Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani on Friday led Christian and Muslim clerics in a forceful call on the federal government to urgently strengthen its response to the country?s deepening insecurity, saying Nigerians have suffered enough killings, kidnappings, and anguish.

Speaking at a one-day peace summit in Abuja, Sani said he convened the gathering to amplify the voices of religious leaders who must now speak boldly as Nigeria approaches what he described as a dangerous breaking point.

He decried the persistence of violent attacks despite growing defence budgets and Nigeria?s long-standing record of helping restore peace in other African nations.

?Every year, defence gets the highest allocation, yet soldiers lack weapons and citizens are kidnapped like chickens,? he said.

?The entire budget of Niger Republic is smaller than that of one Nigerian ministry, yet they secure their country. We have Army hotels and event centres ? is this what defence has become??

Listing a series of tragedies ? from Chibok to Greenfield University, Kankara to Tegina ? Sani said it was shameful that a nation that once deployed thousands of troops in World War II could no longer safeguard its schoolchildren.

?The North was once a model of peace. Today, it is a theatre of war. Another school was attacked in Niger State just yesterday. How many more graves must we dig?? he asked.

He also criticised northern politicians who, he said, prioritise defending the President instead of protecting their constituents.

?If your Christian brother is not your enemy and your Imam Brother is not your enemy, then who is your enemy? Those in government who refuse to act,? he declared.

In his contribution, the Archbishop of Peniel International Gospel Centre, Bokkos, Dr James Malgit, delivered an emotional account of the devastation in parts of Plateau State, saying entire communities had been wiped out while government responses remained weak.

?Our women have become widows, our children orphans. We have mass graves everywhere,? he said.

?If the situation is beyond the government, then let the international community intervene.?

He noted that both Christians and Muslims were united in their suffering.

?You can no longer send your children to boarding school and sleep peacefully. We have cried enough,? he said.

Chief Imam of Kaduna Polytechnic, Malam Abubakar Sadiq, expressed similar anger, warning that the country was sitting on a moral and spiritual time bomb.

?Over 100 children were kidnapped in Aguara, Niger State, and there was another in Kebbi days earlier. This must stop,? he said.

Sadiq questioned why billions budgeted yearly for security fail to prevent attacks.

?Whenever kidnappers strike, checkpoints disappear before the attack and reappear afterwards with sirens. Where does the money go?? he asked.

He warned political leaders to remember the weight of accountability.

?A time will come when they will leave office and answer for what they did. The Qur?an promises a curse for those who shed innocent blood,? he said.

The cleric insisted that Nigeria?s diversity was not the cause of the crisis, saying:

?What is happening is political or ethnic, not religious. Christians and Muslims have lived peacefully for generations.?

Sani said the summit did not aim to produce a communiqu? but to ensure the voices of religious leaders were heard clearly by those in power.

?Nigeria is blessed with everything: land, rivers, minerals, and people. The solution is with us,? he said.

He vowed that the remarks at the gathering would be widely broadcast.

?After your contributions, the world and those in power will hear,? Sani said. (The Nation)

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