Akure—THE Catholic
Bishops, weekend, called on the Federal Government to drastically reduce
hardship Nigerians are presently experiencing, saying there is hunger in the
land.
They made the appeal
in a communiqué issued at the end of the second Plenary Meeting of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) held in Akure. The communiqué was signed
by its President and Secretary, Most Rev. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama and Most Rev.
William A. Avenya respectively. On the need for government to tackle the
economic meltdown facing the country, the clerics said government should be
alive to its responsibility. The communiqué reads:
“We note the efforts of the
Nigerian government towards the growth of the nation’s economy. Yet, the
economy has gone into a recession. Many people have lost their jobs and those
fortunate to retain theirs are not adequately remunerated and some are not paid
as and when due. “There is hunger in the land.
We, therefore urge the
government to take proactive and practical steps towards reversing the
recession.
“As a result partly of the fall in the oil prices, it has become
inevitable to, without further delay, diversify the economy, engender fiscal
and monetary policies, stimulate and mobilize investments, and engage in a
productive rather than a consumerist economy.
“We advise the Federal Government
to consider devolution of powers to create a healthy economic competition in
the federating units.
“We call on Nigerians to moderate their taste for foreign
goods, reduce waste and be more prudent in expenditure. In the meantime, we
expect the government to quickly evolve appropriate palliative measures and
empower by job creation the teeming unemployed youth.
“Our country is generally
passing through an unfortunate phase whereby sanctity and dignity of human life
is constantly undermined.
“We also call on government to drastically reduce
poverty and remove everything that condemns the less privileged to life of
avoidable suffering and make them easy victims of human trafficking.
“At the
same time, we enjoin the Federal government to address the root causes, and by
dialogue and other peaceful means, end the crises in the Niger Delta”, the
clerics stated. We also call on government to protect the victims and bring to
book the perpetrators.
“We observe with dismay the growing inequality and lack
of respect for basic rights in our nation. “Cases of discrimination on the bases
of religion, ethnic group and political affiliation still abound.
This is
evident in the recent government appointments and provision of social
amenities. “We enjoin governments at all levels to eschew all forms of
marginalization and give everybody a sense of belonging.
We equally call on
Nigerians to respect one another’s rights including rights to life and
religious freedom. “We urge the government to use appropriate democratic
machineries to protect citizens’ rights, reject and avoid making policies that
would lead to the breach of these rights.”
On need to curb spate of violence in
the country, the clergymen said, “It is highly regrettable that our nation has
continued to witness many forms of violent activities and cases of violation of
human dignity.”
“We call on governments at all levels to devise adequate
practical measures to tackle all forms of violence and assault on the human
person. “We condemn totally the acts of vandalization of oil installations in
the Niger Delta and destruction of public property. Vanguardngr
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