Nigerian Archbishop Cautions against “suppressing” Youth With “reasonable demands”

Suppressing the voices of the youth, Archbishop Kaigama said, “or scaring them away is not a solution, but responding positively and creatively to those reasonable demands of theirs.”

Archbishop Kaigama who was presiding over Sunday Eucharistic celebration at Sts. Peter and Paul Nyanya Parish of Abuja Archdiocese further said, “In our myriad of challenges, our nation may be failing but it has not failed.”

He advocated for patriotism urging citizens of Africa’s most populous nation to “intensify building patriotic hearts, structures and institutions and rise above hatred, stereotyping, sectional interests, and bigotry, divisive and manipulative tendencies.” 

“It is our prayer that Nigeria will mature beyond the polarization based on religion and tribe, so as to be a shining light of social integration for Africa,” said the Local Ordinary of Abuja. 

He went on to express concerns about the country's reliance on oil as the primary source of revenue saying such dependency “constitutes the major source of our quarrel about injustice and marginalization.”

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“There will be less demand for oil in the future and some countries are preparing to use electric vehicles or energy sources like solar and wind, a technological transformation that will render oil redundant,” Archbishop Kaigama observed, proposing animal husbandry and farming as alternative sources of revenue.

To foster animal husbandry and farming, the Nigerian Catholic Church leader called for an end to the “needless” antagonism between livestock keepers and crop farmers.

“Stop the needless hostility between farmers and herders, and rather invest heavily in modernizing these sectors which can help to reduce the number of unemployed youths on the streets,” the Archbishop who will turn 63 next month said.

He challenged the unemployed youth in Nigeria to remain focused and “not allow the healthy seeds in them to die.”

“Keep dreaming positively and back it up by doing even petty jobs that will give you the dignity to eat from the labor of your hands. God will reward your patience,” he said. 

“We implore fellow Nigerians to truly rededicate ourselves to God; show respect to one another, identify with the poor, and practise genuine forgiveness and reconciliation,” Archbishop Kaigama said June 13.

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.