Worried over the alarming rate of insecurity, killings and banditry in the country, the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria lamented that there can be no meaningful development in any country without adequate security, and emphasised that security in our country will remain a tall dream if mass unemployment exists among our youths.
“The government does not need to reinvent the wheel since it can easily learn from what other nations do to provide adequate security for its citizens. It goes without saying that there cannot be any meaningful development in any country without adequate security. It will be belabouring the obvious to state that security in our country will remain a tall dream if mass unemployment exists among our youths.”
In an address delivered by the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, during the Opening ceremony for the first 2024 plenary assembly of the CBCN, the President decried the worsening rate of unemployment in the country among the youths who are deeply wounded and degraded by unemployment and poverty. He further explained that this menace of employment have made the youths feel rejected by the very society into which they were born, while thousands of them seek relief from drugs and alcohol and eventually end up in violent crimes.
Commenting on the reform agenda of the present administration, the CBCN President noted that the withdrawal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market, has led to a sharp increase in the pump price of petroleum products, a steep decline in the value of the Naira and a high spiralling inflation which has made it difficult for the average Nigerian to access basic commodities, including food items and medication.
“As a result of the governmentโs reform agenda, millions of Nigerians have been reduced to a life of grinding poverty, wanton suffering, and untold hardship as never before in our national history. In a bid to survive, an increasing number of the poor have resorted to begging. With more than 80 million Nigerians living under the poverty line of less than two dollars a day, our country, according to the recent disclosure of the World Bank, is the worldโs second-largest poor population after India.
“While many impoverished Nigerians continue to suffer and die as a result of the hardship caused by the governmentโs economic reforms, the president has continued to urge the populace to make even more and more sacrifices with the assurance that brighter days lay ahead.”
The CBCN helmsman reiterated the stance of the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria on the Fiducia Supplicans document of the Holy Father, Pope Francis that there is no possibility of blessing same-sex couples or same-sex unions in the Church in Africa.
“In line with our earlier Clarification and the Declaration of SECAM, we must continue to teach our faithful that there is no possibility of blessing same-sex couples or same-sex unions in the Church in Africa. Homosexual acts are acts of grave depravity, which are intrinsically disordered and, above all, contrary to natural law (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2357). In furtherance of our pastoral and prophetic mission, we must also continue to stress that God loves the sinner unconditionally and calls him to repentance so that he might live. As sinners, we are all encouraged to emulate the Prodigal Son, who abandoned his sinful past and returned to his fatherโs house (cf. Lk 15:11 โ 32).”
The opening ceremony which took place at the Tansi Hall in the CSN Resource Centre of the CSN on Sunday, February 18, 2024, had in attendance the President of Nigeria, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, who was also the Chairman of the occasion, alongside other guests, dignitaries, government officials and captains of industries.
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