Northern CAN backs Oritsejafor; asks Christians to defend selves

Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, yesterday said it was in support of the National President of the association, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor,  urging Christians in the country to defend themselves against provocations by religious fanatics in the north.
Northern CAN said  Oritsejafor’s advice to Christians on self defence was twisted to mean that he was encouraging them to revenge the spate of bombings and killings against them in some parts of the North, saying it was not what he meant.

New General Secretary of association, Prof. Daniel Babayi, who clarified this position while taking over from Elder Saidu Dogo  said: “Oritsejafor never said that Christians should carry weapons and go and attack anybody. He did not even say that Christians should retaliate. He said we should defend ourselves”.
Babayi, who lamented  problems faced by Christians in the North, said, they had been going through oppression, subjugation and attacks.

According to him, “it is even worse now. The Kingdom of Satan has declared war on us. It was the same with Jesus. He was ridiculed, spat at, insulted and beaten up. They did not stop there. They killed him. We cannot be immuned from these experiences. But the day they killed Jesus, that was the day the kingdom of Satan suffered defeat. He rose from death and declared victory. There is no doubt that we shall win. We must be strong and prayerful.
“Northern CAN will continue to insist on good governance and the rule of law.  We are going to speak against injustice and corruption. But most of all, we shall harp on the need for our members to receive genuine salvation.”

Commenting on the CAN Preside the backing of the Bible as well as the 1999 Constitution. “The authority for that is in Romans Chapter 13 verses 1 to 3 which says, ‘’we must respect constituted authority.’’
We are making use of the constitution given to us by the nation, called Nigeria.
It says, everybody has a right to defend himself or herself; his or her property This is what the CAN Prsident said. But sometimes people want to manipulate things to suit their themselves and their causes. They are saying that he has been telling us to go and revenge; go and attack. No! What he has said is exactly what the Bible tells us to go and do.’’
Babayi, a professor of Theology who was the immediate past CAN Chairman in Adamawa State, however, praised the founders of CAN which started as northern Christian forum in Jos, Plateau State,  64 years ago in 1948.

According to him, the forum was rived in 1964 and then formally registered as the Christian Association of Northern Nigeria, CANN, in 1974, before the formation of the umbrella CAN in 1975.
The outgoing General Secretary, Elder Dogo, had earlier called on all members to extend the same cooperation the past executive had received to the new helmsmen.