Abuja, 05 September, 2023 / 12:32 pm (ACI Africa).
Political leaders in Nigeria need to go beyond the “attractive packages” that accompany their positions in government, and bear the leadership burden “with good cheer”, the Catholic Archbishop of the country’s Abuja Archdiocese has said.
In his Sunday, September 3 homily at St. Josephine Bakhita’s Pastoral Area, Jikwoyi, in his Metropolitan See, Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama reflected on the Readings of the day, highlighting the example of the prophet Jeremiah and the person of Jesus Christ.
“More than the attractive packages that come with leadership positions in Nigeria, leaders must be determined to bear the burden of leadership with good cheer and strive to alleviate the sufferings of the masses,” Archbishop Kaigama said.
Leaders in Nigeria, he added, “are called to serve the poor and the needy with compassion and justice, and to work towards a more equitable and compassionate society.”
Reflecting on the First Reading, the Nigerian Catholic Archbishop challenged leaders in Africa’s most populous nation to emulate “the young Jeremiah’s” courage in identifying the challenges the people of God in the country are facing, and work towards addressing them.