SAN FRANCISCO, October 21, (THEWILL) – The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Monday that it was preparing for the commencement of work by the National Conference Committee as it also inaugurated a six-member committee that will prepare a document to articulate its position..
Exppressing support for the conference, CAN said however that there should not be any no-go areas.
The members of the committee include Prof. Emele Uka (chairman); Mrs Kate Okparake, Apostle Etimbule Sunday, Elder John Achimugu, Chief Chukwuma Igwe and Elder Albert Uko (Secretary).
President of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, who inaugurating the committee in Abuja also threw his support for the confab.
Oritsejafor said there is no better time for the country to have a dialogue than now.
“Today for me and for CAN is historic and important because we are taking an important step in the right direction,” he said.
He flayed opponents of the proposed dialogue, wondering why any Nigerian would oppose an agenda that will address the serious challenges facing the country.
“Nigeria has come to a place; President Goodluck Jonathan has taken a bold step that will address all the issues about Nigeria. As CAN president, I want to congratulate the president for taking this step. We are prepared and set for it.
“So, we are setting up a special committee that will draft the presentation we will make an exciting time. It is a challenging time. No nation grows without challenges,” he said.
“Sometimes, I get troubled about the way some people reason. A man has taken a bold step. So many people have been calling for a national conference. Suddenly, people are saying the timing is wrong.
“I remember some people then said that the president should dialogue with Boko Haram. We said no, but he went ahead and negotiated with criminals. Where we are now is very critical.
“We need to sit down and talk. Let everyone bring the card to the table. The fact that we can talk, we would have achieved something.
This is an incredible opportunity for us to sit down and talk. The positive side outweighs the negative side.”
Oritsejafor also criticised those saying there should be no-go-areas during the dialogue saying “everything should be brought to the table.”
According to him, “To be honest with you, I don’t know what anybody means with no go area. A dialogue is a dialogue. I really don’t understand. If we are going to sit down to talk, then we should do that. We should be free to discuss.”
Oritsejafor also revealed the steps taken by CAN in resolving the four months old face-off between the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities.
He disclosed that CAN has reached out to both government and the leadership of ASUU to shift ground in the best interest of the students.
“About ASUU, I’ve tried not to make any comment about the strike. I think Nigerians should know that we are not silent. We’ve made several attempts. I’ve had several phone conversations with ASUU president. I made a proposal for us to meet, but I didn’t hear much from him.
“We’ve also approached the government and we told them the strike isn’t good for Nigeria. We told them something needed to be done to end this situation. We were promised that they were ready to shift ground. As I speak, we’ve not been able to meet ASUU.
“Let me say that I’m appealing as President of CAN to both government and ASUU to come back and sit down. We need to face this problem. In any situation where two parties cannot seem to agree, there must be movements from both sides. I heard government has moved the amount. For the sake of our children and this nation, they should find way to mend fences and find a way to come to an end.”
