OWERRI — CATHOLIC Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) rose from their second plenary session, weekend, in Makurdi, Benue State, warning against any effort to subvert or suppress the voice of opposition in the country. It was part of a 13-point communiqué issued at the end of their five-day meeting, signed by the CBCN President and Secretary, Archbishop John Onaiyekan and Most Rev. Dr. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji respectively.
While observing that a plurality of political parties is essential for the healthy sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, the Catholic clerics also regretted a situation in which opposition is either sabotaged or subverted. “We regret a situation in which opposition is subverted and sabotaged or opposition easily succumb to such pressures,” the Catholic Bishops stated.
The meeting proposed criteria for good governance, such as accountability, participation of people in decision making and implementation of policies, predictability of issues in public life, as well as sensitivity to ethnic and religious diversity, the rule of law and transparency. “While we note certain glimmer of hope in the government’s effort to rid Nigeria of corruption, we regret that the state of governance in this country is still far from these criteria. Our nation swiftly drifts into social fragility, political apathy and a general state of insecurity,” the clerics insisted.
According to the Nigerian Catholic Bishops, these criteria are fundamental to restore people’s trust inthe government as well as capable of strengthening the nation’s nascent democracy. They called on all Nigerians at all levels to examine their lifestyles and the consequences of their actions or inactions onthe people they are supposed to serve. On the state of the nation’s schools and formation of the Nigerian youths, the Bishops pledged to continue to offer their services, in partnership with the government, towards the provision of quality andfunctional education for the citizenry.
“We thank the state governments which have handed some schools back to the church. We urge other state governments to follow these examples which further help in the moral education of our youths and raise the ethical standard of our people,” the pleaded.
Addressing the scourge of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, the clerics expressed regret that the prevention, care and eradication of HIV/AIDS in the country have become another source of amassing wealth. “We call on medical personnel and philanthropic Nigerians to continue to work assiduously for the control, with the hope of total eradication of this disease. We should intensify our efforts in removing any stigmatisation associated with victims of this ailment,” the clerics said.
