Catholic Bishops’ warning

RECENTLY, Catholic Bishops under the umbrella of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) sounded a note of warning on the state of affairs in the country, urging political leaders to take urgent action to address the growing challenges. The Bishops, at the opening session of the 2025 First Plenary Meeting of the CBCN at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Abuja, highlighted the challenge of youth unemployment and general dissatisfaction with the entire governance system, which they reasoned might soon lead to a state of anarchy. In addition to the Catholic Bishops, the event was attended by Most Rev. Michael Francis Crotty, Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria; his Secretary, Rev. Fr. Paterne Koyassabia Kozondo; the new CSN Secretary General, Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo; and other ecumenical partners, including the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba; the Prelate of the Methodist Church, Nigeria, His Eminence Oliver Ali Aba; as well as the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh.

In his opening address, the CBCN President, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, said: “Youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb, since frustration and disillusionment make them (youths) easy preys to radicalisation, initiation into dangerous cults, and recruitment by different armed and terrorist gangs to cause mayhem in the nation. We cannot be tired of urging the government at all levels to give serious attention to solving the problem of youth unemployment and joblessness. Unless and until government attends to the problem of youth joblessness by massively creating job opportunities in an ongoing manner, it may continue to lose the war against insecurity and violent crimes in the nation. As the voice of the voiceless, we should, with uncompromising energy, continue denouncing corruption, injustice, oppression, and exploitation of the poor and weak, which have held our nation down.”

In response, the Presidency, while acknowledging the reality of some of the concerns raised by the Bishops, harped on improvements in security, the economy, and youth employment under President Bola Tinubu. In a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said: “It is important to state categorically that our country has made tremendous progress in all areas since President Tinubu assumed office about 22 months ago. In terms of insecurity, Nigeria is more secure today than it was in 2023, thanks to our military and other security agencies and the strong leadership provided by President Tinubu as the Commander-in-Chief. In the last two years, over 8000 criminals—bandits, armed robbers, Boko Haram terrorists, and kidnappers – have been eliminated, and over 10,000 Nigerians—primarily women and children have been rescued from their abductors. As a result of improved security in our communities, especially in the North-West and the North-East, farmers have returned to their farms, and our country has seen increased food production, which is currently driving down prices of essential commodities.” In addition, the statement argued that President Tinubu’s administration had stabilised the economy from the precarious situation it inherited on assumption of office, pointing to Nigeria’s improved balance of trade, stronger foreign reserves, moderated inflation, better performing currency, and increased local refining capacity, among others.

Like previous administrations before it, the Tinubu government can definitely point to achievements in office. The point, however, is that whatever achievements it is laying claim to must be weighed against the backdrop of the general situation in the country, particularly the conditions in which the majority of Nigerians live. In this connection, it is difficult to argue against the Catholic Bishops’ claim that the situation in the country requires radical overhaul. There is nothing that the clerics said that Nigerians have not said time and again, particularly regarding the question of insecurity. Again, while the Presidency in its admittedly measured and respectful response to the clerics’ claims acknowledged the genuineness of (aspects of) their claims, it seems to have side-stepped the fact that their criticisms were directed to governments at all levels and not the Federal Government alone. The truth is that while the Federal Government needs to buckle down, the alarm by the Catholic Bishops is fundamentally about the need for a more robust system of governance that can guarantee greater returns than the opaque and overly centralised system that the country currently runs. With respect to the issue of youth unemployment and insecurity, for instance, there is no way the country can guarantee optimal results the way it is currently being run. Governments, from the federal to the local government level, must apprehend the precarious situation in which the country is currently mired, take steps to address corruption and enhance public transparency, and roll out programmes to curb the misery in the land. They must give Nigerians a better deal.

We do not, quite frankly, see how the Tinubu government can realistically hope to address the concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops without taking concrete steps to restructure the country and its governance system. Just how can the government move the country forward in a climate of pervasive insecurity? And how do you address insecurity without state policing? Why is the Tinubu government dilly-dallying on such an important issue, giving terrorists an opportunity to wreak maximum havoc on the populace? We urge it to shelve its current laid-back attitude and work with the state governments and the National Assembly to actualise state policing.

From Abuja to Lagos, Kano, Enugu, and Jos, Nigerians are suffering from widespread insecurity and hunger. Government must address these issues, and frontally too. The warning by the Catholic Bishops must be heeded.