Catholic Bishops To Buhari: It’s Dangerous To Ignore Constructive Criticisms Of Nigerians
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ABUJA – The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has warned that if President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government continues to ignore the constructive criticisms and recommendations of Nigerians from every sector, the country will collapse and become ungovernable, saying that; “We are speedily getting there”.
This is as the Bishops said that while they reject any call for the destabilisation of Nigeria or military takeover, they nonetheless call on the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari, to stop focusing its energy, time and resources in any form of propaganda against religious leaders who disagree with his performance.
The Bishops also said that there is no need to spend so much of the government’s time trying to blackmail anyone who criticises it, stressing that Nigerians of note and good conscience speak out because they do not want Nigeria to collapse.
The Bishops Conference in a statement by the President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, who is also the Archbishop of Benin City, Most Reverend Augustine Akubeze, said the religious leaders are not speaking out for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Government to fail, but speaking out so that Nigeria will not fail.
According to the Bishops; “APC is not the owner of Nigeria; Nigeria is owned by Nigerians irrespective of political affiliation. APC Government must learn to listen to every Nigerian, both political actors in other parties and non-political actors in Nigeria and the diaspora.
“It is not out of place to call for a security summit in whatever form it may take as long as it leads to the unity, peace, justice, progress and protection of Nigerians”.
The Conference further said that Catholic Church in Nigeria, through the leadership of the CBCN, has spoken several times about the need for the country to ensure that the nation’s democracy works for every Nigerian and not for only a few privileged politicians or those connected to them.
In the words of the Bishops; “Every Nigerian is a stakeholder in the affairs of the country. Every Nigerian has the right to express themselves in a manner that does not incite people to violence or chaos whenever they perceive that the elected Government is failing.
“A Nigerian does not need to be a registered political party card-carrying member before speaking about the failing economy, the daily killings and kidnappings of students, older men and women; babies and infants; people being killed in IDPs camps and even in their homes by insurgents.
“Every reasonable Nigerian is sick to the stomach to read or hear of a Governor running from insurgents who want to kill him in the State where he is constitutionally the chief security officer.
“Nigerians are tired of hearing of bandits taking youths in the University and executing some of them, while others are kept to be used to bargain for ransom.
“The insecurity is leading to a daily loss of lives and properties in every part of the country. These facts are indisputable.
“A country where students are no longer safe in schools nor farmers safe in their farms does not have a future to look to.
“In the midst of all these, the Presidency recently stated that some religious leaders and some Nigerian politicians are plotting to destabilise the country. The spokesperson for the Nigeria Army noted that there is no plan by the military to take over democratically elected persons,” it noted.
The Bishops Conference therefore urged the Federal Government to be transparent with every Nigerian in the struggle to revive our economy, industrialise the nation, objectively deal with corruption and significantly reduce the high level of insecurity and unemployment.
It stressed that in every democracy, the welfare of the citizens is of great concern to the President, adding that from time to time, Presidents address the people and give an account of the state of affairs in the country. The Bishops further said; “Presidents of countries grant interviews to the media who are the watchdogs of democracy. But in Nigeria, we hardly hear directly from our President. Most of the time, we hear from “the Presidency.” Nigerians did not elect presidential media spokespersons.
“Nigerians do want to hear directly from their President and hear words that are matched with actions”.
The Conference also appealed to religious leaders, not to use inflammatory words that distort the real message they are sending to the Government, saying they must be united in the fight for our common destiny as a people.
The Bishops also said; “Police stations are being burnt, our gallant military men and women are being killed, barracks are attacked, IDP camps are attacked, farmlands are invaded, youth unemployment is at its highest, private sectors are not giving enabling environment to thrive, and appointments to offices are not reflective of our diversities; the complaints are almost endless – could the sounds signalling a collapsing nation be louder than this?”
The Bishops Conference said that in Nigeria, the Catholic Church wants the Federal Government to call for a meeting of all stakeholders to have a sincere discussion on the way forward, adding that such discussions must seek how to implement the much talked about restructuring and devolution of power down to the local government level.
“Let us continue to pray to God to grant the Federal Government and other State actors the wisdom and courage to bring peace and justice to every Nigerian.
The Bishops said that no Government leader should watch the breakdown of law and order in Nigeria, stressing that it is our collective obligation to make Nigeria successful, adding that as religious people, they entrust Nigeria to the hands of God and pray that we may respond to the voice of God calling us out of this crisis.
