Northern CAN adopts new name, now known as Northern Christian Association

IDIBIA GABRIEL, KADUNA

In dramatic turn, leaders of 19 Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Abuja has adopted a new name known as Northern Christian Association (NCA), in line with the founding fathers of the body. It can also address as Forum of Northern Christian (FNC).

These resolutions were reached Wednesday in Kaduna after a full day exhaustive meeting of the stakeholders and founding members of the Association from across the northern region.

The National CAN had recently placed a public notice advert renouncing recognition of Northern and Southern CAN as unconstitutional.

Briefing journalists at the end of the meeting’s deliberations at Catholic Social Centre Kaduna, the Chairman of 19 Northern Christian Association, formerly known as 19 Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Abuja, Rev. Joseph John Hayab said the change has became comparative to have a unique identity for NCA.

Rev. Hayab however stated that Northern Christian Association, also known as Forum of Northern Christian still remain as member of CAN, as a Christian body and loyal to CAN, with the sole aim to strengthen regional voices.

“Today marks one year since we were elected into office to lead the Northern Christians. When we came on board, people used to call us Northern CAN because that was what we found.

“But development has come that we felt that we should have a unique identity. We are CAN, we are Christians, we remain members of CAN, we are better. When we come to speak about north we should have a unique identity” he said.

The chairman also stated that “And so we’ve been able to reach out to our elders to understand how it happens. And the history of this association we are here in it today started in 1964 here in the city of Kaduna state with the name Northern Christian Association”.

“And so our forum now simply takes the name of our forefathers.

We are Forum of Northern Christians, also known as Northern Christian Association, not

Northern Christians of Nigeria.

“We want to drop the word Nigeria so that we’ll have that unique identity from our national body.

We pledge our allegiance there.

There is no differences. If anybody has read anything, it’s probably a misunderstanding.

“But as far as we’re concerned, Daniel Oko CAN President is our President. We’ll work together. But we believe that we have issues that bothers us in the North that we’ll want to work to address them.

“God’s willing, we will stand with our people until justice is being done on our people. We have challenge of lack of CRK teachers in our schools. We have challenge of lack of admission for our children.

“We have challenge of religious freedom. We think those issues are too weighty that we shouldn’t waste time talking about something, than to focus on ensuring that our people are treated as citizens, treated as Nigerians and respected.

“You know, we have a lot to contribute to nation building and we want to use this forum to

see how we can contribute to nation building and make Nigeria a place everybody will want

to be, especially Northern Nigeria.

So I that informed the change of name”, he emphasized.

Change is dynamic, according to adage, adding “No, there’s nothing happen. It’s just like there was a time we were calling NEPA, NEPA.

And they came and said power holdings, just to properly ensure that they do what’s right.

He also reiterated that the name NCA has been existing since 1964.

Other resolutions of the meeting on kaduna highlighted by NCA is that the body’s pledged their commitment to the leadership of CAN in Nigeria, ensure that Christians continue to speak out and defend Christian rights from

the national to them in northern regions and everywhere.

“We want to also pledge our commitment to our brethren in the north that we will not be silent when they are facing persecution, when they are facing problems.

“If others do not care, if others are too busy with other things, we will not be too busy to abandon our home, we will not be too busy to abandon our people, we will stand for them.

“We will fight to ensure equality in education, equality in access to opportunity, equality in everything that matters because the Constitution of Nigeria gives every citizen that right and it should not be an exception in Northern Nigeria.

He however informed that the status quo of states chapter of CAN is maintained and remains intact as it were.

A former national Secretary of CAN and founding member of the NCA, elder Samuel Salifu, also in an interview,  painted a golly picture of Christians discrimination in northern Nigeria and confirmed that NCA started in kaduna in 1964 and metamorphosed into CAN in 1976 when Southern Christian decided to join and was registered by late Shagaya, the then Interior minister, under President Obasanjo, saying NCA has been registered as Christian body in northern states, in an interview.