Break-up won’t solve Nigeria’s problem – Catholic Archbishop

Adewale Martins, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, has stated that breaking up Nigeria would not fix the country’s current problems, instead stressing the importance of good governance, justice, and fairness on the part of the federal government.

Martins, speaking at the Holy Cross Cathedral on Lagos Island on Thursday, emphasized that Nigeria will be stronger and greater as one indivisible nation, and that agitations from different groups will be prevented if the federal government meets expectations.

According to him, there was a period in the country when people were not talking of independence or creating new nations from Nigeria, but they became helpless and lost hope as a result of the government’s inequity and unequal treatment.

“I believe that the inequity we see in the system is what sparked the agitations for Nigeria to break,” he said. People in the country feel weak and insecure, so they think it is easier to form new nations.

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People’s lives are unstable, and many are hungry and tired of the system, so certain elements of agitation will eventually emerge in a world where parts are totally left out, not given a sense of belonging, and people’s lives are insecure.”

Martins urged the Federal Government to investigate what prompted the people to demand their own countries and address the issues as soon as possible so that the people would be able to claim Nigeria as their own.

The Archbishop described the widespread cases of school kidnapping in Nigeria as a “very bad development” that requires immediate attention and a solution.

He expressed confidence that the newly appointed security chiefs will formulate new strategies and be proactive in ensuring that schoolchildren in the country are secure, especially while attending their various schools.

The cleric urged the approximately 400 priests who renewed their vows to consider being loyal to God and the church, as well as ensuring that they remain priests not only on the outside, but also in their hearts and minds.