The Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins has urged Nigerians to disregard the recent viral videos that is speculating tribal war, creating tension, encouraging and inciting ethnic and religious sentiments in order to shift focus from the youths peaceful protest in the country. Archbishop Martins made this call in a statement issued recently. His words: “In the last days, we have witnessed a sad decline in the level of thought and action in our quest for a new Nigeria. “We have witnessed an unimaginable level of vandalism and looting of both public and private properties and businesses not only in Lagos but also in many other parts of our country.” Commending the protest that started off peacefully with a genuine demanding of reformation and rebuilding of the country, the Chief Shepherd regretted the hijacking of the whole protest by miscreants.
He noted: “This was a sad departure from and a wicked hijack of the peaceful protest that our young people had been embarking on. “To make the matter worse, we have seen people making social media posting trying to incite ethnic and religious sentiments in order to shift focus away from a noble cause spearheaded by the young ones.” Describing Yorubaland and indeed, Lagos State as the commercial capital of Nigeria, Most. Rev. Martins noted that Lagos has been a melting pot of people from all parts of Nigeria and the world. He said:” This has been a source of strength for our country and the Church. “We urge all to see such video clips and similar postings to ignore them and resist the urge to circulate them.” While acknowledging that some State Governors as well as many eminent Nigerians and respected groups have denounced the divisive messages, he noted that: “The Catholics in the Archdiocese of Lagos also add their voice to condemn the divisive message and caution our young people not to allow the use of the same old tactics of political entrepreneurs to cause division among them and make them lose focus
.” He noted also that: “The political jobbers have always played the ethnic and religious cards to derail initiatives which they know are capable of jeopardizing their class interest. “Young people from all over the country and indeed, the entire people of Nigeria should be wise in their discernment of messages that employ intensity of religion in a way that excludes rather than bind people together. “It is certain that the issues at stake are neither tribal or religious and those behind this sort of contrived narratives cannot mean well for our country,” he observed. He therefore urged the government to fulfill the promises made towards addressing the issues raised and demands of the youths pointing out that the country needs peace and a chance to heal the already existing wounds in the country
