President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has said that the Boko Haram insurgency may be difficult to curb because of disunity among the security forces.He was reacting to the Christmas Day bombings in some churches across the country by the militant Islamic sect.Oritsejafor, in an interview with journalists during an empowerment programme on Boxing Day, said the various security forces found it difficult to work together because of their loyalty to their various religions.Because of that, he said he was convinced that the fight against the religious extremists might be very difficult as the security forces that were capable of routing the elements were not united.He said no matter what anyone might think, it would be difficult not to link the Boko Haram insurgence with religion.He said, As good as religion is, it can be a terrible thing because it is only religion that can give a man the conviction to do this kind of thing. If it is not religious, why is it the church that is bombed all the time'The pastor of the Words of Life Ministry said the Boko Haram issue had gone beyond ethnic to religious.He said people should stop confusing the populace that the North as a whole was against Goodluck Jonathans presidency.Rather, he said it would be more appropriate to say that some leaders were not happy with the Jonathan presidency.He said, When you talk of Northern elders, who are these Northern elders' Are you talking about Muslim northern elders'When you say Northern elders are not happy about Jonathan coming from the South-South, what about Northern elders who are not Muslims, are they sad that Jonathan is president' I dont think so.There is a section in the North that is not happy and that is where we are not bold enough to face the truth. The truth is, it is not the North that is not happy, it is a section of the North that is not happy.He said Christian leaders were planning to meet to tackle the issue.He said, The thing has reached a point that some of us have said enough is enough. Christian leaders are going to be meeting and we want to discuss to decide on the way forward. We feel for Jonathan, we sympathise with him; may God save him.The reality right now, we hope and pray he will be able to handle the situation on the ground. We want to meet, we want to ask ourselves some questions and we want to decide.In case the government cannot handle it, where do we stand because this thing is not going to stop until someone stops it' We are all angry and tired.He dismissed the notion that probably the President was not firm or did not want to ruffle feathers.He said, Jonathan has a big problem and a disadvantage of coming from a minority group. A minority person does not have the tribal backing because Nigeria is made up of different ethnic groups.If Jonathan was from the South-West, most of these things wont be happening. If Jonathan was even from the South-East, it would not be like this. So, he is in a disadvantaged position; if he puts all his kinsmen together, they are still too small to have a voice to match a voice called Nigeria.To play safe, he needs everybody. So, I have a feeling that he is between the deep blue sea and the devil. To these people, their religion is more important than Nigeria; they are patriotic to their religion more to Nigeria.He said it was wrong for anyone to link the Boko Haram menace to unemployment.
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