Victor Davis Hanson

There have been wild reports that the United States is considering a "bloody nose" preemptive attack of some sort on North Korea's nuclear arsenal. Such rumors are unlikely to prove true.

Preemptive attacks usually are based on the idea that things will so worsen that hitting first is the only chance to decapitate a regime before it can do greater damage.

But in the struggle between Pyongyang and Washington, who really has gotten the upper hand?

With its false happy face in the current Winter Olympics, North Korea thinks it is winning the war of nerves. Yet its new nuclear missile strategy is pretty transparent. It wants to separate South Korea's strategic interests from those of the United States, with boasts -- backed by occasional missile nuclear tests -- that it can take out West Coast cities.

Pyongyang could then warn its new frenemy, Seoul, that the United States would never risk its own homeland to keep protecting South Korea. Thus, it would supposedly be wiser for Koreans themselves, in the spirit of Olympic brotherhood, to settle their own differences. A failed but nuclear North Korea ultimately would dictate the terms of the relationship to a successful but non-nuclear South Korea.

North Korea might even insincerely offer to dismantle some of its nuclear assets, if the United States would just pull out its forces from the demilitarized zone at the 38th parallel. This strategy would also send the message to the United States that it should have little interest risking a nuclear exchange over a distant and largely internal Korean matter.

The playbook is that of the old Soviet Union during the Cold War, when it habitually tried to separate Europe from the United States. Moscow warned neighboring Europeans that America would never risk its cities to keep the Red Army out of Germany. At the same time, it advised the United States simply to let Europe go and not risk its homeland for such ankle-biting ingrates.

Meanwhile, North Korea's patron, China, also thinks time is on the communist side. Beijing still believes that if Pyongyang can tone down the rhetoric a bit and cut back on the missile testing, things can return to the nuclear status quo of the last decade, which serves China's interest.

North Korea can continue to be a passive-aggressive Chinese pit bull that diverts American time, attention and military assets. China can still offer plausible deniability that it has any control over the rogue North Korean government.

Time, however, may actually be on the American side. The situation in 2018 will certainly be better than it was in 2016. Under the prior policy of "strategic patience," Washington apparently accepted having North Korean missiles pointed at the West Coast. But things are changing in several ways.

First, Japan, South Korea and the United States are rushing to expand several missile-defense systems that may soon not just end North Korea's first-strike capability, but China's as well.

Second, there is serious talk in Japan about developing nuclear weapons. Obviously, Japanese missiles would be pointed at North Korea and China, not the United States. The world has assumed over the last 20 years that unstable regimes such as North Korea, Iran and Pakistan would go nuclear and threaten Western democracies. The next round of proliferation is more likely to be among Western democracies themselves. A nuclear Japan (or South Korea or Taiwan) would not be in China's interest.

Third, there is evidence that tough new sanctions are eroding an already anemic North Korea. The U.S. economy is booming; North Korea's is collapsing. China already is preparing for a flood of refugees across the Chinese-North Korean border.

Fourth, the United States has an array of ways to ratchet up pressure on China to force North Korea to denuclearize -- ranging from tougher trade sanctions to denying visas to thousands of Chinese students and property holders.

Fifth, Donald Trump's approval ratings are up somewhat. And with an improving economy, the Trump administration is gaining clout at home and abroad. On foreign matters, Trump is letting subordinates such as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley and CIA Director Mike Pompeo do the talking. And they are lining up the world against North Korea.

It would be a mistake at this time to stage a preemptive attack on North Korea. Bombing the North Koreans would trigger a wider war and disrupt the world economy. But most importantly, it would be an act of desperation, not an act of confidence.

In the current nuclear standoff, the United States is insidiously gaining the upper hand while North Korea becomes even poorer and more isolated. The world may not recognize it, but the U.S. is slowly winning.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/02/15/whos_really_winning_the_north_korea_standoff_136279.html

Let’s continue to uphold the standoff with North Korea in our prayers that the Kim Jong Un regime will fold under pressure and be willing to denuclearize and enter the community of nations. May the governments of South Korea, Japan and the USA have God’s wisdom to act in concert to bring about this result!

Malaysia at the southern tip of the Asian land mass is a colorful and endearing country of SE Asia. It is now at a tipping point in its history as a multi-ethnic democratic experiment, now going into its crucial national elections anytime between now and June 23^rd.

