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Tag: CCN

  • Criminalise violence against children – CCN

    The Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) has called for criminalisation on perpetrators of Violence Against Children (VAC) in the country.

    Its President, The Most Rev Benebo Fubara-Manuel, made the call in Lagos during the second phase of the CCN-United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) collaboration on ending violence against children.

    Fubara-Manuel said the campaign was to fight against every form of marginalisation of children and destruction of their future.

    “We call attention to, and name as evil every form of physical sexual, psychological, emotional and structural VAC. We reject and condemn child neglect, child exploitation, child abuse, child trafficking and all other forms of violence against children,” he stressed.

    He lamented everyone as parents, family members, religious people, traditional and political leaders, we have all allowed VAC to happen too often at this time.

    He called for re-examination of the existing policies of all the bodies and of the nation with the view to discerning weather or not these policies perpetuate VAC.

    He called for the amendment of every structure that destroys children, including environmental pollution, bastardisation of education,  and inadequate provision for children especially the poor and vulnerable.

    He urged religious leaders, men, women and youths in town hall meetings as well as special conferences to look only for leaders who have a clear plan for children and those who would do everything to protect them.

    National Coordinator, UNICEF/CCN End VAC project, Uzoaku Williams, stressed the need for churches and stakeholders to rise up against all forms of violence against children, be it domestic, physical or emotional.

    She said perpetrators of violence must be brought to book.

    “When we have people who have committed this crime and nothing is done to them, we will see it happening over and over again.

    “The role of government is to see that those involved in the act must face the law. The police and all security agencies must not cover up such matters.

    “The perpetrators must not be let go, because they will commit the act again and we will have more victims every day and everywhere.”

    She urged Nigerians to always speak out against violence.

    “Our problem in Nigeria is that when we see violence, we do not speak out for fear of intimidation, attacks or the likes.

    “When we see violence being perpetrated on any child; be it your biological child or not, we owe it a responsibility to speak out,” she stated.

    She added children should listen to their parents as they have their best interest at heart.

    Lagos State Coordinator, End Violence Against Children, a campaign in collaboration between CCN and UNICEF, Oluwasegun Oladosu, said the campaign was to awaken people and let them know the reality of violence in the society.

    “Our aim is to let Nigerians be aware and break the culture of violence which encourages the perpetrator to continue.

    “When perpetrators are brought to justice, they will refrain and stop the havoc on our children in the society.

    “Nigerians should not allow themselves to be victimized or threatened over violence; perpetrators should be brought to brook and justice should prevail,” he said.

  • Group urges govt to remove religion, state from bio-data

    Institute of Church and Society (ICS), the research and study centre of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), Samonda, Ibadan has called on government at all levels to remove religion and state of origin as items from every form of documentation the citizens are engaged in.

    Noting that the move would enhance national cohesion, growth and development, the ICS said it is imperative for the government to heed the call in view of the emphasis being laid on the two identification means in the interaction among the citizens of Nigeria both at the formal and informal levels and at the detriment of the country’s unity, harmony and peaceful coexistence.

    The Institute made the call as part of the recommendations made at the end of a three-day workshop organized for religious stakeholders in the Southwest geopolitical zone of the country.

    With the theme, “Understanding Freedom of Religion or Belief in Nigeria Context”, the workshop, which was attended by Christians, Muslims and traditional religion worshippers from across the zone also had in attendance the Secretary-General of the CCN and President, Women’s wing of the body, Rev. Dr. Yusuf Wushishi and Dr. Mrs. Uzoaku William respectively.

    The religious stakeholders were of the view that the insertion of both state of origin and religion in virtually every document the Nigerian citizens fill has done more harm than good for the country because of the way and manner Nigerians now relate with one another, emphasizing the two attributes which divide the people the more.

    Read Also: Father, son arraigned over alleged assault of neighbour

    While stressing the need to fully understand what Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) means, it was noted that “there’s no portion of the constitution which hinders anybody from practicing whatever religion he/she likes, but, out of ignorance, a lot of people don’t want to see anything good in others’ religion, which should not be so.

    “The constitution even guarantees citizens’ right of worship in any manner or mode, but, lack of knowledge among practitioners leads to discrimination against one another’s religion and even persecution. The time has come for us to redefine ourselves and work towards building a nation devoid of religious acrimony”, the stakeholders added.

    Asking Nigerians to be more conscious of the the imperative of FoRB, it was disclosed that research by the Institute for Economic and Peace “found that countries with greater religious freedom are generally more prosperous than countries with less religious freedom”.

