The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), on Thursday, warned that ongoing struggle for the soul’ of Nigeria, will not be won by ethnic cleansing, nepotism, kidnapping and banditry but by love, fairness and equity, common good and patriotism.
The Bishops’, appealed to both government and all Nigerians to toe the path of justice and conciliatory dialogue and see themselves as agents of peace and development in order to ensure a harmonious and united nation.
This was contained in eight -point communique the Bishops’ issued at the end of its Second Plenary meeting held in Enugu.
The resolution of the Bishops’ signed by Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze and Most Rev. Camillus Umoh, President and Secretary of CBCN respectively was read by the new Bishop of Abakaliki Diocese, Most Rev Peter Nworie.
While the clerics stated that the sanctity of human life was no longer respected in Nigeria, as a result of the increasing insecurity and violence ravaging the country, lamented that “except for the civil war, our nation has never witnessed the kind of widespread evil, wanton destruction and murderous
bloodletting. Life has never been so cheap, nor has Nigeria ever been at the stage we are now.”
It added, “Deaths in the hands of kidnappers, killer herdsmen, bandits, terrorist groups have made Nigeria one of the most terrorized countries in the world.
“The abductions of school children present us with the prospects of a traumatized generation of young people.”
While the Bishops’ said they recognized the efforts being made by Government to fight insecurity in the land, however, stressed that government needs to show more strategic commitment and sincerity in this fight and take full responsibility for the present culture of violence and impunity in the country.
“Furthermore, Government must be balanced and seen to be so in its response to the challenges of insecurity in every segment of the citizenry. In the same vein, we call on all citizens to be law-abiding, vigilant, live by sound moral principles and, above all, obey the commandments of God.
“We continue to plead with all to shun violence and criminality. We urge Government at all levels to provide the enabling environment that would make it possible for both the Government and the private sector to create job opportunities for our teeming youth population. This would surely reduce the danger of insecurity and unrest in our land.”
It added, “We are grateful to God that we still exist as one nation. This is in spite of sundry agitations and mainly as a result of struggles for self-determination. We observe that the agitations and tensions are bad governance, injustice, inequity, and unfairness in appointments and distribution of resources to parts of the country.
“We recognize the rights of peoples to self-determination; yet we emphasize that the exercise of such rights must be within the confines of the rule of law. We urge the Government to ensure a just and fair trial of the arrested key players in the struggles. To mismanage these cases is to trigger off further avoidable unrest.
“We urge both Government and citizens to work for a nation in which everyone and every part, irrespective of differences of tribe or religion or political affiliation, will have a sense of belonging.”
While the Bishops’ congratulated the Federal Government for enacting the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, advised that the should address the genuine
concerns of the people regarding some clauses in the Act.
“It is our hope that the implementation of the provisions of the law will truly serve the common good.”
On politics and electoral reform, the Bishops stated that “the recent voting by the National Assembly against electronic transmission of results of elections will
create opening for further manipulation of electoral votes and lay the foundation for more conflicts in practices.”