1. Please pray for a free and fair election with honest results and that serious governmental corruption will be overthrown as a result.

2. Pray for the honest resolution of the unresolved case of the abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh and his release from captivity if he is still alive. February will be the 1st anniversary of his abduction. There are concerns about a possible cover-up by the police and authorities that were supposed to investigate the case. Three other Christian leaders and social activists were also kidnapped a couple months earlier and are also still missing.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Koh
   For a more in-depth article, click this recent update marking the anniversary on 13^th February:   http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/malaysia-under-najib-no-longer-safe-for-christians-pastor-koh-betrayed-abandoned-amid-rising-tide-of-anti-christian-sentiment/

3. The freedom of the Christians to use the word “Allah” for God (Jill Ireland 'Allah' court case decision on 23 March, 2018)
   https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2017/10/jill-ireland-back-court-malaysia-considers-christians-right-call-god-allah/
   

4. 4. Favor for the Gospel and Christians within the majority Muslim population due to increasing 'anti-Christian' sentiments among Muslims
   https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/01/321899/other-countries-encouraged-emulate-malaysias-way-combating-terrorism (Christians are equated with ISIS)
   https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/5196/ (Call to outlaw evangelicalism)

5. 5. Pray that Malaysians of all the diverse ethnic groups will get to hear His Good News and that His messengers in that land will be bold and fearless in making Jesus Christ known to all.

“Denis* was just six years old when his house in Ukraine was hit by a shell, leaving him with shrapnel wounds to his skull and body. Doctors were unable to remove all the shrapnel over fears it could cause nerve damage and leave him without movement in his arm, so the remaining fragments remain under his skin. 

He is one of at least 357 million children who are now living in areas around the world impacted by armed conflict, a report by the Save the Children charity has revealed. 

Since 1991, the number has increased by 75 per cent, with one in six children globally now considered to be living in areas where they are vulnerable to grave violations of their human rights. 

Such violations include killing and maiming, sexual violence, the recruitment and use of children, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian assistance…

The number of United Nations-verified cases of children being killed or maimed has increased by almost 300 per cent since 2010, while incidents of the denial of humanitarian access have increased by more than 1,500 per cent, the "War on Children" report said.

The rise has been fueled by a growing lack of respect for the rules of war and indiscriminate violence in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan.

The report found children have increasingly been used as suicide bombers, while schools and hospitals have been deliberately targeted and children maimed and killed as a result of the widespread use of indiscriminate weapons, such as cluster munitions, barrel bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). 

Two in five children in the Middle East live in a conflict zone, the highest rate globally, while one in five children is affected by conflict in Africa. Asia has the highest overall number of children affected by conflict.

Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia were the most dangerous conflict-afflicted areas in the world to be a child in 2016, the last year for which comprehensive data is available. 

Keven Waters, CEO of Save the Children, said: “The marked increase in the number of children living in conflict-affected areas, combined with the worsening violations against those children by warring parties, should worry all of us.

“We face a stark choice. Do we stand by while more children die in school attacks or in their hospital beds - or are denied life-saving aid - or will we tackle the culture of impunity and end this ‘war on children’?”

Samuel Osborne, Helen Hoddinott, Thursday 15 February 2018, Independent.co.uk

Please pray for the United Nations and governments of the world community to work together to end the multiple wars that are destroying the lives of so many children and their families right now. Agree in faith that Satan, the murderer and destroyer, will be bound and that Christ’s peace will come in and rule these conflicted situations. Here are some of them in the news right now:

1) Syria

The United Nations has called for an extension of Russia's daily five-hour pause in military activity in the besieged eastern Ghouta area while the European Union has urged Russia, Iran, and Turkey to fully implement a UN order for a cease-fire.

"Five hours is better than no hours but we would like to see any cessation of hostilities be extended," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on February 26.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on February 26 that President Vladimir Putin ordered a "humanitarian pause" from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, Russian news agencies reported.

A humanitarian corridor will be opened in Ghouta to allow civilians to leave, Shoigu also said.

Yury Yevtushenko, a Russian official based in Syria, said on February 26 that Syrian government troops would not carry out any air strikes during the daily five-hour-long pause.

