The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has sounded a note of warning on the looming danger of instability pervading the entire landscape of Nigeria pointing out that the nation is falling apart. According to it , the present instability in the land must not be allowed to fester and degenerate as it was capable of collapsing the country as an entity. “The clamour for self-defense is fast gaining ground. Many ethnic champions are loudly beating the drums of war, calling not only for greater autonomy but even for outright opting out of a nation in which they have lost all trust and sense of belonging”.
In a message of the body to all people of goodwill dated 23rd February, 2021 with the caption “We must pull back from the brink of collapse”, signed by its President, Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubueze, Bishop of Benin Diocese and Secretary, Most Rev. Camillius Raymond Umoh, Bishop of Ikot-Ekpene, the bishops warned that many had given up on the “viability and even on the desirability of the Nigeria project as one united country” and called on the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari ” to rise to its obligations to govern the nation; not according to ethnic and religious biases but along the lines of objective and positive principles of fairness, equity and above all, justice”.
“Despite the persistence of crises around us: assassinations, Covid-19, kidnappings, murders, banditry, armed robberies, we sincerely affirm our faith in the viability and desirability of the Nigeria Project as one prosperous nation under God. But, we are also convinced that building such a nation, especially in our present circumstances, comes at a cost”
The Bishops stated that they needed the courage as a body to admit there were a lot wrong with our nation and had the patriotic duty to point them out with all objectivity and sincerity and regretted that what happened in Niger State exposed our collective vulnerability. It called for a clear strategy between the Federal security agencies and the State Governments to end the tragedy that we are facing as a nation.
Source: Drumnewsonline
