The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has sounded the alarm on the nation’s precarious state, warning that Nigeria is teetering on the brink of chaos under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
They painted a grim picture of a country “sitting on a ticking time bomb,” where poverty, hardship, and corruption have become the norm.
In a scathing assessment, the Catholic body of bishops lamented that the government’s failure to address these pressing issues has created a perfect storm of discontent, which recently boiled over into nationwide protests.
The bishops condemned the brutal suppression of these protests, which resulted in the loss of young lives, and expressed concern that the government’s heavy-handed response may be intended to stifle citizens’ democratic rights.
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Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, delivered a stark warning: as long as the nation’s youths face a bleak future, protests will continue to erupt.
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Ugorji chastised government officials for their attempts to shift blame and downplay the severity of the crisis, saying it’s delusional to think that everything is fine when, in reality, the country is on the verge of implosion.
The bishops also lamented over Nigeria’s spiraling debt burden, which has led to draconian economic reforms, including the withdrawal of fuel subsidies and the devaluation of the naira.
They urged the government to tackle the root causes of these problems, rather than just papering over the cracks.
In a message of hope, the Archbishop advised that trust in God can transform the nation, but only if the challenges are confronted head-on. The future of Nigeria hangs in the balance, and it’s up to its leaders to choose the right path, he stressed.
The 2024 second Plenary Assembly of the CBCN is taking place in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State.