The announcement comes after the UN Security Council on February 24 passed a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire "without delay" to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations in Syria's conflict areas.

The move followed a week of intense bombardment by Syrian government forces in the besieged area near Damascus that killed more than 540 people, according to activists.”

Russia has ordered a daily pause in fighting on the rebel-held enclave of eastern Ghouta to start from tomorrow after a UN-ordered ceasefire failed to hold.

Vladimir Putin's demand to his ally Bashar Assad offers hope for residents inside the contested zone to escape - and for humanitarian aid to come in.

Children were among those killed and injured a fresh wave of what are said to be chemical attacks on the area today.

A UN Security Council resolution passed at the weekend which called for a 30-day cease-fire across Syria failed to stop the carnage in the eastern Ghouta region.

Nearly 90 have been killed since the vote was taken since Saturday.

The priority now is to get urgent humanitarian relief to those in eastern Ghouta.

That is more likely to be possible, thanks to Russia's demand for a five-hour pause in military operations in the area each day.

Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Putin has ordered daily "humanitarian pauses" between 9am and 2pm, starting from Tuesday.

But in a war where ceasefire deals have failed many times before, those inside eastern Ghouta are still watching and hoping to see if it holds.

Radio Free Europe and  ITV News

2) Yemen

“A proxy war between Iran-aligned Houthis and the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which is backed by a Saudi-led alliance, has killed more than 10,000 people since 2015, displaced more than 2 million and destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, including the health system…

Yemen relies heavily on food imports and is on the brink of famine. The United Nations says more than 22 million of Yemen’s 25 million population need humanitarian assistance, including 11.3 million who are in acute need. 

Salama said the country had also had an outbreak of diphtheria, a vaccine-preventable disease that usually affects children and which has largely been eliminated in developed countries. 

Both cholera and diphtheria outbreaks are a product of the damage to the health system in the country, he said, adding that less than half of Yemen’s health facilities are fully functioning. 

“We’re very concerned we’re going to go from a failing health system to a failed one that’s going to spawn more infectious diseases and more suffering,” Salama said.”

Sarah Dadouch; Editing by Alison Williams for Reuters.com

3) South Sudan

“South Sudan is close to another famine, aid officials said on Monday, after more than four years of civil war and failed ceasefires in the world’s youngest nation. 

Almost two-thirds of the population will need food aid this year to stave off starvation and malnutrition as aid groups prepare for the “toughest year on record”, members of a working group including South Sudanese and U.N. officials said. 

“The situation is extremely fragile, and we are close to seeing another famine. The projections are stark. If we ignore them, we’ll be faced with a growing tragedy,” said Serge Tissot, from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in South Sudan. 

A total of 5.3 million people, 48 percent of the population, are already in “crisis” or “emergency” - stages three and four on a five point scale, according to a survey published by the working group. 

The oil-rich east African nation has been torn apart by an ethnically charged civil war since late 2013, when troops loyal to President SalvaKiir and then-Vice President Riek Machar clashed. 

Since then, more than 4 million people have been forced to flee their homes, creating Africa’s larges refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide…”

Tom Miles; Editing by Peter Graff and Andrew Heavens for Reuters.com

Please hold up these tragic and horrible conflicts before the Lord, asking that He bring about peace negotiations, effective humanitarian relief, and willingness by the combatants to declare ceasefires that hold, bring about reconciliation and become lasting peace agreements. Only God in His mercy can bring about a real solution as His people pray, both within these affected nations and around the world.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields^[d] with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalms 46:9-10)

King Abdullah clearly announced that he believes in a recent media interview.

https://youtu.be/NMMvswyDIpI (TRUNEWS Christian News media in Miami )

Let’s pray for other political leaders of Middle Eastern and other nations to come to faith and speak out boldly, giving their citizens the freedom to also confess and practice their faith!

In one of his many interviews, Billy Graham said that as a busy international evangelist, if he had his life to live again, he would devote more time to prayer and study of God’s Word.

Let’s pray that we may follow his example and that the rich legacy of this world-famous yet humble, loving and wise man of God will continue to impact our world not only during this coming week during his funeral but also in the future.

Here is a brief tribute and some timeless quotes from Dr. Graham:

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Rev. Billy Graham passed away at the age of 99 on February 21, 2018.