    While welcoming participants to the workshop, the Director of ICS, Reverend Kolade Fadahunsi lamented that “religion has nearly become a curse on Nigeria rather than blessing, yet, as religious people or people of faith, we must work in tandem with our constitutional provisions to rescue our failing society by holistically looked into our approach and find a lasting solution to our religious problems, hence, the adoption of the need to embrace FoRB”.

    He emphasized the fact that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief commonly referred to as Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a fundamental and universal human right articulated in Article of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other international human Rights treaties.

    The clergyman explained that the right “is universal in that it protects all individuals, including those who hold theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs as well as those who choose not to have any religion or belief”, adding, “the right protects the individual and not the belief.

    “It includes the right to form and hold opinions based on conscience, including beliefs that may be deemed objectionable or even offensive to and by others. It protects the right to espouse a religion or belief of one’s choice, the right not to espouse a religion or belief and the right to reject or change a religion or belief, free from coercion”, Rev. Fadahunsi further explained.

  • CCN campaigns for corruption-free Nigeria

    The Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) and the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in West Africa (FECCIWA) have called on Nigerians, especially the ruling class, to shun corruption.

    The President of CCN, Most Rev. Emmanuel Udofia, made this call at the International Anti-Corruption day to mark the 2013 Churches Week of Action on Zero-Tolerance towards corrupt practices.

    Udofia lamented that corruption has assumed an alarming proportion, saying that concerted efforts must be made to combat the menace.

    He pointed out that the educational sector considered as the pivot of the socio-economic development of the society is gradually being destroyed by corruption.

    Udofia said: “This campaign against corruption targets educational institutions because of the strategic roles they play in the socio-economic development of the country.

    “Therefore, we seek to educate all stakeholders in the sector, particularly pupils, students, teachers, administrators and parents on the dangers of entrenched corruption and the need to come together to combat it.”

    He explained that it is imperative to raise awareness in schools and churches in the council on the negative impact of corruption through organisation of corruption-free clubs aimed at bringing together student activists in the crusade.

    Udofia said church leaders too must play active roles in the fight, stating that their lives should be worthy of emulation.

    He said churches need to appeal to the moral sense of members on the need to shun corruption and preach against ill-gotten riches.

    The General Secretary of FECCIWA, Rev Dr. Tolbert Jallah, said the campaign’s intention is to create stability and trust in Nigeria through total eradication of all forms of corrupt practices in educational institutions and the society at large.

    He also added that the council will monitor government’s compliance with anti-corruption conventions by engaging church leaders and the Christian community to take concrete actions.

    The General Secretary of CCN, Rev Dr. Yusuf Wushishi, explained the campaign on zero-tolerance towards corrupt practices targets schools because of their importance in the development of youths.

  • Nigerian Risk Awards to test insurers, bankers, others

    The measurement index targeted to test Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) adoption and practice among firms has become more critical, since industry regulators, particularly banks and insurance received tightened regulations on risk management, the Chief Executive Officer, Conrad Clark Nigeria (CCN), Joachim Adebayo Adenusi, has said.

    Adenusi explained that based on this, organisations making huge investments in ERM on her people and infrastructure, will soon be celebrated at the Conrad Clark/BusinessDay rating coming up this year.

    He said the Nigerian Risk Awards, will celebrate those very special organisations and individuals that are pioneering best practice of ERM in Nigeria across a variety of industry sectors, adding that nominations for this year’s awards have opened on-line.

    He said: “Over the recent years, Nigerian firms have gone the extra mile in the management of risks, and many of them have employed innovative and practical strategies to embed risk management to drive cultural change and influence decision making.

    He said the successful Risk Manager of the Year would have an all-expense paid trip to attend one of the international yearly risk management conferences, 2014, in the UK, or US, adding that the submissions for the Nigeria Risk Awards will be independently assessed and judged by a panel of distinguished individuals, drawn from within and outside the country, many of whom are international leaders in the field of risk, corporate governance and leadership.

    He listed them to include, Dr. David Hillson (UK), regarded globally as The Risk Doctor, Ahmed Babatunde Popoola (Nigeria), Managing Director/CEO of CRC Credit Bureau Limited, Prof Peter Young (United States), Principal Adviser to (and co-creator of) the University of St Thomas’s University Actuarial Science programme, among others.

    The awards will be presented in the following categories: Risk Manager of year (for the best CRO/Head of Risk across sectors), Banking and Financial Services, Insurance and Pension Services, Telecoms and Media Services, Manufacturing and Industry and Oil and Gas Services.