Catholic bishops Sunday in Lagos were all unanimous in their call on the Federal Government for an urgent intervention to resolve the mounting insecurity in the country.
The Catholic bishops, including the current president of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze and two former presidents, Anthony Cardinal Okogie and Coadjutor Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, decried the seeming inability of the Federal Government to arrest the insecurity in the country for the peace, unity and development of the nation.
The bishops who were in Lagos for the 60th birthday Thanksgiving service of the Catholic Archbishop of Metropolitan See of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, expressed disgust over the growing acts of kidnapping, killings, and other violent crimes across the nation without deliberate efforts from security agents to arrest the situation.
While congratulating the Lagos Archbishop for his consistence in speaking truth to power over the nation’s ills, the CBCN president, Most Rev. Akubeze lamented the growing level of insecurity and urged the celebrator not to relent in his advocacy for a sane nation.
“The level of insecurity in Nigeria is now unprecedented and we must not be silent while certain persons visit mayhem on the rest of the nation with so much impunity.
”We urge you to continue to speak truth to power because that is the way available to priests to correct the wrongs in the society. We must not see the recent mandate of government as a licence to fuel religious crises in the country,” he said.
The CBCN president outlined several ills in the society which the Federal Government must address urgently to re-assure all Nigerians that there was no hidden ethnic and religious agenda to see the rest of the nation in servitude.
The former CBCN president, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, also fawned on the degeneration in the country, urging the celebrant to continue to speak truth to power, with a view to ameliorating growing societal ills in the country.
Praying God to continue to guide him for locating him in Lagos, the centre of excellence which is perceived as a mini Nigeria, “you have a rare opportunity to uplift the Church of God and the people of God placed in your care.
“Your Grace, you must acknowledge that the Church is a unifier. As Christians, we will be contradicting our vocation if we do take a stand against corruption, tribalism, self-centredness, kidnappings, and many other societal crimes we witness daily in our country.
“It is, therefore, important that as you mark this important milestone in your life, you must appreciate that your position as Archbishop, represent the ministry of bringing the children of God together, irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliations.
”We urge you to redouble your efforts during the remaining years of your life because as an Archbishop of Lagos, you are placed in a wonderful position to unite the country at a time the nation is dangerously divided by the selfish politics of our time.”
Earlier in his homily, the Catholic priest of Saint Leo’s Catholic Church in Lagos, Rev. Monsignor John Aniagwu, had outlined the achievements of Archbishop Martins, saying a birthday anniversary should be seen as an occasion for stocktaking and thanksgiving for the only One that gives life.
According to him, the situation in Nigeria is so precarious today that life expectancy is below 50.
Emphasising that majority of people who make it up to 60 have every reason to be grateful to God, especially for the grace to live long, said: “We are bedeviled with leaders who always come on board promising to hit the ground running only for the people to witness a band of politicians who often are taking Nigeria backward.
”Nigeria today is running aground but when our archbishop came on board, he hit the ground running and today he has increased the seven deaneries he met to 15.”
He cautioned Archbishop Martin who he described as a workaholic, to slow down by taking some rest.
