My dear Monsignori, Very Rev. and Rev. Fathers, Rev. Sisters; Knights and Ladies of St Mulumba; Representatives of various Associations of the lay faithful present; Distinguished gentlemen of the press; Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome you all yet again to this Reception/State press briefing on the state of the Nation.
We thank the Knights of St Mulumba who every year organises this event to mark my birthday anniversary. I wish to thank you all for coming together to honour me on this occasion that marks my 59th birthday. You were present at the Thanksgiving Mass and now again at this reception, despite your very tight schedules. May the Good Lord abide with you always, most especially during times of your needs, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
REASONS FOR GRATITUDE AND HOPE:
On this day, I am full of mixed feelings. On the one hand, I feel a sense of gratitude to God for the gift of life that he has given me and the privilege of remaining alive to mark the beginning of a new year in this world, serving in the vineyard as a priest who has the ministry of bishop. On the other hand I feel a sense of sadness that life and living in our world of today and even in our country today life has become cheap and it is a big struggle to live decently and without fear and anxiety.
When I ponder on the hardship being faced by my fellow Nigerians and the fact that the vast majority still live in fear, in abject poverty and daily explosion to all manner of danger intimidation, rape, destruction of property and even death in the hands on the marauding terrorist, especially in the remote village of the country; I feel a lot of pain distress and anger.
However, I say to myself and all of you, my fellow countrymen that hope is not lost and we most keep up the hope. Indeed, our faith tells us that one thing that does not disappoint is hope. Our help and therefore our hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth, one who has never failed to come to the aid of his people in their most critical times. So, my overriding feeling on this day is that of hope. As scripture says in all things we must give thanks because that is what God expect of us and in giving thanks we realise positive energy that attracts the intervention of God. We must find hope and consolation in the words of Ezekiel 37: 5-6, which says thus: ‘Tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them: I am going to put breath into you and bring you back to life. I will give you sinews and muscles and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you and bring you back to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” My fellow Nigerians, the Lord is still telling us today to trust in Him; that no matter how bad the situation we are facing may be, He will surely make us whole and give us reasons to smile again. Notwithstanding the activities of the agents of destruction, destabilization and disunity that are still working day and night, plotting to subdue this country, I’ see her standing strong among the comity of nations as willed by the Almighty God.
He says He will wipeaway our tears and bring us to the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey. So shall it be through Christ our Lord. Amen.
MY CONCERNS:
As is the norm for me on a day like this, I wish to share with you some of my deep concerns on issues bordering on our corporate existence as a nation. It is my belief that such gatherings as this should help not only to proffer some solutions, but also challenge us into taking practical steps that would eventually liberate our country from its present predicament. Let me say that in expressing the views that I do today, my intention is not to cast aspersions on any one or group of people, but rather to be part of the discourse that is necessary to make our country to be better and to encourage all who are stakeholders in the project of our country to take responsibility and do what need be done for the growth and development of our dear country Nigeria.
PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS:
There is a saying that evil thrives when good people stay aloof. Over the years, we have watched our national wealth plundered by some of those who have been given the position of leadership. A few of them have captured and are holding the wealth of our nation in their hands. Since Vatican II in particular, Catholic lay faithful in particular have been encouraged to take active part In politics, to seek to serve in political offices bringing the values of the faith to bear on the political activities in the nation. We thank God for some who have dared to brave it and we wish to encourage more and more of our lay faithful to get involved. The hierarchy of the Church has the responsibility of providing the support that we are in a position to give in order to inject new values into politics and the life of the nation. We need to take more responsibility for our nation and its future. At this point in time, the whole nation is preparing for the 2019 elections. We once again urge all our people to make the efforts needed to register and get their voters card, the PVC.
This is the tool that we need in order to choose those that will serve our country selflessly and meet the needs of the common man. We are not unaware of the difficulties, that people have in registering and getting the cards. I am personally having the same challenge. We urge you persevere. We have directed our JDPC to take stock of the problem and
get the data that shows the difficulties that people are going through with the aim of seeing what can be done in terms of calling attention to the critical areas. However, our participation should not end with voting, it should also include making efforts to seek elective positions in government. Indeed, all patriotic Nigerians, people of goodwill, professionals, technocrats and entrepreneurs must come together and provide a more credible alternative political framework to salvage this country that is so much in need of quality and visionary leadership.
THE SEARCH FOR PEACE IN THE NATION:
Since the beginning of this year, there have been an unprecedented resurgence of the terrorist activities of the so-called herdsmen. There have been killing, raping and destruction of life and property; we have been experiencing kidnappings, ritual killings and other criminal acts. All these led to the unprecedented nationwide prayerful and peaceful procession held by Catholics and other people of goodwill all over the country on May 22, 2018.
This was the first time that such mass action would take place on the instruction of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and it was preceded by Requiem Masses celebrated across the country for the repose of the souls of the priests and lay faithful of Makurdi Diocese that were buried on that day; victims of the herdsmen activities carried out in a most sacrilegious and annoying manner during Mass. The Church sounded it loud and clear that all human life is sacred, each human life is a gift God that no one has a right to terminate and so we once again call upon the Federal Government to do all that need be done to protect the lives and properties of all Nigerians irrespective of their religion or ethnic origin. Reports have it that two persons returning from the Funeral Mass of May 22, were yet again killed by suspected herdsmen. Also, on Sunday May 27, 2018, the gun-totting men attacked Sacred Heart Minor Seminary, Jalingo Diocese around 11.30pm and shot one of the priests working there on the leg and injured several others, reportedly because they were not allowed to graze their cattle in the compound.
