The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, has said that political leaders failing to fulfill their social responsibilities to the people in the quest to assume power in 2023 are indirectly worsening insecurity and criminality in the country.
He said this on Friday in at the Abuja Archdiocesan General Assembly with the theme: “Ministerial and Pastoral Collaboration”.
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Kaigama said many leaders had begun the costly and risky schemes to take over the seat of the Presidency in 2023 and that many politicians had failed to understand that only God gives power and victory during elections.
“Our political leaders should not feverishly dissipate energy in perfecting their costly political strategies while abandoning their social responsibilities to the people because they are targeting the 2023 elections. Only God can tell or determine what 2023 holds for Nigeria,” he said.
Kaigama said the government at all levels must show greater commitment to addressing the worsening national insecurity, as news within and outside the country about Nigeria is not too good.
Speaking on Federal Government borrowings, he said, “The huge loans we have formed the bad habit of taking, must be used to revamp the various sectors of the economy and strengthen government institutions to bring about the desired socio-economic progress, or else, we risk creating huge problems for future generations.
“There must be concrete and effective measures of job creation and youth empowerment, access to social welfare services and other dividends of democracy. Many young people and professionals are grabbing every available opportunity to flee abroad for greener pastures, because their fatherland/motherland is unable to provide adequately for them.”
He insisted that insecurity in the nation would continue unless Nigerians stopped playing the ethnic and religious cards with the killings and mass abductions by bandits.
“It is not just Christians or Muslims that are being killed, it is Nigerians that are being killed, and that is a source of worry. The problem is that we always see things from an ethnic or religious perspective. That is why the problem will never end.
“But when we are angry and bitter that Nigerians are being killed no matter the religion or ethnic group involved, we will fight and get justice. But we don’t do that. We retreat into our cocoons and then begin to play the tribal and religious cards. It is not helping us.”
He therefore, urged Nigerians to be united, speak the language of love, understand and show respect to each other to overcome the challenges.
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