Billy Graham preached the message of Christ’s freedom and forgiveness around the world, reaching over 200 million people in more than 185 countries. He led hundreds of thousands of people to pray to receive Jesus Christ into their lives as Lord and Savior. His integrity and wisdom opened doors to offer spiritual support and guidance for United States presidents from Eisenhower to Bush. He was a friend to celebrities, politicians, athletes, and leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Bono, Muhammad Ali, Johnny Cash, Larry King, and WWII hero and Olympian Louis Zamperini. 

Billy Graham was named by Americans as "One of the Ten Most Admired Men in the World,” a record-breaking 59 times with the Gallup poll. He was known through the years as not only a world-renowned evangelist, but as a kind, non-judgmental, accepting, and humorous soul. 

His message is timeless, powerful, and relevant for today. The phrase, “the Bible says,” resounds throughout his sermons, and the truth he preached for years still transcends all barriers of denominational differences, age, nationality, and culture. It has stood the test of time and generations, pointing millions to Christ.

The Reverend Billy Graham preached God’s Word with conviction and passion for over 60 years. Here are just a few of his words of wisdom.

On Heaven:

“My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world.”

 “Heaven is full of answers for which nobody ever bothered to ask.”

“God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.”

“The moment we take our last breath on earth, we take our first in heaven.”

On Jesus:

“God proved his love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’”

“Christ not only died for all: he died for each.”

“We say to our children, 'Act like grown-ups,' but Jesus said to the grown-ups, 'Be like children.'

"The only hope for enduring peace is Jesus Christ."

“Without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless.”

“The cross shows us the seriousness of our sin—but it also shows us the immeasurable love of God.”

On God's Will and Purpose for Us:

“The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”

“God never takes away something from your life without replacing it with something better.”

“Take one day at a time. Today, after all, is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”

"God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with."

On How to Live with Eyes Fixed on Eternity:

“I've read the last page of the Bible, it's all going to turn out all right.”

“There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men.”

“If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.”

“The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course.”

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”

“Knowing we will be with Christ forever far outweighs our burdens today! Keep your eyes on eternity!”

“World events are moving very rapidly now. I pick up the Bible in one hand, and I pick up the newspaper in the other. And I read almost the same words in the newspaper as I read in the Bible. It’s being fulfilled every day round about us.”

On Loving God and Loving Others Well:

“It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love.”

“A real Christian is the one who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip.”

“Sin is the second most powerful force in the universe, for it sent Jesus to the cross. Only one force is greater—the love of God.”

“The framers of our Constitution meant we were to have freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.”

“They asked her (Ruth Graham) did she ever think about divorce and she said, ‘No, I’ve never thought of divorce in all these 35 years of marriage, but,’ she said, ‘I did think of murder a few times.’”

“Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone – except God.”

On Evangelism:

“We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds the world is needing; we are the sermons the world is heeding.”

“I have never known anyone to accept Christ’s redemption and later regret it.”

“Tears shed for self are tears of weakness, but tears shed for others are a sign of strength.”

“Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”

"The message I preach hasn't changed. Circumstances have changed. Problems have changed, but deep inside man has not changed, and the gospel hasn't changed."

On Suffering:

“Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has.”

"Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys."

“When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God."

“Someone asked me recently if I didn’t think God was unfair, allowing me to have Parkinson’s and other medical problems when I have tried to serve him faithfully. I replied that I did not see it that way at all. Suffering is part of the human condition, and it comes to us all. The key is how we react to it, either turning away from God in anger and bitterness or growing closer to him in trust and confidence.”

“Believers, look up – take courage. The angels are nearer than you think.”

“Quit beating yourself up. We all live under grace and do the best we can.”

From Billy Graham's 9/11 Message at the Washington National Cathedral:

I’ve become an old man now. And I’ve preached all over the world. And the older I get, the more I cling to that hope that I started with many years ago, and proclaimed it in many languages to many parts of the world.” 

That hope he speaks of so passionately, is the powerful message of Christ and the cross.

“The cross tells us that God understands our sin and our suffering, for he took them upon himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. From the cross God declares, 'I love you. I know the heartaches and the sorrows and the pain that you feel. But I love you.'