In recent times, many lives have been reported lost in Zamfara, Adamawa and Kaduna states as a result of more suspected herdsmen attacks. This is unacceptable! How long are we going to endure these killings? The President must discharge himself of the charge of being privy to the problem by taking all necessary steps to bring the terrorists to book and neutralize them so that Nigerians can once again breathe a wave of fresh air. He needs to charge again the security agencies to step up on their act and to sanction those who are not pulling their weight, not least those who flout his instructions.
THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION:
We thank the Lord for the efforts that are being made to bring some of those who looted our nation’s wealth to book as we see in the recovery of some of the funds that were stolen. The Single Treasury Account which has helped in some ways to bring things together, the efforts to get the corporate persons and individuals who have been evading tax to pay are some of the praiseworthy efforts we can see. The fight against corruption, with all its failings is an effort that we cannot but acknowledge and commend. However, we must continue to insist that the fight must not be selective in those who are called to account. It should not exclude anyone on the basis of party politics or any other factor. The fight must also be done according to the dictates of the law otherwise we create chaos and in turn permit another form of corruption to creep in if government does not follow the rule of law in fighting corruption. The perception today is that the fight against corruption is defective with the cases of some of the accused who jumped ship into the ruling party being treated with levity. The federal government needs to respond approximately to this allegation and not simply look for alibi to excuse the shortcomings
RESTRUCTURING RE-VISITED AGAIN:
Restructuring, these past two years, have been added to our political lexicon as a veritable means by which our country can quickly exit the woods. While majority of Nigerians are in agreement that it will help address the challenges of injustice, inequality, inequity and fast-forward the economic growth of the country as a whole, some political elites, predominantly from a section of the country have refused to accept this reality and have rather sworn to maintain the ‘retrogressive status quo.’ We have said it and are re-iterating again that restructuring is the way to go. We believe strongly that if the restructuring is properly done, all parts of this country stand a better chance of developing more rapidly and the people would be the happier for it as it places responsibility for the welfare of people in more manageable units. The numerous untapped agricultural and mineral resources that are grossly under-exploited in virtually all the states in the country should be harnessed as huge sources of foreign exchange earnings for the country. By so doing, the age-long burden heaped on the country by oil revenue would be severed for good and everyone will be happier for it. We wish to make an appeal to the political class, especially members of the National Assembly to take the bold initiative and commence robust discussions on how to restructure this country before the next general election. Where there is a will, there is a way. I appeal to them to put aside their differences and put on the toga of patriotism. Let us go back to the practice of true federalism that would allow each part of the country to grow such that the country in aggregate can grow also to the greater good of all.
CARE OF THE YOUTH:
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, only a few days ago, the President signed the so-called Not too young to run bill into law. We must take that as a step in the right direction even if one feels that it may be a token that takes more than a bill to make it take effect. We must continue to insist that the care of the youth needs to be taken more seriously than we are doing at the moment. In recent times, we have seen a massive drift of young men and women who have been leaving the shores of this nation through dangerous and almost suicidal routes. Many have perished in the desert and in the seas, many are still under different forms of slavery in countries where they have been marooned. We thank God and Commend government and the NGOs that have helped to repatriate some of them back home. However, it is not enough to bring them back home, it is necessary that steps should be taken to give them a new shot at life by providing them with the environment that would enhance their welfare and make them productive citizens. In recent times, we have seen many of them engaged in drug abuse, the latest being the abuse of codeine. Of course, other drugs are also being abused just as we have hard drugs also destroying the lives of the young people. We need to address the situation of hopelessness that drive young people into this destructives habit and save the future of the nation.
IMPROVED MEDICAL FACILITIES IN THE NATION:
The past six weeks or so have seen many innocent lives being lost due to the strike actions embarked upon by members of the Joint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, who are calling for better conditions of service. While I do not subscribe to arbitrary strikes by health workers owing to the crucial nature of their jobs, I however believe they have the right to request for better emolument within the constitutional framework. I am sad that the Body and the Federal Government have not been able to reach an amicable agreement these past weeks even as patients continue to die for lack of good medical care? I am in full support of any arrangement that would create a more conducive environment for our health care workers to be more productive as health is wealth. Is it not an irony that we are still unable to boast of world-class medical facilities even though we are known to have produced some of the best widely acclaimed health care personnel in the world! We need to work towards this so that we can stem the tide of the elite, beginning with our President being forced to seek medical attention abroad. If there is a provision in law that stops elected government officials from seeking medical care abroad on the bill of the nation, we believe that they will be encouraged to provide standard health facilities that would be at par with international standards, thereby also saving us from wasting scarce foreign exchange.
CONCLUSION:
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, as I make to conclude, let me state that never In the history of this great country have our people been better enlightened and ready to see a more progressive Nigeria. There may have been and still there is a lot of effort to divide us across religious and ethnic lines but we are beginning to see that ethnicity, religion, nepotism and party affiliation will not move us forward and so we must seek to entrench professionalism and merit above other parochial interests. The year 2019 beckons for us to right all the wrongs of the past. Our best as a nation is to come and we all need to give whatever it takes to make it happen. Let the leaders give their best with altruism and the followers in selflessness and I believe this country will be great again, God helping US.
+Alfred Adewale Martins
Metropolitan Archbishop of Lagos
June 1 2018.