By John Odunayo
The Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province has said that failure of governments in Nigeria to respond promptly to the groans and distress calls of the citizenry is responsible for the growing popularity of the proposed protest.
The Provincial Chairman, Most Rev ‘Leke Gabriel Abegunrin; and Secretary, Most Rev John Akin Oyejola, said, “We strongly urge the federal, state and local governments to promptly attend to the distress call of the Nigerian people and turn a new leaf by responding promptly and effectively henceforth to the problems and distress of Nigerians”.
The bishops stated these in a communique at the end of the two-day meeting of the province comprising Ibadan Archdiocese, Ilorin, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and Osogbo Dioceses, in Akure, the Ondo State capital, made available in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday by the Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Felix Ajakaye.
They advised all Nigerians to join hands together to rescue the country, saying, “Nigeria is a great country, and we are a great people and to this we all agree. Our current situation of hunger and deprivation is not as a result of economic poverty, but rather due to greed, corruption lack of accountability, lawlessness, indiscipline, selfishness and poor attitude to work”.
Reacting to the proposed protest by some groups billed to begin from August 1, the clerics, said, “Protests are held as a last resort for citizens who have cried out for solutions to problems and have not been heeded. Protests are the last resort for amplifying the voice of those who feel oppressed. The protests in Nigeria should be made to serve that purpose and none other.
“The protesters should exercise restraint and not disturb or intimidate those who may choose not to participate in the exercise knowing that it is their inalienable right not to do so. Such people should be allowed to go about their lawful business unhindered. The organizers of the protest have therefore a responsibility to ensure all these or call off the protest.
“During this protest, therefore, relevant security organizations must show restraint and civility in discharging their duties and avoid violence and accidental deaths which unfortunately seem to have characterized past exercises in Nigeria.
“We strongly believe that if governments in Nigeria at all levels had responded more promptly and effectively to the groans and distress calls of the Nigerian people the current protest would not have gathered momentum.
“Nigerians have cried out about dire hunger in the land, persistent insecurity, failed promises, dashed hopes, outrageous cost of living and governance, and ineffectiveness of the rule of law in curbing criminality among public officials not to talk of many public officers’ ineptitude with serious national issues.
“As we have said in the recent past, governance by palliatives, by intimidation or by hide and seek methods cannot provide a permanent solution to the challenges faced by the country”.
The Catholic bishops said, “Our current situation of hunger and deprivation is not as a result of economic poverty, but rather due to greed, corruption lack of accountability, lawlessness, indiscipline, selfishness and poor attitude to work.
They called on “all agencies of national orientation to take up this task and ginger Nigerians back to the path of righteousness and new life. Righteousness it is said, exalts a nation”.
The Catholic bishops urged Nigerians to “pray and fast sincerely for the country as we all go through the very difficult times which we know by faith in God that we shall overcome”.
They also called on the faithful “to observe the ongoing Year of Prayer which will lead us into the 2025 Jubilee of Hope which the Holy Father Pope Francis has called on all believers to celebrate. The Jubilee of hope reassures us of hope in God which does not disappoint us and which will keep us going even in the toughest times”.
