Faith and patriotism, panacea for a new Nigeria, says Bishop Dugu
By Rachel Kogi, CSN
While Nigerians celebrate sixty-two years of nationhood amidst economic hardship, they are encouraged that prayer, faith and patriotism are the panacea for repositioning the country as they elect leaders in the forthcoming general elections.
The new Catholic Bishop of Katsina-Ala Diocese, Most Rev. Isaac Bundepuun Dugu gave the reminder during a thanksgiving Mass on Sunday October 2, 2022, in the Chaplaincy of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Abuja, his former place of assignment, when he was officially received by the CSN Community after his Episcopal Ordination.
In his sermon, the Bishop noted with dismay that Nigerians are “saturated with worry, beclouded with oppositions, paralyzed with fear, surrounded by discouragement,” but called on them not to give up in the responsibility of nation building.
“I urge you not to give up on the Nigerian Project. Our faith in God and our patriotism is all we need at this moment to enable us walk through this valley of darkness to that wonderful light; that Promised Land, God wants to lead us into now. One of the ways is to pray, to have faith and consciously work towards a better Nigeria even as we look forward to our next general elections, come 2023 when we cannot afford by this time to make any more mistakes.”
Bishop Dugu equated the predicament in Nigeria to the untold hardship and life of uncertainty during the reign of King Jehoiakim in Judah, caused by poor leadership. He condemned the lukewarm attitude of Nigerian leaders who “prefer to throw parties lavishly not mindful of waste, feast sumptuously in conscious neglect of the poor, build and sleep in gorgeous houses while in most cases IDPs have no prospects of returning to their ancestral homes.”
The Chief Shepherd observed that “in the pool of every uncertainty and despairing situation “which Nigerians are passing through,” it is imperative for all and sundry “to hold firmly on the wings of our faith, trust and belief in God.” He therefore reminded Nigerians that given the collapsed state of the nation, next year’s polls remain critical to the nation’s rebirth. He said, “while we vote according to our informed consciences, we must encourage one another on this journey to have faith in a new emerging Nigeria.”
In a related development, the Prelate commended the CSN and the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) for the “doggedness in providing leadership and direction” to Nigerians on contemporary issues, pointing out that the stand of the Church on the Mulism-Muslim ticket and the need to vote competent and credible leaders at the next year’s poll is a call to rescue Nigeria.
The community of St. Gabriel Chaplaincy, CSN, was in extremely joyous mood to have two Bishops, Bishop Dugu and Bishop Hyacinth Egbebo of Bomadi Diocese, and nine Priests at the Thanksgiving Mass. The day also coincided with the Chaplaincy’s Feast Day and 2022 Cultural Day celebration. Other highlights of the event were colourful cultural display of dances and foods of the different communities and presentation of gifts to Bishop Isaac Dugu. Recall that Bishop Dugu until his appointment as the Bishop of Katsina-Ala was the Director of the Pastoral Agents Department at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria.
