The Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province on Wednesday took a swipe at an alleged selective administration of justice by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government.
This development has greatly impacted the image of the nation in the global community, the Bishops said.
The clerics from Ibadan Archdiocese, Ilorin, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti, and Osogbo Dioceses also criticized a number of other misdeeds of the administration.
Their opinions were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting at the Domus Pacis Pastoral Institute, Igoba, Akure, the Ondo State capital. They noted that the current level of insecurity in the country showed the government’s failure to address the criminal elements wreaking havoc, while it it’s busy dissipating energy on silencing law-abiding citizens.
The communiqué was signed by the Povince chairman, Most Rev Gabriel Abegunrin, and the secretary, Most Rev Akin Oyejola.
The clerics lamented that the nation under the current administration has lost its soul and that the insecurity pervading the land, dwindling economy, and others indicated a failed state in need of an urgent revival.
On specific issues, the Bishops lampooned the presidency for its attack on the person of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah for his recent comments to the United States Congress on the state of things in the country. According to them,Kukah made patriotic and commendable points with verifiable data on the unlawful persecution of Nigerians.
Part of the communiqué reads:
“Nigeria, our country, seems to have lost its very soul because it is no longer a healthy entity. The good health of any nation consists in its capacity to offer its citizens a territory where they can feel at home, feel secure and enjoy the basic necessities of life.
“This, unfortunately, is no longer the case in our dear country, Nigeria, where, armed conflicts, armed robbery, kidnapping for ransom, insurgency, banditry, and extrajudicial killing persist as the order of the day. When a nation loses its soul, its people lose the cohesive elements of human relationships. A nation that has lost its soul is characterised by inept, uncaring leadership which functions by selective allocation of posts, privileges, and resources and by selective application of justice. It is characterised by leaders who, rather than care for the citizens of the country, simply exploit and denigrate them.”
“Bishop Kukah, in his patriotic and frank presentation called attention to some verifiable data and statistics about the Nigerian situation on that privileged international platform. He spoke for authentic Christians and Muslims who are under persecution. No doubt, he intended to solicit the support of that forum which many Nigerians believe holds the promise of some assistance and relief from our current national crises.
“The Federal Government however has characteristically gone up in arms against the person of Bishop Kukah and his purpose. It is commonly said that when there is a problem in a democracy, more democracy is needed to solve it. Sadly enough, our current federal government does not seem to subscribe to this.”
“We declare again, as we have done often in the past, that only the truth can set us free. Nigeria must allow this to happen! The attempt of the Nigerian National Assembly to silence the press and penalize journalists for merely doing their job is to be completely rejected. We hold that the freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, guaranteed by the constitution, and cannot be alienated by any government least of all in a democracy.
“For the sake of our democracy, that right, exercised with responsibility, must be protected. We support Bishop Kukah in his effort to unveil the truth about the Nigerian situation in order to ameliorate things. We call on the Nigerian government to learn not to see criticism as an attack or a crime,” the Bishops declared.
“With the National Assembly at various occasions prioritizing party and privileges over people’s rights and interest, relief and progress continue to elude Nigerians. Simply put, those who claim to represent the people seem to have perfected the art of sabotaging the progress of their same people.
“Indeed, the time may have come for Nigerians to no longer simply roll over and accept non-representative decisions of the Assembly but to challenge them by all legitimate means.”
