CHRISTIANS IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA HAVE IGNORED US IN THE NORTH. THEY ARE ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT THEMSELVES – Bishop Steve Mamza

Successive Nigerian governments seem to have lost a clue about redeeming the North Eastern zone from the stranglehold of the virulent Boko Haram insurgency. And there is a consensus that this present regime has told a thousand lies about the insurgency all over the north despite its gross inefficiency and lethargy in many areas of governance. Steve Dami Mamza, a Catholic Bishop and current chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Adamawa State once made a statement that President Mohammadu Buhari is sleeping on duty. In this interview with Dr. Bola Adewara, Bishop Steve Mamza maintains that the president is not only sleeping on duty but there is an agreement between Boko Haram and the Nigerian soldiers not to tamper with each other and that Boko Haram is defeatable in weeks if this government is serious. Excerpt from the interview …

… Christians in Southern Nigeria have ignored Christians in the North. They are only concerned about themselves
… There are countless ways to help us, but they are just not interested
… The persecution and insurgency have strengthened our faith. People are not discouraged at all.
… We want to hear our brothers in the South assuring that they are with us and that they share in our pains

Adamawa state has recently become a hot spot for the Boko Haram insurgency. How did it start?
I was in Maiduguri when it started. My house was not far from where Mohammadu Yusuf was living. We witnessed the activities of Boko Haram in Maiduguri and nobody expected it to escalate so badly. It is something I find so difficult to express because I believe it is not the same Boko Haram that started in Maiduguri that are still in control now. There are so many hands and interests in it, both inside and outside the country, including the government and politicians. A lot of people are involved, especially based on the serious ammunitions they are equipped with.

Do you think Nigeria can defeat Boko Haram?
Nigeria can defeat Boko Haram if the will is there; If the president and ministry are serious. Even the soldiers can tell you that if they are really serious, Boko Haram can be eradicated in weeks. The military is not even interested because they are gaining a lot from it in general. I don’t think Buhari is serious about dealing with the issue of Boko Haram. If he knows that it has gone beyond the power of the military, why can’t he ask for help from outside? If we can go to Liberia, Sierra Leone and other countries for peacekeeping, why can’t we do the same in our own country?

We spoke to the family of Lawan Andimi, CAN chairman in Michika who was killed by the Boko Haram sect and they confirmed the extreme case of insecurity in the Adamawa area. Is this the situation in the North-East?
In some states, particularly Borno, Boko Haram and the army live side by side — within gaps of fences and a few kilometres. They have an agreement: ‘Do not touch us and we won’t touch you’. Boko Haram has its own farmlands, the same as the army; they live beside each other and don’t interfere in each other’s business.

It is not something that is hidden; the military sees Boko Haram clearly and does not touch them because they are in agreement. There are some communities in Borno State that pay Boko Haram not to invade their settlements.

It is not a war of not knowing or seeing the enemy, Boko Haram are known to be living in the Sambisa forest and also settled in parts of Borno like Bama, Gwaza and other parts of the state, where they have total control. The government is only fooling Nigerians; they are not telling us the truth. Most of the local governments in Borno State are under the control of Boko Haram!

As the CAN chairman of Adamawa State, what are the effects of the Boko Haram insurgency on Christianity?
Well in Adamawa State, there is no single local government that is under Boko Haram. It is only Madagani Local government and that’s because of its closeness to the Sambisa forest. Boko Haram will come from the forest to attack, steal foodstuffs from the people and go back.

Adamawa State is safer than most states in North-West. The worst place to live in Nigeria is the North-Western states — Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and Niger State are very dangerous places to live in. I fear those places.

If you had an opportunity to speak with President Buhari over insecurity, what would you tell him?
I would tell him things people have been talking to him about, to which he turned deaf ears. For instance, the fact that the security chiefs are supposed to have been removed a long time ago. I would tell him that he has no human feelings.

Over 40 people were slaughtered and the president did not reach out to them. Nigerians are living and behaving like we have no president; he does not listen! I said it last year that the president is sleeping on duty. It went viral and I got a response from the Presidency.