The story does not end with the cross, for Easter points us beyond the tragedy of the cross to the empty tomb. It tells us that there is hope for eternal life, for Christ has conquered evil and death and hell. Yes, there is hope.”

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Just as I am.

All is grace.

(From “Forty Powerful Quotes of Billy Graham” by Debbie McDaniel
Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer)

References:

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Watch a Live Stream of Billy Graham's preaching from the Billy Graham Evangelical Association:https://memorial.billygraham.org/live-stream/

This is a magnificent reminder of whom we are praying to, the Awesome God, presented in all His names. This beautiful recounting of His diverse names in Scripture will uplift and encourage you to meditate on and pray to the Lord of Eternity.

https://youtu.be/NscHCa395-M

Prayer can often be the missing link in our efforts on behalf of the unevangelized world. As important as good organization, planning, and strategy are in world evangelization, in our busyness for God we may have neglected to link up with His power and direction to carry out that particular part of His mission given to us. And that is a crucial omission!

While doing some research at the Fuller Seminary library, I was startled to discover amidst their sizeable holdings on missions to discover no book specifically on the subject of prayer and missions. True, there were passing references to prayer in volumes on the history of missions and the theology of missions. But the great bulk of books dealt with issues of mission strategy, organization and planning. Could this unwitting omission at one of the great schools of missiology be reflective of a more general neglect of a critical factor in the accomplishment of world evangelization?

In musing over the failure of his generation to evangelize the world by 1900, A.T. Pierson attributed this failure not only to a lack on consecration in the church evidenced by a lack of giving, faith, personal holiness, but most of all to the lack of prevailing prayer. He wrote:

"Every time the church has set herself to praying there have been stupendous movements in the mission world. If we should but transfer the stress of our dependence and emphasis from appeals to men to appeals to God-from trust in organization to trust in supplication-from confidence in methods to importunate prayer for the power of the Holy Spirit, we should see results more astounding than have yet been wrought."

"There is...too little simple looking unto that real source of success, the power of God in answer to prayer, first to open doors of access, then to raise up and thrust forth laborers and then to break down all opposition and make the truth mighty in converting, subduing, saving and sanctifying."

Participants at the Northfield Convention of 1885 expressed the same sentiment:

"But above all else our immediate and imperative need is a new spirit of earnest and prevailing prayer. The first Pentecost crowned ten days of united, continued supplication. Every subsequent advance maybe directly traced to believing prayer and upon this must depend a new Pentecost. We therefore earnestly appeal to all fellow disciples to join us and each other in importunate daily supplication for a new and mighty effusion of the Holy Spirit upon all ministers, missionaries, evangelists, pastors, teachers and Christian workers and upon the whole earth; that God would impart to all Christ's witnesses the tongues of fire and melt hard hearts before the burning message. It is not by might not by power but by the Spirit of the Lord that all true success must be secured. Let us call upon God till He answereth by fire!"

Twenty-five years later the year 1900 had come and gone. At the conclusion of the great Edinburgh Conference on Mission in 1910, Jonathan Goforth expressed his disillusionment with the missions movement for generally failing to follow through in making prayer an ongoing priority in world evangelization:

"Listening to the addresses that day one could not but conclude that the giving of the Gospel to lost mankind was largely a matter of better organization, better equipment, more men and women. Symptoms indeed were not lacking that a few more sparks might have precipitated an explosion. But no, the dethronement of the idol of ecclesiastical self-efficiency was apparently too great a price to pay....We still refuse to face the unchangeable truth that 'it is not by might nor by power, but BY MY SPIRIT.'"

Perhaps the Edinburgh Conference Report also betrays a recognition that prayer had not been given its due in the years before and after 1900: "When the church sets itself to pray with the same seriousness and strength of purpose that it has devoted to other forms of Christian effort, it will see the Kingdom of God come with power."

Whether or not prayer became a missing link in the world missions effort before and after 1900 is a question for further research. Nevertheless, we face the same danger today of falling into the trap of thinking that if we were just better organized, just better coordinated, just better deployed with our people and resources, we would be able to accomplish world evangelization. Pierson and Goforth were right. They realized that world evangelization above all is an issue to be decided by spiritual power, the power of the Holy Spirit released in response to the prayers of His people.

