The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has raised alarm that Nigeria is at the brink of chaos, with citizenry becoming poorer, feeling helpless and losing hopes, due to the current situation in the country.
He said this on Sunday in Abuja at the 2019 Presidential Inauguration Inter-Denominational Church Service with the theme: “Setting the Nation on Higher Levels of Peace and Development in the Fear of God.”
According to him, the nation is not in a state for rejoicing as the ranks of the poor are swelling by the day, hopeless and helpless, as they watch in frustration the affluence of the very few cruising in a different world.
“Such wide socio-economic disparity has led to anger, tension, violence and outright criminality in the land. All is not well. This is no time for celebration of victory or for lamentation over defeat. Rather, it is time to pull efforts together, with the grace of God, to tackle the serious challenges before us.
“At this moment, we would do well to acknowledge our failure to do things in the right way. Here, the words of the Psalmist should challenge each of us: ‘If you Oh Lord should mark our guilt, who would survive?’
“The blame game of pointing accusing fingers at others will not carry us far. For a positive change to take place, we must all be ready for a sincere change of heart, from the lowest to the highest, but especially at the highest levels. Empty boasts and bare-face denial of the realities around us cannot build a nation.
“But all is not lost either. As we embrace a new term of government, it should be for us a new opportunity to change ways and review habits of governance, for a better Nigeria.
“God has endowed us with adequate resources to achieve this; resources that we unfortunately turn into crises and problems. Ethnicity and religion are two cases in point,” Onaiyekan said.
On his part, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said that Christians are to take the lead in giving hope to others.
He therefore urged Nigerians to be each other’s keeper and do things right in the interest of national development.
Also, a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), urged Nigerians to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari and all the leaders so that they will give good governance and look after the interest of all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe, faith or beliefs.
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