“Matters have not been helped by some security operatives, who have resorted to threats, intimidation, and blackmail to deter the youths from the looming protest. This has fueled the fear that there might be violent and bloody clashes between security operatives and the youths if the protest were to hold,” the Local Ordinaries of Owerri Archdiocese and the Dioceses of Aba, Ahiara, Orlu, Okigwe, and Umuahia further say.
The planned 10-day street demonstrations in Nigeria seek to address economic hardships in the country as well as protracted systemic issues. They have been inspired by the Kenya-style youth-led protests that started on June 18.
In their July 31 statement, Catholic Bishops in Owerri Ecclesiastical Province say, “As long as there are many people suffering from multi-dimensional poverty in the land; as long as there are people without the renewed hope that comes with opportunities for a decent livelihood; as long as the peoples’ income can no longer afford their genuine needs; as long as their votes cannot be guaranteed to effect a change in the behavior of our leaders; Nigeria will continue to remain a restive nation.”
“Good governance and socio-economic stability will continue to elude us if we, collectively, do not decide to strengthen our political institutions, if we do not improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability in all our public institutions,” the Catholic Bishops say.
They underscore the need for Nigerians to engage in some soul-searching, saying, “It will be naive for us to imagine that leadership alone can resolve all the issues that bedevil our country. The failure of leadership reflects equally the failure of followership. It is obvious then that both leadership and followership in Nigeria have responsibilities to fulfill to move our nation forward.”
The Catholic Church leaders urge “proper leadership in the various sectors and cadres of our country, be it business, politics, public service, security agencies, and other essential services. All of these different sectors must come together as part of the same wheel of progress.”
Political leaders in Nigeria, they say, need to “rise and inspire the nation, and as well earn the trust of the populace, with policies and programs that will improve the standard of living, economic growth, stability, and a general rise in the standard of governance and governance structure.”
They also call on citizens of Africa’s most populous nation to “make adjustments in the context of the hard times facing us.”
These adjustments, they say, include “saying no to all corrupt practices, being alive and awake to our rights and our civic responsibilities, saying no to every attempt to cow and intimidate the citizenry.”
“We do not deny that progress has been made in particular sectors of national life – progress for which we all rejoice. Yet many areas of work remain. And the palpable fear is that there might be no redeeming future if things continue to go the way they are going at the moment,” Catholic Bishops in Owerri Ecclesiastical Province say in their July 31 statement.