Arthur Matthews, the late former missionary of the China Inland Mission, put his finger on the reason that we often do not emphasize prayer enough: "The concept that treats prayer as if it were a supplemental booster in getting some project off the ground makes the project primary and the prayer secondary. Prayer was never meant to be incidental to the work of God. It is the work." Could we and other mission strategists be guilty of treating prayer as if it were a nice add-on to the other "strategic" things we are up to? Could it be that we have ignored the most strategic activity in accomplishing world evangelization? Reasons from Scripture, the history of missions and current missionary experience all compel us to contend that prayer is our most strategic resource in missions.

John Robb, IPC Chairman

(Excerpted and adapted from the article by John Robb “Prayer as a Strategic Weapon in Frontier Mission” published in the International Journal of Frontier Missiology in 1991)

ADDRESS OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA, (CAN) REV. DR. MUSA ASAKE HELD AT THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE, ABUJA ON TUESDAY,

16THJANUARY, 2018
Gentlemen of the Press,

On behalf of the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and the entire Christian Community here in Nigeria, I welcome you to this press conference in the precious and wonderful name of Our Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Since this is our first meeting this year, permit me to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and wishing you a productive and prosperous 2018.

We have invited you here to express our grave concern for the insecurity challenges that have continued to face us as a nation and Christians in particular in our dear country, Nigeria. We make bold to say that Nigeria’s security system has become dysfunctional and that this fact has been exposed by the inability of the various security arms to wrestle to the ground those threatening the existence of Christians and other innocent citizens in Nigeria,

As it is, they have not been able to come up with an efficient and enduring system that can overwhelm the resurgence of Boko Haram, Gunmen and Fulani Herdsmen who are prowling villages, shooting and killing innocent Christians. Instead the IG whenever there is killings going on his men on ground in that particular area will be looking the other way and if asked they will say they are waiting for order from above. The IG will always take side and make statements that are provocative to the people of the affected area. For example, when it happened in Southern Kaduna he said it was a communal clash and refuted the number of people killed. Recently he repeated the same statement in the Benue killings. That is an insult to the Christian community from a leader who is supposed to protect our lives and property. What a shame!

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has reviewed the catalogue of horrendous and inhuman attacks on several states and mostly Benue State from 2013 – 2018. The impression has now been firmly established that the Islamists of northern Nigerian have “legalized jihad” in Nigeria.

As if the attacks on Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau, Yobe, Borno, Nasarawa, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Rivers, Ogun and Oyo States are not enough, the Islamists and their agents have extended their trail of blood and destruction to Bwari in Abuja and Ilorin in Kwara State. On Christmas Day, 2017, Christian community in Bwari, Abuja was attacked; several lives were lost while business locations were burnt down. On New Year’s Day in 2018, Christians observing “watch-night” service in Ilorin were attacked and three Churches burnt. As usual, the Security Agents did not intervene until the attackers had finished their horrendous assignment.

This pattern suggests collusion of the Security Units with the Islamists militia operating under such names as Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, “unknown gunmen”, and “group of vandals”. On 17th January, 2017, the Nigerian Air Force “accidentally”, in broad daylight, bombed a Christian IDP Camp and killed over 200 Christian refugees in Rann, Kala-Balge Local Government in Borno State. In December 2017, an Air Force spokes person confirmed that the Nigerian Air Force sent an Alpha Jet and an EC 135 attack Helicopter to fire “warning” shots at Islamist militia attacking Christians in Numan, Adamawa state, but not to kill them! The villagers were later to report that the Jet actually bombed the Christian villages resulting in the death of over 50 people, while, the Nigerian Air Force said it merely fired warning shots at the Islamist militia attacking the villagers. This is jihad as we cannot understand fired warning shots in the narrative of this attack.

It is clear to the discerning that President Buhari is not running Nigeria according to the dictates of the Democratic values in the Constitution and has no respect for Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy. It is unfortunate that a President that was sworn into office to uphold and defend the Constitution has flagrantly violated the Constitution and adopted Sharia ideology as operational standard.

Having reviewed the situation in the country, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) wishes to note that some principal entities appear responsible for the current distress in the nation.

