Francis Sadhere
Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Warri, His Lordship, Most Reverend John Okeoghene Afareha, has urged Nigerian politicians to always fulfill their electoral promises to the people, noting that it was the only way the country can be free from the shackles of underdevelopment.
He said this at the Holy Mass of the second plenary session of All Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Warri, Delta State.
While stressing that poverty was as a result of injustice in the country, Bishop Afareha added that the time had come for all oppressed Nigerians to wage war against injustice in the country.
He decried the level of injustice in the country saying that Nigerians must rise up now and wage a serious war against the gross injustice that had pervaded the land.
According to him, for the nation to be great again, “we all must work for the betterment of the nation and our people.”
In his words; “We must work for the betterment of our people. Politicians must fulfill their promises to the people, while the citizens must carry out their expected civic duties. Nigeria needs a vibrant church and Nigerians must fight against poverty induced by injustice.”
He described the Boko Haram insurgency going on in the North Eastern part of the country and the Ebola virus disease, both of which has been a serious threat to the nation, as our national cross, but added that we shall overcome them.
The Bishop added that the ongoing Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria will, also deliberate on some of the issues raised at the just concluded National Conference, pleading with the National Assembly to take seriously most of the resolutions taken at the National Conference.
He urged Nigerian, irrespective of their religious, political or ethnic Backgrounds to work collectively as a people and help the government bring insurgency to its knees.
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Jos and President, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), His Excellency, Most Reverend Ignatus Ayau Kaigama, in his opening address at the Conference Centre, Enerhen, erected primarily for the purpose of the CBCN holding in Warri, implored Nigerians to be of good disposition towards one another.
Most Rev. kaigama who spoke in Enerhen, Uvwie Local Government Areas after the opening Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Warri, added that; “We call on our political leaders to have to have the political will to do only what is noble, honourable and just for our nation.”
“it is not enough for our people to pray, they must be patriotic too, by avoiding acts which dent our national image here and abroad and set us back in many ways,” he said.
According to him, the just concluded National Conference once again demonstrated that despite our diversity and disagreements, Nigerians can still transcend those prejudices that erect sky-high barriers and prevent the desired unity and rapid progress of the nation.
He said; “Those who often call for the division of this nation may not have deeply and prayerfully considered the implications of the matter. There is no guarantee that things will become better if we all go our own ways. If despite all the blessings visited on this nation for a whole century now, we are still finding it difficult to relate warmly with one another as Nigerians, intra ethnic violence still common, and infrastructural development to benefit especially the rural dwellers a mirage, who tells the agitators that when we are factionalized into ethnic or multiple entities that we shall do any better? It is a matter of changing our mentality and orientation, not multiplying countries out of one Nigeria.”
