Polycarp Sola – Abakaliki
Chaplain Prince O. Kalu, the Chairman of the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Southeast zone, has charged youths across the country to rise up against insecurity in their communities and protect their territories.
Kalu, who gave the charge during a post-Easter carol organised by the southeast CAN in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, insisted that invaders must be pushed out of the various communities and the youths should own up to the responsibility.
This came amidst rising insecurity across the country, referencing the recent happenings in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, where people were killed unprovoked, as well as in Benue State, Edo, Anambra, and others.
He said the time has come that youths should rise up and defend themselves, and people that own territories and invaders should be pushed out of all communities to enhance their security.
“Everyone should be able to know new persons in their community; landlords should be able to identify new tenants; and community heads should be able to identify new persons that come into their community.
“The Ezes should be able to know who comes to their community; if we do that, we’ll have our community intact,” he said.
Kalu urged the youths to dedicate themselves and emulate the days when security was a priority in communities and set up volunteer structures to patrol the nooks and crannies to check the activities of the so-called invaders.
Earlier, he described the Easter celebration as the cradle of the Christian faith, which has made Christianity more distinct and different from every other religion, calling it a fellowship of believers who have faith in the Resurrection and Jesus Christ.
“This is unique, because all that have promulgated religions, we couldn’t find their tombs empty, but it’s only Jesus Christ that said, I will lay my life down and take it back, and the empty tomb is there signifying he is both God and spirit and human.
We, the Christians, are using this period to remind ourselves of the cradle of our faith.
Speaking about marginalisation of the southeast in terms of appointments into federal agencies and infrastructural development, Chaplain Chris called on the youths to have a reorientation and start to speak out on the decay to save the next generation.