Our Concern for the Well-being of our People
Preamble
We, the Catholic Bishops of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, met at the Sacred Heart Pastoral/Retreat Centre, Orlu, from the 30–31 July, 2024. Having prayerfully deliberated on several matters of grave concern to our people, we issue the following Communiqué:
- The Mood of the Nation
Our nation, Nigeria continues to face many social and economic challenges that are bringing untold hardship to our people. The reforms that were introduced at the inception of the current administration have not brought the renewed hope promised. Instead, inflation continues to sky-rocket, hunger and anger continue to grow. In recent days there have been calls for protest by the youths, threats of industrial action by workers, genuine fears over the economic outlook of the nation. Despite calls by the government for the people to sacrifice and bear patiently the hard times, there seems to be no corresponding example of prudent spending on the part of the leaders at all levels of government. It is not as if we want to join the bandwagon preaching doom and gloom for the nation. But the truth remains that for the last couple of years, we as a nation have missed the chance to build a strong nation, to elect leaders who have the capacity and the will to meet the needs of the people, to build a nation where the national interest overrides every tribal, political and religious division. We do not deny that progress has been made in particular sectors of national life – progress for which we all rejoice. Yet many areas of work remain. And the palpable fear is that there might be no redeeming future if things continue to go the way they are going at the moment.
- Nationwide Planned Protest by the Youths
In preparation of the planned nationwide youth protest against perceived bad governance tagged #EndBadGovernance, some of its organisers have requested security operatives for protection over their “public meetings, rallies and processions” during the period, foreseen to last from 1 to 10 August 2024. Although Nigerians have the constitutional right to express their grievances through peaceful protests, there is a widespread concern that the planned protest could be hijacked by miscreants and hoodlums to unleash mayhem on the nation, as was the case during the #EndSARS protest in 2020. Matters have not been helped by some security operatives, who have resorted to threats, intimidation and blackmail to deter the youths from the looming protest. This has fuelled the fear that there might be violent and bloody clashes between security operatives and the youths if the protest were to hold.
No doubt, the youths are right to be outraged by the worsening state of our nation. As long as there are many people suffering from multi-dimensional poverty in the land; as long as there are people without the renewed hope that comes with opportunities for a decent livelihood; as long as the peoples’ income can no longer afford their genuine needs; as long as their votes cannot be guaranteed to effect a change in the behaviour of our leaders; Nigeria will continue to remain a restive nation. While peaceful protests are genuine democratic tools for expressing grievances, we believe that protests alone cannot resolve our current national problems. Moreover, a prolonged protest with a total close down of the country, even if peacefully sustained, might cripple our already fragile economy.
- The Way Forward
It is imperative that we all, as citizens of the same nation, undertake some soul-searching in the face of the intractable nature of our national difficulties. Good governance and socio-economic stability will continue to elude us if we, collectively, do not decide to strengthen our political institutions, if we do not improve transparency, efficiency and accountability in all our public institutions. It will be naive for us to imagine that leadership alone can resolve all the issues that bedevil our country. The failure of leadership reflects equally the failure of followership. It is obvious then that both leadership and followership in Nigeria have responsibilities to fulfil to move our nation forward.
We need proper leadership in the various sectors and cadres of our country, be it business, politics, public service, security agencies, and other essential services. All of these different sectors must come together as part of the same wheel of progress. Unfortunately, what has continued to elude us is visionary leadership. Ever since our independence, one regime after another has started and abandoned agenda, shown a lack of continuity, promoted mediocrity and ineptitude in governance. The result is that today the majority of our citizens no longer have faith in our leaders. We call on our current political leaders and elite to rise and inspire the nation, and as well earn the trust of the populace, with policies and programmes that will improve the standard of living, economic growth, stability, and a general rise in the standard of governance and governance structure.
Following the recent decision of the Supreme Court to grant full autonomy to local government administration, we urge the state governments to speedily organize free, fair, and transparent local government elections. We hope that a functional local government authority will bring development closer to the people, and allow a more grassroot participation in the democratic process.
But we must equally call on all citizens of the nation to make adjustments in the context of the hard times facing us. That adjustment will include saying no to all corrupt practices, being alive and awake to our rights and our civic responsibilities, saying no to every attempt to cow and intimidate the citizenry. Here in the South East, where years of insecurity have impacted on daily life and businesses, we call on our people to re-embrace that same indomitable spirit that was displayed by our people after the Nigeria-Biafra War. It was a spirit that refused to accept that our present challenges are beyond redemption, a spirit that recognized that the contribution of everyone is needed to build up the society from bottom up. This will require such qualities from everyone like: a life of simplicity, moral probity, steadfastness, hardwork and solidarity.
- The Church’s Involvement
As Church, we share in the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of our people (cf. Gaudium et Spes, no.1). As your Pastors, we feel your pains and your struggle. We are deeply concerned about the fate of our jobless youths who see no hope in the Nigerian project. Many have been forced to leave the country for greener pastures; others are tempted to resort to crime or fetish and obnoxious ritual practices in the quest for survival. Our retired and elderly people are abandoned to languish without the support networks that should guarantee a dignified and happy old age. As Church we do not pretend to be an alternate government that has the responsibility to manage our Commonwealth. The Church has always intervened in the difficult moments of our national history to promote the spirit of solidarity among the people, and concern for the welfare of those at the margins of society. In the same spirit we urge better-placed individuals in the society to embrace the challenge of making sure nobody is left behind to suffer in silence and to die in misery. Parishes and sodalities in our province should initiate outreaches to locate those who can no longer afford a decent meal, and bring their concerns to the attention of the various charitable agencies in the Church like Caritas, and the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), for succour.
As we march towards the Jubilee Year of Hope, 2025, and in the light of the fact that so many of our sons and daughters have been wounded or killed in the insecurity that troubled our region in the last few years, we call on our people to embrace reconciliation and healing in our communities and parishes. As Christians, the words of Paul ring true: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20) – and to one another.
- A Great Opportunity: The Year of Prayer
As preparation for the Jubilee Year of Hope, 2025, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has invited us this year to a Year of Prayer. This offers us a golden opportunity to intensify our prayer for reconciliation and healing. As a result of the challenges facing our nation, let the Year of Prayer equally propel us to a conversion of heart needed to re-align ourselves to those Gospel values that promote peace, healing, and rededication to work for the common good. Our states and communities are in dire need of prayer. Just like the work of the prophet Jonah was enough to rescue Nineveh from the brink of destruction, we believe that the prayer of our Christians will touch the heart of God to spare this nation from anarchy and doom.
Towards this goal, we are committed in our dioceses to drawing up a programme of prayer, meditation and intercession. We invite our Catholics and all people of goodwill to join in this spiritual exercise that our nation desperately needs.
Conclusion
We cannot end this statement without recalling, with gratitude to God, the Episcopal ordination of the Auxiliary Bishop of Orlu, Most Rev. Thomas Ifeanyichukwu Obiatuegwu on 20 March, 2024. We are equally grateful to God for the successful installation of Most Rev. Simeon Okezuo Nwobi, CMF, as the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara on 20 June, 2024. This event which brought a closure to several years of crisis in the diocese, should be a template to the reconciliation and healing we are praying for in our states and communities. Finally, we welcome the new Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, His Grace Most Rev. Michael Francis Crotty. We wish him a successful tenure of service to the Church in Nigeria.
May our Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace and Patroness of our Province, intercede for us before her Son, the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Most Rev. Lucius I. Ugorji Most Rev. Augustine N. Echema
Archbishop of Owerri Bishop of Aba
Chairman Secretary
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