Talk to Protesters “as a father, as a shepherd”: Bishop to Nigeria’s Government Leaders

On October 20, the Nigerian government deployed members of the army to curtail the demonstrations alongside the declaration of a 24-hour curfew in the country’s largest city, Lagos. Several people were reportedly killed and others severely injured at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State on that fateful day.

“Now you are in that position because God has considered you better gifted than them (protesting youths.) Now do something right,” the Bishop of Nsukka said, addressing himself to those in government.

In his 28-minute homily, the 64-year-old Nigerian Prelate decried divisions in Africa’s most populous nation and wondered, “Where are our leaders and shepherds in Nigeria today? We are scattered. This nation is too fragmented. God said gather my people.”

“People are seeking too much of their parochial and selfish interests,” he observed and continued, “God is appealing to us today on the Feast of Christ the King ‘If you are in any position of authority, you are acting in my name. Take care of my people. Look for the scattered sheep’.”

Bishop Onah went on to bemoan the holding of the country hostage by bandits and terrorists noting that despite the government’s reassurances that the situation is under control, “we know that is not true.”

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“Cultists and bandits have taken over some states in this country and there are many cries now more than ever before for splitting this country into separate units and some people are there playing politics with the lives of Nigerians,” the Bishop lamented.

He told those in leadership in Nigeria, “God is telling you today, ‘Look, get up and go after my sheep, I have entrusted them to you.’ Go and look for them and bandage the wounded.”

The Bishop appealed to Nigerians to strive towards a better nation saying, “Show your faith by your life, by your service to your brothers and sisters, by denying yourself some comfort so that others may enjoy some comfort as well.”