The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese, Ignatius Kaigama, has urged President Bola Tinubu to address insecurity ravaging the nation.
Naijaonpoint reports that Kaigama disclosed that during the last Catholic Bishops’ meeting with the President, he was urged to address the nation’s insecurity, yet nothing has changed.
Kaigama, speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of a Chrism Mass held at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral in Abuja, said God weeps for the nation.
The cleric submitted that God weeps for Nigeria because of bloodshed, corruption, banditry and terrorism. He called on Nigerians to change their ways and accept God.
“What makes God weep for Nigeria? Corruption, banditry, terrorism, bloodshed, etc. Despite the strong presence and the external practice of Christianity and Islam, many reject the truth of God’s word and choose to conceal it and not bear witness to it; we put people who speak the truth down; we refuse to be instruments of God’s love and mercy to others; we choose to live in sin rather than God’s grace and mercy. We place others on the cross by our hatred and rejection of them,” he said.
Archbishop Kaigama decried that criminality has diversified, while every part of the nation is affected.
“When the Catholic Bishop went to see him. We had to appeal to the President that they must rise to the occasion, and things are well.
“There was a time when it was only Boko Haram; another time it was militant herdsmen. Now, insecurity has diversified. Criminality has developed branches. It is a monster, spreading in all directions. There is a need for restrategizing. Whatsoever the security agencies are doing has worked to an extent, but there is no solution yet.
“There should be an inter-agency corporation. There should be no competition. All the security forces should go all out for criminals. These people are not ghosts.
“I am hoping that a new step will be taken. We insist that good work must be done. The resources voted for security must be used honestly and transparently,” he said.
The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja stressed that Nigeria needs healing from wounds inflicted by politics and a harsh economy.
Kaigama condemned recent killings across the nation. He questioned the sincerity of security agencies in arresting and prosecuting perpetrators of the killings across the nation.
“Our nation needs healing from the festering wounds inflicted by politics, and harsh economic realities that do not only result in crimes and violence but subsequently, to unsound minds of our dear young people. We continue to witness criminality that robs people of their lives which should be sacred.
“The brutal killings in Ondo, Uromi, Bokkos, and Borno; the several killings in Southern Kaduna including the cruel murder of a priest of Kafanchan diocese; the killings of some 16 soldiers recently, and many untold killings show a wounded and bleeding nation in need of healing.
“One can only imagine how many families are left devastated, traumatized, and broken severely. By now, one would think that with the combination of modern technology and non-kinetic methods, criminality would have been greatly reduced in Nigeria. The recurring violence in different parts of the nation is a sign of a nation in need of healing. How criminals known as ‘unknown gunmen’, kidnappers, terrorists, militant herdsmen, etc., are nearly never always apprehended and decisively dealt with is puzzling.
“They appear, kill, burn houses, and farms, injure people, and disappear, and only later to stage a comeback inflicting more damage than previously, costing innumerable loss of human lives. It appears that we have yet to get the right technology to hunt these criminals down, or is it the absence of goodwill or political will?
“We are not only spiritually sick but also economically, politically, and socially. We need individual and collective healing. Luke 19:41 tells us that as Jesus nears the city of Jerusalem, He pauses and weeps. His tears are not for Himself, but for Jerusalem, for those who will reject Him, for the destruction that will come upon them because they did not recognize the time of God’s visitation,” he stated.