna.
