Between ecclesiastical authority and the state’s national interest

By DailyTimesNGR

17 February 2025

News

BY PATRICK WEMAMBU

Whereas the Church may not have direct authority over the State, it can potentially sway political decisions through the influence of its advocacy. Which is why the former constantly interferes in affairs of the latter towards ensuring a better life for the generality of the society.

This was the scenario last week when the Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province held their first meeting of 2025 at the Jubilee Conference Centre (JCC) Oke-Ado, Ibadan, Oyo State. Thereafter, the gathering issued a Communique with resolutions on the state of the Church and the Nigerian nation.

While congratulating all Christ Faithful on the Jubilee Year, the Meeting expressed optimism in the Church continuing in her efforts to fulfil the mandate of going into the whole world and make disciples of all nations and promoting the Kingdom of God on earth. In pursuit of that objective, keeping hope alive in every circumstance is essential to that mandate and mission, the Bishops admonished.

Deliberating on the topic of Public Security as Accessory of Hope, the meeting commended the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government for managing the security situation in the land – making the hope of the people in a better future to grow. “This proves the dictum that when there is life, there is hope. Citizens have to be alive to work for better times. Our leaders, however, cannot rest on their oars. We must denounce the threat posed more recently by the resurgence of the menace of herdsmen attacks, kidnappings, robberies and other crimes in parts of Yorubaland,” their Lordships said.

They, however, appealed to governors and security agencies in the Southwestern States to rise up to the challenges posed by threats in order to maintain the relative peace and security of recent years. Efficient intelligence gathering, good remunerations and equipping of security outfits and a determination to prosecute crime without favour, were advocated as panacea for security of life and property in the country which must be pursued with single-mindedness of purpose.

“It is almost 2 years now when the current administration came to power with glowing promises of a better life for all Nigerians. Regrettably, millions of Nigerians still yearn for the most basic necessities of life. It should worry the government at all levels that ‘Ebi npa wa’, meaning, ‘We are hungry’ has become a more popular song on the lips of many Nigerians than the celebrated national, regional or state anthems,” the Communique stated under the subject of Food Security as Sustainer of Hope.

While commending cheering strides made by some sub-nationals to promote agriculture, the governments at all levels were urged to invest more in agriculture, facilitate the involvement of youths in boosting food production towards reducing the escalating cost of commodities all over Nigeria. A country that cannot feed its citizens is not worth its sovereignty, the meeting noted.

It added; “This is even more true of Nigeria which is well endowed with all the necessary ingredients for food sufficiency. Without food for the population, hope is difficult to instill and productivity is diminished because a hungry people is a restive people. We enjoin government to engage with experts and creative, social engineers to reduce the rate of hunger in society as an added means of strengthening the hope of our citizens. It is difficult to sustain hope on hungry stomachs.”

Examining the Media as Purveyors of Hope, the Bishops asserted that basically no programme of public interest can fully succeed without the cooperation of the media. Just as they appreciated media workers in Nigeria for the role they have played in sustaining the tenuous sanity in Nigeria – often at great risk to their own survival, security agencies were enjoined to see the media as partners in nation building and desist from all forms of intimidation and gimmicks to gag the media.

Continuing, the meeting explained; “A free press is the real antidote to dictatorship and a catalyst for human development. We, therefore, urge Nigerians to ensure that the media remains free to do its job. Conversely, the media must resist its obsession with bad news at the expense of balanced reporting which highlights both good and bad things happening in the society with equal passion. Only in this way can the media become true allies and purveyors of hope in mobilizing public energy and creativity to collectively conquer the challenges facing us all.”

Interrogating the Urgency of Transformative Leadership, the Local Ordinaries observed that Nigeria is still in dire straits on many levels which does not need any emphasis. Most Nigerians from different perspectives feel the debilitating effect of poor governance, relentless pursuit of wealth at all costs sidelining of the rule of law, corruption in institutions and individuals – they rued. In order to restore hope to such a depressed populace, however; “Nigeria urgently needs transformative leadership. It needs training in intentional leadership that instills values of integrity, service and moral courage which will not spend valuable time lamenting the woes of the society but which takes decisive action backed by personal sacrifice to counter them.”

The Church assured that it is committed to providing and supporting transformative education and programmes which will equip and inspire youths to lead with integrity, re-orientate their values by prioritizing hard work, honesty, solidarity and compassion over crass materialism. It further reiterated its commitment through its agencies and personnel to provide mentorship for Nigerian youths to learn from experienced leaders to cherish accountability and transparency.

“The National Confab for youths proposed by the President in 2024 should not be another talk shop or cosmetic exercise. It should be a hope-generating idea that the young people of this country will have a say in the affairs of the country. While acknowledging the challenges that may arise from the process of selecting participants, we urge the government to ensure a transparent and honest process of selection that will guarantee a fair and widespread representation of the young people all over the country,” the Communique which was signed by Most Rev. Gabriel Abegunrin, Chairman and Most Rev. John Oyejola, Secretary, declared.

It stressed that it was convinced that such a Confab of youth can generate fresh creative ideas if and only if the government gets the representation process right with authentic spokespersons of the youth all over Nigeria.

Commendable as their Lordships have devoted their time, treasures and talents in reflecting on issues plaguing the Nigerian State, it is hoped that the government would do the needful in favourably considering the suggestions of the Ecclesiastical Province meeting. These should positively impact on concerned authorities.