Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Grace, Most Revd Ignatius Kaigama, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari and the 36 governors to without any further delay find possible ways to address the continued insecurity, economic downturn and national strike by university lecturers in the country.
The cleric made the call on Saturday while addressing the maiden general congress of the indigenous people of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja.
He stated that Nigerian people were sad, angry and frustrated with the situation of the country.
The archbishop frowned at the unguided display of wealth by political actors, especially the high cost of party nomination forms for the 2023 general elections and warned that if the situation is not remedied on time, it might destroy the fabric of Nigeria’s nationhood.
He said, “There’s insecurity, hunger, unemployment, and the youths are out of school. Government should be responsible and provide for us. Unfortunately, that is not happening and there is a very great degree of disaffection. People are angry, sad and frustrated.
“We are saying the government should wake-up to its responsibilities. The government should open its eyes and look at the people with justice and mercy.
“The insensitivity of our politicians amazes me. They know there is sufferings in the land, but I can see an arrogant display of wealth in the way they organise their political activities and events, but there is no money to ensure security, to ensure the university students go back to school, to ensure that people can afford food in the market, and to service the health sector.
“I call on our leaders to rethink and know that there is God and He is watching. The resources we have, let us use it for our people and not personal interest. Politics is all about service to the people, and good governance. It is not just about aspiring to gain access to the wealth of the nation and use it in a very arbitrary manner.
“Our leaders must stop and think. Something is wrong. Our people are bottling up their anger for so long. Let the leaders not allow this anger to burst, because it is going to be terrible.
“We hope that something will be done quickly and also with sensitivity to the needs of the people, whether it is electricity, university education, water supply, roads, and above all, security. We need these things now. We elected our political leaders to provide these, and they promised to do so, but we are dismayed that they are so incapable and unwilling to provide these basics for the people.”
