Nigeria’s Catholic bishops have been warned that Africa’s most populous country is “becoming a failed state".
Bishop Anthony Adadji of Ida diocese, located in Kogi state in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, has attacked the government of President Bola Tinubu, which is facing severe inflation and an increase in attacks by extremist and criminal groups. .
He was speaking to the Punch newspaper at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Ida on Sunday.
The bishop said the Nigerian state was becoming a place where “people can no longer trust the government.”
Nigeria is a country of more than 230 million people, split almost evenly between Christians and Muslims. The Christian population is mainly concentrated in the south, while Islam is predominant in the north. However, the “middle belt” is a place where two religions meet.
Kogi is 45% Muslim, 40% Christian, and the rest of the population practices traditional ethnic religions.
This year, Mr. Ahmed Usman Ododo was elected governor of the state. He is a Muslim member of the All Progressives Congress. This is also the party of the President of Nigeria.
“If you look at the current political system, the governor is in charge of the state through his political party,” he said.
“All local government election results are declared without winning any other election and we still call it democracy. Democracy has failed in our country of Nigeria. We cannot pretend that things are going well. They are getting worse day by day,” Adazi said.
“End Bad Governance In Nigeria” protests erupted in early August, leading to several deaths and multiple arrests. Demonstrators criticized food shortages and corruption and demanded the restoration of gas and electricity subsidies.
“Right now, people are dying in our country because of a cup of gari (cassava flour).When the former (US) Nigerian ambassador came to Abuja to ask for something, Nigeria I recall saying that it is the country with the highest concentration of intellectuals,” Adazi said.
The bishop noted that the ambassador is a black American.
“Nigeria has some of the best black intellectuals in the world, even if they are black in America,” Bishop said.
In the United States, more than 61 percent of Nigerian Americans over the age of 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher, but 28 percent of the total U.S. population is Nigerian, and Nigerian Americans are the most successful in the country. It has become a group of immigrants.
“How can a country like this gradually sink and become a failed state? We cannot gloss over that,” Adaj said.
“Politicians in Nigeria are not helping democracy grow. Therefore, it cannot be said that in certain states that are controlled by certain political parties, there are no local governments that can choose candidates. This is not true because we do not believe in it. This is a deliberate attempt by politicians to destroy democracy,” the bishop claimed.
Ms. Adaji said Punch Nigeria has enough resources to ensure that no child in the country goes hungry.
However, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says Nigeria, with a population of 31.8 million, has “the most food insecure people in the world”.
“There is tremendous wealth in this country, but mismanagement of wealth has led us to the current situation. This is the situation that Nigerians are facing. God has blessed Nigeria with abundance, but Unfortunately, years of mismanagement of Nigeria’s resources have led us to the current situation, and if we do nothing, things will only get worse, never better.”
Mr. Adaji said Mr. Tunubu’s administration of the country was poor, adding that his government had succeeded in impoverishing many Nigerians.
“With the removal of fuel subsidies and soaring commodity prices, many Nigerians are dying from garri and cannot afford to feed their families. This cannot be called a government that will move Nigeria forward,” the bishop said. . Said.
He said if the government was committed to moving the country forward, “the cost of governance must be reduced”.
“We cannot talk about giving (high salaries) to politicians. And many Nigerians are dying because they cannot afford to eat. We cannot accept such a government. .I can only rank among the governors who have plundered the economy. If nothing is done or things continue as they are, this country will be ruined,” Adaj said.
“That is definitely not the case, because we have to tell ourselves the truth. We have nothing to lose by telling the truth,” the bishop said.
