• Urge Churches to beef up security
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has expressed worry over the worsening state of insecurity in the country, saying no part of the country is safe anymore. Speaking recently at the Opening Session of the body’s 2022 Second Plenary Assembly held at the Sacred Heart Pastoral Centre, Orlu, Imo State, CBCN’s President, Most Rev. (Dr.) Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, x-rayed the state of the nation and lamented over the various challenges facing Nigeria. He raised concern over the plight of Nigerians toiling under excruciating economic condition, rising insecurity and other vices bedeviling the nation. Most Rev. Ugorji, who is also the Archbishop of Owerri said, “The level of insecurity in the country is very worrisome. We are passing through what might be deemed as the darkest chapter of our history as a nation.
“Extreme poverty, soaring unemployment rate, spiraling inflation, a collapsing economy, with ever increasing debt burden, and worsening insecurity have combined to complicate the plight of the average Nigerian, who appears condemned to a life of intolerable hardship and undeserved misery. “The country has continued to bleed endlessly as a result of the ungodly activities of insurgents, bandits, militant herdsmen, unknown gunmen, kidnappers and trigger-happy security agents. Nowhere seems safe anymore. Homes, farmlands, markets, highways, places of worship and presbyteries have all been turned into kidnapping and killing fields. “Innocent citizens are butchered with savagery and brazen impunity by criminals who lack a sense of the sanctity of human life.” The Archbishop however, insisted that good governance will bring about the desired change in Nigeria. According to him good governance implies equity, fairness, accountability, transparency, participation, openness and rule of law.
Good Governance
The CBCN’s President stressed, “The best way to guarantee security in a nation is good governance that aims for the common good. Good governance generates peace, which is the bedrock of development, and which takes root when people’s dignity and rights are respected; when there is the rule of law; when citizens are not excluded from political participation; when there is equitable distribution of national resources and people are free from hunger, poverty and unemployment. “It is, therefore, belabouring the obvious to observe that lack of good governance results in extreme poverty, unemployment, hardship, crime and violent conflicts. “In these difficult times, we cannot but stress that the first responsibility any government owes its citizenry is the security of their lives and property. Nigerians have the right to live in a secure and safe country. This is basic; every other thing flows from it.
“After the heavy annual budgets on yearly basis and after repeated assurances by government that it is on top of the matter, our country remains plagued by insecurity. This is a shame. “Government must wake up. Given that government appears overwhelmed in securing us, we encourage dioceses to take adequate measures to beef up security in our parishes, presbyteries and other Church Institutions. “We also urge dioceses and all people of goodwill to take the upcoming 2023 general elections seriously. We must all brace up to share our values on good governance based on the common good, and use our votes to elect people of unassailable integrity who have the character, competence, capacity and track record to lead our nation out of the present economic doldrums, ” he said.
Brain drain and migration
Archbishop Ugorji decried the wave of brain drain as well as migration of youths into Europe across the Sahara Desert in search of better economic opportunities where some met their deaths while others who got to their destinations are left with woeful alternatives of engaging in unspeakable odd jobs, prostitution or crime. The cleric said, “The rising insecurity and worsening economic situation in the country are resulting in migration and brain drain. “Professionals and skilled labourers are leaving the country in thousands annually in search of safety, security, job opportunities and better standard of living abroad, especially in Europe, United States and other African countries. “No doubt regular remittances from these migrant help to alleviate poverty among the households they left behind and impact positively on our national economy as a major source of inflow of foreign earning.
“Be that as it may, professionals and skilled labourers, who would have helped in national development, are lost to the country. This is only one side of the story. “The other side of the story, which is more of a national disgrace, consists of thousands of young men and women, who in search of greener pastures, embark on perilous journeys to Europe across the Sahara Desert. Along the way, some die and are buried in unmarked graves. “Others are trafficked for slave labour, sexual exploitation and organ harvesting. Many get drowned as they try to crossover the Mediterranean Sea with rickety and risky boats. Those who are lucky to make it to their final destinations end up in camps for asylum seekers, where they are at times subjected to subhuman conditions.
Human trafficking, modern day slavery
“Despite the collaborative efforts of the Police, Customs, Immigration, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, and Network Against Child Trafficking Abuse and Labour, NACTAL, to tackle human trafficking in Nigeria, traffickers are having a field day. “This despicable modern day slavery is booming because it has become a lucrative business and also as a result of the high level of corruption underpinning it. “Out of desperation to escape from extreme poverty and in the bid to support their poor families financially, some young girls, with the support of their parents, volunteer themselves to be trafficked for prostitution, without being aware of the level of exploitation and dehumanisation awaiting them.” Describing human trafficking as evil, he charged dioceses, parishes and Church organisations to raise awareness on “the evil”, stressing that one of the most effective ways of stemming migration, brain drain and human trafficking is through good governance. He maintained that if people are assured of security and safety, good job opportunities and better living conditions in their homeland, they would not be tempted to leave their countries.
Ecology and environmental degradation
The Archbishop of Owerri decried the way Nigerians take interest in carelessly destroying the environment. According to him ecological issues and environmental degradation had been commanding the attention of scientists, political leaders and the Church. “We are worried that unrestricted environmental pollution is causing climate change. It is also appalling that the prevailing culture of consumerism has led to the consumption of raw materials and energy at a rate unprecedented in human history, and is also causing the mindless degradation of the environment. “It is mind boggling to think of the quantity of raw materials consumed every day in today’s world and the quantity of energy used in the running of production plants, generators and vehicles. ‘’It is no less shocking to think of the resultant environmental pollution, as well as the degradation of the environment with tons and tons of disposable containers, cellophane and plastic materials thrown away daily.
“These non-degradable plastic materials end up in landfills, as well as oceans, seas and rivers and pose danger to aquatic life. It is also worrisome to observe that toxic and radio-active materials disposed in refuse dumps pollute the soil and sources of potable water. “How can we sleep well when we recall the reckless pollution and degradation of the environment in the Niger/Delta region; the expansion of Sahara Desert southwards into the Northern part of our country due to overgrazing and deforestation; the degradation of our environment across the country through reckless dumping of non-degradable plastic materials, which can sit in our landfill for hundreds of years?, he lamented. The CBCN President warned, “Nigerians need to act decisively to put these dangers in check before it is too late.”
He advised, “Can we do more to address the menace of pollution and degradation in the Niger/Delta region? Can we undertake the planting of trees as a way of reversing the expansion of the desert in the northern part of the country? Can we promote the three Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle – as a way of holding plastics back from our landfills, rivers, seas and oceans? He recommended a solution earlier stated by the Holy Pontiff, “ As Pope Francis points out in his encyclical letter Laudato Si, this calls for ecological conversion (L.S. nos. 216-221) as well as proper ecological education (L.S nos. 209 – 215) and a change towards a few lifestyle (L.S nos. 203 – 208), involving frugality, decent self-restraint and less waste.”