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI

President Buhari was elected on a wave of unprecedented public approval in 2015. Unfortunately, within a few weeks of his election, he started creating the impression that he was in power to serve the interests of his Fulani ethnic group only. Discerning people were quick to note that contrary to his electoral promises, he actually meant to pursue core Islamist agenda. Almost every vital appointment in Security and Education went to Muslims from the North. He did not hide his disdain for the indigenous ethnic nationalities and, at every opportunity, showed preferential treatment to the Muslim North.

Under President Buhari, the murderous Fulani herdsmen enjoyed unprecedented protection and favoritism to the extent that the herdsmen treat Nigeria as a conquered territory. Rather than arrest and prosecute the Fulani herdsmen, security forces usually manned by Muslims from the North offer them protection as they unleash terror with impunity on the Nigerian people.

The bottom line is that President Buhari failed woefully to protect Nigerians. He willfully permitted the Fulani herdsmen to operate killing people, destroying communities wholesale, destroying farmlands and turning the entire Middle Belt into “killing fields”, all the while enjoying government protection from counter attack, arrest or prosecution.

By failing to curb the attacks of the Fulani herdsmen President Buhari has failed to uphold Section 14, Para. 2 (b) in the Constitution that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government:”

Through his partial, sectional and discriminatory appointments, particularly in Security and Education, President Buhari violated Section 14, Para. 3 “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”

MIYETTI ALLAH CATTLE BREEDERS ASSOCIATION

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association is supposed to be a business group much like many other businesses and professional groups in the country. However, the MACBAN differs from any other business group in that it combines bloodshed with enterprise.

The Fulani herdsmen are clearly associated with MACBAN and the officials of MACBAN are noted to make very inciting statements before and after the Fulani herdsmen attack vulnerable communities.

In the recent attacks on Benue State, the President of Benue Branch of Miyetti Allah, Garus Gololo said they attacked the communities because 1,000 of their cows were stolen. Even if it was true that cows were stolen, who constituted Miyetti Allah into law enforcement agency, judge and jury to commit wholesale murder?

In another account, Miyetti Allah called a Press Conference in which it stated it would not abide with the anti-open grazing law of Benue State Government. The Chief Press Secretary to the Benue State Government, Terve Akase believes that the attacks on Benue State on 1st and 2nd January, 2018 were in reaction to the grazing law enacted by the Benue State Government.

Miyetti Allah has openly rejected anti-open grazing bills in Taraba, Plateau and Benue States. In May 2017, the National President of Miyetti Allah, Alhaji Bello Abdullahi Bodejo and the National Secretary Engineer Saleh Alhassan openly declared at a Press Conference that the introduction of anti-open grazing bill in some states is a recipe for anarchy. Are we now to conclude that a business group has supremacy over State Governments?

RESOLUTIONS

1. In view of the foregoing, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) calls on all lovers of freedom and democracy in Nigeria to rise against the tyranny of the Islamists, who manipulate the religion of Islam for political and cultural domination. There is difference between Islam and Islamism. While Islam is a religion, Islamism is not a religion but a political ideology. Islamism in Nigeria is based on the Doctrine of Hate and supremacist ideology that the Fulani is superior to the other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. This is what is at the root of the bloodshed and insecurity all over Nigeria. The clannish mentality of the Fulani places every other ethnic nationality in Nigeria as colonial subject or dhimmi (second class citizen), irrespective of religion or culture.
2. Most of the problems in the polity especially the ongoing genocide against Christians in the North Central are having religious and tribal undertone hence why the Islamic leaders are keeping mum to the massacre of our members in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, and Enugu states. It is part of the grand agenda to take over our land, with this I have good news for you. “It will not work”
3. Instead of bringing the leadership of Myetti Allah... to book for being the masterminds of the genocide, top functionaries of the Buhari government are now advocating grazing colonies with a view of granting these criminals free land and government supports.
4. While the government has taken the battle to Boko Haram terrorists, the Indigenous People of Biafra, the Badoo boys, the Niger Delta Avengers and other groups, the government has not shown any serious willingness to checkmate the murderous Fulani Herdsmen. This to us is a betrayal of the confidence reposed in this government by Nigerians when they voted them into power.
5. We need to know why the intelligence units of all security apparatus that we have in this country has not been able to discover the sources of supply of ammunition to Fulani herdsmen living virtually in the bush.