Buhari is from the North-West, and the worst-hit state there is Katsina, of which he is an indigene. Now, every body there is demanding his resignation because, if he cannot protect his home, who and where else can he protect. We just don’t have a president in the country at the moment.

What would you tell the Christian leaders in the South?
I would tell them that they have ignored our pleas as Christian minorities in the North. The Southern Christians believe there are no Christians in the North; they are only concerned about Christians in the South. This is wrong thinking because most of them have never been to the North.

In my village, Biang, 99 per cent of the population is Christians. There is no single Muslim living there. Even in Baza and Michika local governments, more than 90 per cent are Christians, but we have never had any support from the Christians in the South ever since the insurgency and challenges began in 2015. They remain safe in their comfort zones and believe there are no Christians in the North.

Has there been any effort by the Northern Christians to reach out to their Southern brethren?
Several efforts were made in the past, even publicly. Moreover, are they not Nigerians? Are they not aware of what is happening in the country? Don’t they know what is happening in the North?

For instance, when some Muslim property was destroyed during the #EndSARS protests in Port Harcourt, Muslims from the North went there to see the damages done to their brothers and sisters. Why can’t the Christians in the South visit the North and see what has been happening — the burnt churches and destroyed property.

The Muslims in the South did not invite their Northern counterparts; they heard about it and came down themselves; they even met with the Southern governors. This is what we expected from the Southern Christian leaders.

What kind of support do you need from the Southern Christians?
First, we need moral support, because we are struggling. We want to hear Christian voices assuring that they are with us, and that they share in our pains. Second, we need help financially to rebuild our places of worship — seminaries, churches and other structures that have been destroyed. We have been doing everything on our own; struggling to rebuild our lives.

There are so many Christian widows and orphans…why can’t they give some of them scholarships? There are countless ways for them to help us, but they are just not interested.

Multi-billionaire general overseers abound in the South, but they have never helped us and have never been to the North. If they refused to visit at these critical times when we need their support, when will they ever come…till we are eliminated completely?

Tell us about yourself and calling to the ministry
I am from Michika Local Government in Adamawa State. My home village practices Christianity of mainly Catholic faith because the missionaries got there very early. I was baptised at a very young age and went through the minor and major seminaries, then ordained as a priest in 1996.

I travelled out to study in Ireland and was then appointed Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese in 2011. In 2017, I was elected Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman of Adamawa State and also returned as Chairman, unopposed, this year.

Are you happy with the current state of the Church in Nigeria?
The gospel of prosperity is what is being preached today and it is now extreme. They don’t talk about Jesus’ struggles and crucifixion. ‘All will be well’ is the only thing being said. A lot of pastors keep deceiving people. They know that things are not well, but keep on saying they are, despite the obvious deaths, starvation and state of insecurity in the country. It is high time preachers started preaching the true gospel to the people.

Is the persecution faced by Christians in the North successfully converting them to Muslims?
In fact, we are having more converted to Christianity than ever. The insurgency has really strengthened the faith here. People are not discouraged at all.

What is the position of the Muslims as regards the insurgent Boko Haram sect, especially those who claim the extremists are not Muslims?
Anybody that says Boko Haram are not Muslims is not realistic. In whose name do they act? Are they not acting in the name of Allah? You could call them bad Muslims, but it’s not true to say they are not Muslims.

At first, those Muslims who were not part of them did not condemn their actions, because they did not expect the insurgency to affect them. Some were even kind to them. If the Muslims had joined in the fight against Boko Haram at inception, they would have been defeated, but there were a lot of divisions and sympathy toward them.

In case help comes for the Church from external bodies, who can be contacted? Is there any organisation helping?
I have been supporting Christians here since the beginning of the insurgency. I am currently building houses for over 86 families and these were made possible through support from outside Nigeria.

There was a time I had over 3000 people in our camp. We have a structure and we have been doing this for quite a while. Everybody here knows what I have been and still doing for both Christians and Muslims here in Adamawa State. Anyone willing to support, they can reach out to me.

When will you leave Adamawa State for safety?
When everybody leaves; I will leave when I am the last person left in Adamawa State.