A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AFTER THE MEETING OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF IBADAN ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE HELD AT THE JUBILEE CONFERENCE CENTRE, IBADAN, OYO STATE, NIGERIA, FROM JANUARY 31 – FEBRUARY 1, 2022.
SUSTAINING HOPE IN NIGERIA
We, Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, comprising Ibadan Archdiocese, Ilorin, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and Osogbo Dioceses, having deliberated with our Clergy and lay people on issues of Church and national interest at our first meeting for 2022 in Ibadan, issue the following communique:
In Memoriam
We commiserate with the Clergy, Religious and Laity of the Catholic Diocese of Ilorin on the sudden passing away of their Bishop Most Rev. Paul Adegboyega Olawoore on January 1, 2022. Our shock at his home call is only mitigated by our firm faith in our hope in the resurrection promised by Jesus Christ to raise up his faithful ones on the last day. We pray that God in his infinite mercy comfort the Diocese of Ilorin, and all who are left behind to mourn the deceased Bishop, especially Most Rev. Ayo-Maria Atoyebi, Bishop Emeritus of Ilorin Diocese. We pray for the Diocesan Administrator, Very Rev. Fr. Anselm Lawani, for divine wisdom and strength to lead and guide the Diocese during these difficult times. May Bishop Paul Olawoore rest in perfect peace.
The Forthcoming National Elections
It is obvious that there is a pervasive longing for a better Nigeria. With the time for national elections already on the horizon, we wish to urge all Nigerians to work more assiduously to be able to vote for quality leaders which Nigeria urgently needs at this period. It is our desire that pro-democracy groups within and outside the Church kindly help to educate and motivate our people for their civic duties. We urge that only leaders with positive values like proven integrity, truthfulness, trustworthiness and fear of God should be elected as our leaders when the time comes. As leaders of the Church, we remain non-partisan but we strongly advocate and endorse any candidate who professes and embodies positive values that can help our nation to develop strong and functional institutions as a framework for true democracy in our country.
New Dimensions of Insecurity in Nigeria
We reveal no secret by expressing our dismay at the continuing bloodshed in many parts of Nigeria. Recent revelations from the Auditor General of the Federation about tons of missing firearms from the Nigeria Police armoury and similar security gaffes give great cause for worry. So far, no adequate reassurances have been offered the citizenry that such an unusual but not isolated issue is being addressed to prevent a reoccurrence. That President Muhammadu Buhari recently finally recognised as terrorists, the band of murderers and arsonists causing mayhem all over the country is a huge relief. This new position can only be believed however, if a tougher clampdown on such murderous and criminal activities all over the nation can be ensured. We encourage the security agencies, including the complimentary outfits, to sustain their great work of securing the nation and implore the authorities to adequately support them.
Salvaging the System of Education in Nigeria
We cannot express enough our concern about the state of education in Nigeria to which many solutions have been proffered with only limited implementation. The increasing level of drug addiction, armed robbery, rape, truancy and other crimes in our society cannot be totally divorced from the depressed system of education in our nation. We therefore urge government at all levels to adequately fund education in Nigeria, paying just wages and remunerations and providing necessary facilities for educational programmes. To continue with the current knee jerk attitude to some aspects of education in Nigeria is simply tantamount to mortgaging the future of our youths. One sure way to stem the slide in our education system is to return seized schools to former owners in order to enhance competition and private sector participation in our education with appropriate regulations. We congratulate State Governments that have returned schools to their former owners. Some governments that have done so are reaping positive rewards and their example deserves to be more widely emulated. We also need a positive reorientation of the mindset of the youth to open them more to taking good initiatives for their own empowerment.
The Synod on Synodality
The ongoing processes of preparation towards the Synod on Synodality, with the theme: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”, which was launched by Pope Francis in October 2021 should by now, be in full gear in all our Dioceses. It is a two-year exercise of renewal and animation in the Church which will be concluded with the Synod of Bishops in October 2023. Consultations with and among different segments of people within and even outside the Church are intended to include as many groups and classes of people in the decision-making process of the Church. We urge that the thorough laid-down procedures in the synod document be carefully followed and feedback reports duly submitted for the success of the exercise. The Synod is to ensure more “diversity” within the internal life of the Church and to ensure that the views of the “marginalized” are properly represented within the synodal dialogue. The purpose is to allow the Church to better listen to different segments of the faithful and incorporate their perspective and experience in its mission. In doing this, we shall embark on a new way of being church which is more engaging and more inclusive for all the faithful and more meaningful to contemporary realities. This being a noble vision, we encourage all Clergy, Religious and Lay People to embrace the synod and diligently participate in it.
The National Youth Day Celebration
As Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province prepares to host the National Youth Day celebration in August 2022, at Ibadan with the theme; “Mary Arose and Went with Haste” (Luke 1:39), we thank God for the faith and enthusiasm of all our young people. We solicit the support of all organs and members of the Church to help them celebrate a memorable event. We also commit ourselves to enable all who are involved in the preparations for the event to do all they can to ensure a spiritually enriching and fruitful rendezvous at Ibadan. We pray for the safety of all pilgrims and urge our young people to prepare well for the encounter spiritually, morally and intellectually so as to reap the expected graces therefrom.
National Pastoral Congress/National Eucharistic Congress
Similarly, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, has convoked a National Eucharistic Congress with the theme: “Becoming the Eucharist we celebrate – A call to live as one and to serve the ‘weak’”. It will be held in the Archdiocese of Benin from November 11 to 13, 2022. It will be preceded by a National Pastoral Congress at the same venue from November 7 to 11. These are enriching spiritual programmes that touch the very heart and mission of the Church and are targeted at the spiritual growth of the Church and its members.
Papal Appointment
We congratulate Most Rev. Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, for his recent appointment as Member of the Vatican Dicastery For Social Communication by the Holy Father, Pope Francis. We wish him a very successful tenure of service.
A Prayer For Our Nation
We pray that our merciful God will arise and show that he has not deserted this country, Nigeria, nor abandoned his good people. We adopt the supplicating words of the prophet Jeremiah to sustain hope in a better future for generations to come as we pray:
“Yahweh, hope of Israel, its Saviour in time of distress, why are you like a stranger in this country, like a traveller staying only for one night? Why are you like someone bemused, like a warrior who has no power to rescue? And yet, Yahweh, you are among us, we are called by your name. Do not desert us”. (Jer. 14:8-9).
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Most Rev ‘Leke Gabriel Abegunrin Most Rev John Akin Oyejola
Chairman Secretary
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