BOKO HARAM: JONATHAN CALLS FOR MORE PRAYERS •PLEDGES PARTNERSHIP WITH CHURCH FOR EDUCATION REVIVAL

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Sunday, called for more prayers as the nation struggles to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, assuring that with the combination of prayers and the measures put in place, the security challenges would soon be a thing of the past.

He spoke during the opening session of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) meeting at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Abuja.

The president told the bishops that they must not relent in their efforts as their prayers had kept the country together.

“We need more prayers to end terrorism. With prayers and the measures put in place, we will surmount the challenges,” he said.

Jonathan said his administration was ready to enter into a partnership with the church to improve the standards of education in the country.

He noted the role played by the Catholic Church and other Christian groups in the evolution and continued growth of western education in the country, which dates back to colonial days.   

While admitting that the government take over of mission schools had affected the moral growth of the education sector, he pledged  to work with the church to bring back the glory days.

He, however, commended state governments that are collaborating with churches to revitalise education in their states for their efforts.  

He said: “I commend the state governments which are partnering with churches to improve the quality of schools as mentioned by the bishop. I also urge other state governments to do so in their states.

“On our part, we are committed to the necessary dialogue with the church and other stakeholders that will move education forward. We have devoted more resources to the sector. We have increased school enrolment and improved infrastructure. We are doing our best to resolve industrial crises which are mostly due to inherited problems that are not caused by our administration.”

In his welcome address, President of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, advocated the revival of the partnership between government and voluntary agencies especially the church for the improvement of education in the country.

Speaking on the theme, “Investing effectively in education in nigeria is imperative,” he observed that such partnership worked well in the past until when it was taken away in the 1970s.

He appealed to the government to return missions schools that were taken over and provide reasonable funding to enable them to educate the children as a matter of justice rather than favour.