Edith CHUKU
The 39 students and seven teachers abducted by terrorists in Oyo State, Nigeria, are still in captivity, exactly one month after their kidnap.
Worried by this development, the General Overseer of the Power City International Church, Pastor Abel Damina, sent an emotional plea to the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Damina during a sermon on Sunday, narrated how his five years old child was abducted and his experience with the kidnappers.
He lamented that the families of the abducted Oyo children and teachers were bleeding, even as he urged Tinubu to rescue them without ransom.
Damina reminded the president of his declaration that Nigerians should not vote him if he fails to give electricity in his first tenure.
He also warned against politicizing the Oyo kidnap case, urging Tinubu to defend the integrity of the nation.
His words: “I don’t know if they say it’s true that the terrorists are making demands on Nigeria, that Nigeria government would have to, I think they said four conditions; To implement Sharia law, even the name doesn’t sound like something that Nigeria is looking for, that’s an affront, that means the Boko Haram ideology is gradually inching into the federal integrity of this nation. And it’s not time to fold hands, it’s time to be proactive.
“The president has work, he has work and I do not pity him because he ran for the office and he ran very fast. It’s my turn and it is his turn indeed.
“Sir, it’s your turn, it’s your turn Sir, it’s your turn, go after the terrorists, stop the terrorism. It’s your turn, secure this country.
“Sir, it’s your turn, bring those children back from captivity without paying ransom. It’s your turn, give us electricity because you told us that if you don’t give us electricity we should not vote you again. It’s your turn, glory to God. Is it not his turn? It’s your turn Sir, it’s your turn, may God help you.
“It’s not easy to say it’s your turn in times like this but it’s your turn.
“I feel for parents whose children have been kidnapped because my daughter was kidnapped at the age of five and I know the ordeal, so, I am not speaking as an outsider, I am speaking as one who has had an experience with kidnap. Not just one child and not even adult children, little babies. It’s your turn Sir, bring back those children, it’s important, not the type of bring back our girls, that was a political activity, this is serious. Families are bleeding, relatives are bleeding, homes are bleeding, our hearts are bleeding.
“When you imagine, you can’t even tell what those children are going through.
“A country that used to send ECOMOG to go and rescue nations. A country that used to send ECOMOG soldiers to go to other countries and fight and help them, no, Sir, it’s your turn, you have to do something, do something about it.
“It’s your turn, that it’s your turn, it is now time to show it’s your turn.”
