South-South Christians shutdown Asaba in protest against indiscriminate killings by herdsmen

Business activities including vehicular movement in Asaba, the Delta State capital were on Thursday morning paralyzed following a protest by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) South-South.

The protesters, amid continuous killings in Benue, and other states by herdsmen, took to different streets around Inter-Bau to Nnebisi road and adjourning streets accompanied with armed policemen chanting emotional songs for God to intervene in the situation.

The protest led by the chairman of the South-South CAN, Archbishop God-Dowell Avwomakpa, saw other groups like Civil Society, Human rights angrily displaying their concern for the present precarious situation in the country.

Speaking to DAILY POST, Archbishop Avwomakpa said that churches have been praying for an improved economy that will provide jobs for the president who has the responsibility to deliver good governance to the people, but only to describe the youths as lazy when in actual fact, an enabling environment has not been created for the youths to thrive.

He said that leaders in Nigeria since independence have been the same people leading in almost sixty years after independence, adding; “The continuous killings of Christians might spell doom if urgent steps are not taken to curb the situation.”

Speaking further, Archbishop Avwomakpa said; “In order to create the impression that the Boko Haram protagonists are out to fight a religious war as was experienced during the Othman Dan Fodio Jihad, religious fundamentalists should stop the killing of Christians across the entire Nigeria land mass, both on their farmlands or churches, as well as release the ones in their custody”.

He noted that governments can ensure huge direct job creation if they re-direct the nation’s agriculture policy to include youths who are truly interested in Agriculture and not to people who barely need money to survive, and decried the situation where people in high offices use the names of their cronies as beneficiaries of the agricultural loan, only for such people to access the funds and abandon agricultural investment.