The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to restrain his aide, Lauretta Onochie, “who specialises in the use of vulgar abuse and unprintable names against others with absolute recklessness”.

The Christian body condemned Onochie’s description of CAN as “CAN of worms” on her Twitter account.

Onochie had twitted: “Prime Minister Theresa May, a Christian, is in a mosque doing what humans go to do in a place of worship. She knows that her God is the same one also called Allah. Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN of worms, Here’s a great lesson in love and godliness, not hatred & anger!”

CAN, at first, decided not to dignify her recklessness with a response, thinking she may not be speaking for President Muhammadu Buhari, but the failure of the Presidency to call her to order is capable of making us believe that she is expressing the mind of the Presidency, her employer.

Onochie, from all indications, shares a lot of things in common with Esau who sold his birthright for a single meal. She is also like Eliab who was not ready to stand up against Goliath who had defied the God of Israel, but was burning with anger at David who would not allow Goliath to continue insulting God and His people.

CAN disclosed this in a press statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday as Signed by its Special Assistant, on Media and Communications, saying: “Instead of asking CAN leadership to borrow a leaf from the British Prime Minister, Onochie should have directed her advice to her principal to emulate his British counterpart who gives all the citizens under her watch a sense of belonging and adequate security, irrespective of their religious, ethnic and political persuasions.”

The statement added: “Instead of being a liability to the Church in the corridors of power, we counsel her to learn from the likes of Moses, Esther, Daniel and the other three Hebrew children who sacrificed their conveniences and risked their influential opportunities to defend the interest of God’s people against the imperial orders.”

“The problem of irritants like Onochie in the corridors of power is that the truth cannot be buried forever, especially in today’s world where no government has monopoly of the media with the emergence of the global technological communication, especially the social media.

“The world is aware of how Christians are being killed on a daily basis, while the security agencies seem to be looking elsewhere. Instead of addressing these failures by the government, its principal officers are justifying the crime with sundry flimsy excuses; forgetting that the primary function of any serious government is the protection of lives and property of the citizens.”

CAN, however, counselled this big-mouth social media aide to employ decorum in performing her function, instead of acting like an urchin who has strayed into the corridors of power.

“She is hereby advised to walk away from the path trodden by Cain and stop embracing Balaam’s blunder for personal profit.

“Let it be restated once again that CAN will never cease speaking truth to power, irrespective of the unguarded utterances by Onochie,” CAN concluded.

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