To restore permanent peace to all the trouble spots in the country, we demand the following;

1. The Myetti Allah organization should be tagged a terrorist organization. Its leaders should be arrested and prosecuted for the genocide against the Christian minorities in the Middle Belt.
2. President Muhammadu Buhari should overhaul the National Security Council with a view to sharing its membership equally between Christians and Muslims and possibly those who do not belong to either. No religion has a monopoly of competency, commitment and patriotism.
3. We call for immediate replacement of the Inspector General of Police because our security can no longer be guaranteed. We also demand immediate redeployment of all the Commissioners of Police.

Every Nigerian should condemn in strong terms and resist the attempt by this pro-Fulani government that “cattle colonies” shall be established all over the country. This is an insult on all Nigerians. The idea of “cattle colony” presupposes that the Fulanis are colonial masters. How and when one ethnic group transmuted into a “colonial master” over all the other 388 ethnic nationalities in Nigeria is unknown. Besides, after Nigerians roundly rejected “grazing reserves” who are the Islamists trying to deceive with change of nomenclature?

Thank you and God bless Nigeria.

Rev. Musa Asake, PhD.
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
National General Secretary

URGENT CALL TO PRAYER

You are probably as shocked as I was to learn of the spate of attacks and deaths that greeted the New Year in Nigeria. Worshippers who had just had Crossover Service in their church in Omoku, Rivers State, were gruesomely murdered by heartless cultists. Over 15 people, including innocent women and children, were cut down in a hail of bullets. As if that was not enough, the following day, we heard how Fulani Herdsmen invaded villages in Guma and Logo Local Governments in Benue State and killed several people (some speculate over 50!) and destroyed houses and properties.

The government seems to be powerless and have been accused of being impervious to the sufferings of the people. The security agencies appear to be so desensitized that you wonder if they still have value for human lives. But we cannot fold our hands and let this continue, it’s time to rise as intercessors and pray.

The following prayer points are only a guide. May the Lord bring us to the depth of prayers that will stem this rising tide of violence in our nation.

1. Fulani Herdsmen are rated as the 4th most deadly terror group on the Global Terrorism Index, yet the government does not seem to be concerned about the daily destruction they cause to lives and properties. Let’s pray that God will stir up a national and international outcry against this group.
2. Ask God to release His plans to reverse wicked evil political actions that have led to the murder of innocent lives across the nation (especially government’s inaction concerning the destruction of lives and properties by the Fulani herdsmen)
3. People in Guma and Logo Local Government in Benue State have been thrown into mourning following the invasion by the herdsmen, which led to the death of tens of people. Let’s pray that those who carried out this attack will be caught and judged.
4. The activities of the herdsmen now extend to virtually every part of the country. There are speculations that it is a modern form of jihad. Let’s pray that God will expose community leaders in the South who are conniving with them
5. Let’s pray that the Middle Belt states would be undeterred in implementing the anti-grazing bills that have been passed in some of the states. Pray that they will not be intimidated by the antics of the herders
6. Pray for the prosecution of the leaders of Miyetti Allah in Benue State who promised to cause mayhem in the state. Pray that the government will be bold enough to bring this man and his group to justice
7. Let’s pray that the National Assembly will now see the need to pass laws that will curtail the activities of the Fulani herders. Pray that the Open Grazing Bill will be frustrated and thrown out.
8. Let’s pray that these communities will not be intimidated. Rather, may the Lord strengthen their resistance against the Islamic agenda
9. Pray concerning the state of insecurity in Rivers State, especially Omoku and its environs. Let’s pray that the group that carried out the recent massacre will be arrested and judged
10. These were people returning from Crossover service in a church. Let’s pray that God will arise and judge those who perpetrated this mayhem on innocent worshippers
11. The violence in Omoku (and most of Rivers State) has their root in cult conflicts. Let’s pray that God will rain judgment on these cults and those behind them
12. The acrimonious politics of Rivers State has created an environment that engenders violence. Let’s pray that God would restrain Governor Nyesom Wike and Hon Chibuike Amaechi, that they will begin to work for the peace and welfare of the state
13. Let’s pray that God will comfort and encourage families who lost loved ones in the carnage. Let’s pray that God would use this situation to bring salvation to the community.

Pastor Austen Ukachi

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